Your Credit Cards Guide

Chase is the latest big bank to enter the prepaid card market in a serious way. Its new entry into the increasingly crowded field called Liquid is a worthy competitor to Americans Express prepaid card, which until now was the undisputed leader. AmExs product is still the best option for everyone with a poor FICO score whose primary goal is to get back into the credit system, because it offers a path to a charge card. Everyone else, however, now has a choice between two very good prepaid cards.

The Liquid card is very much like a Chase debit card, with the only difference, as far as I can tell, being that it is not linked to a checking account and so its users have no access to checks. Other than that, the two card types are indistinguishable. If there is still someone left out there who is asking Why would a bank like Chase bother to be issuing debit-card-like prepaid cards?, the answer, of course, is that the Durbin Amendment slashed the revenues big issuers are getting from debit transactions by 45 percent, while leaving credit and prepaid interchange fees untouched.

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There are so many different kinds of credit cards out there today, and it can be difficult to decide which one to apply for. So it’s wise to carefully compare credit cards before selecting the one you wish to have in your wallet or purse.

Here are eight categories on which to base your next credit card decision.

1. Card type. Check to make sure whether you are applying for a Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express card. This sounds intuitive, but you’d be surprised how often consumers fill out applications for what they think is one type of card and receive a totally different card in the mail shortly thereafter. To be fair, card type is not always specified in advertisements for credit cards. (i.e. the Capital One Rewards Card).
2. Annual percentage rate. This is arguably the biggest determinant for deciding which credit card is right for you.

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My wife had a brain aneurysm, which caused a serious memory impairment. She was found disabled and approved for Social Security income. I am her SSI representative and must manage all her financial affairs. We have had a clear understanding that she is not to apply for credit cards, but shes secretly gotten several cards with high limits even though she has only about $500 in SSI per month and no checking account of her own. She hides the credit card bills and doesnt pay them. I dont know whats happening until she has charged thousands of dollars.

When I was employed, I would call the card company, explain the situation and pay off her cards. Now that I am retired and on a fixed income, I cannot continue to pay. The companies that are giving her cards have been notified about her medical condition and are aware of her no-payment history. About six months ago, I decided to break the cycle and not pay off her credit cards.

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The main credit card repayment indicators continued their downward slide in February, we learn from the latest Moodys Credit Card Indices. Having fallen below the five-percent threshold in January for the first time since before the Great Recession began, the charge-off rate fell only marginally in February. However, both delinquency rates monitored by the ratings agency dropped to their lowest levels ever.

The six largest U.S. issuers reported mostly positive results for the monthly performance of their credit card portfolios. Half of them recorded lower charge-offs, with Citi, Discover and American Express going the other way, but all issuers had lower or flat delinquencies. Not all news, however, was positive, as is usually the case. The fly in the ointment this time was that the monthly payment rate fell by more than a percentage point. Lets go over the numbers in a bit more detail.

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All the great new mobile wallet systems are ripe with the promise of lighter pockets and more streamlined pocketbooks. But the truth is, most of the great apps out there still leave consumers with a need for an actual wallet—to carry a license, to hold on to extra credit cards not covered on the system, or to store loyalty cards and coupons for merchants that haven’t jumped on the NFC bandwagon. 

But according to GigaOm, Cambridge startup iCache is about to change all that. They’re set to debut a super high-tech iPhone case that might just make wallets a totally optional accessory. This is not your average smartphone cover: the Geode case can digitize all of your credit cards and loyalty cards, and offers a quick and easy way to use them at the register.

Users simply have to use the included card reader to swipe all of their magnetic strip credit cards and upload the information to the Geode app. Barcod

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Additional fees charged

Here are some examples:

Fees charged to close account too soon, which can be 90 or 180 days. This is a new fee.

Fees charged for paper statements, which were free previously.

Higher monthly fees charged for checking accounts.

E-banking customers charged a fee to use a teller, which was free previously.

Higher minimum balance required to quality for free checking.

Charged for incoming domestic wire transfers.

Increased the fees charged for ATM usage.

Higher overdraft fees are charged.

Charge slightly higher interest rates on loans.

Increase in the safety-deposit box fee.

Charged a fee to replace a lost debit card, which was free previously.

Check for additional fees

Make sure you review your bank statements for additional charges that you may not have been aware of.  If you are being charged for services that you hadn’t been charged for previously, contact your bank to negotiate with them. Ba

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