Your Credit Cards Guide

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.

Read more…

The Verdict: The RBFCU Platinum Preferred Rate MasterCard comes with a low purchase interest rate that you can make even lower if you take out loans or open accounts with San Antonio, Texas-based Randolph-Brooks Credit Union. The only catch? You have to live in south central Texas to be a member of this credit union and, of course, to apply for the Preferred Rate MasterCard.

Overview: Most credit cards connected to credit unions come with low interest rates and fees. The RBFCU Platinum Preferred Rate card, though, comes with a difference; not only is the starting purchase interest rate low, cardholders can make the rate fall even more dramatically by taking out loans or opening checking or saving accounts with the Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union.

How This Card Works: You’ll earn a certain amount of relationship points every time you do business with the credit union. F

Read more…

Hold on to your wallets, Citizens Bank customers: going green is about to cost you more green. Starting April 23^rd, your Green Checking Account’s monthly fee will increase from $4.99 to $9.99. Got a Personal Checking with Interest Account instead? You aren’t off the hook either: your monthly fee will increase from $9.99 to $11.99. To avoid these new fees, you’ll need to make five qualifying transactions each month or maintain an average daily balance in your account ($1,500 for Green Checking and $2,500 for Personal Checking with Interest). “Qualifying transactions” include ATM withdrawals, online bill payments, direct deposit, debit card purchases and paid checks. We personally don’t mind one requirement to avoid a monthly fee, but a high minimum balance and five qualifying transactions? No thanks!

We’re not gonna take it

If you feel the same way we do, it’s probably time to find a new bank. The nerds at Ne

Read more…

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.

Read more…

In a recent effort to attract the consumers with a Do-It-Yourself mindset that are social-media savvy, Barclaycard unveiled their most recent credit card, the Barclaycard Ring MasterCard.

This credit card has the distinction of being the first that is “crowdsourced.”

For those not aware, crowdsourcing is a term defined by Jeff Howe, back in 2006 in an issue of Wired magazine. His definition is that its

the act of a company or institution taking a function once performed by employees and outsourcing it to an undefined (and generally large) network of people in the form of an open call.

Since that time, its become a big buzzword.

The Ring card will feature a number of appealing features for consumers, according to the Wall Street Journal. The

Read more…

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

Read more…