With the 2011 Oscars fast approaching, the glamorous lives of Hollywood celebrities are on the forefront of American consciousness. Why does this have anything to do with the credit card industry? Because celebrities have always been the go-to spokespersons for credit cards over the years.
Allow us to conduct our own form of the Academy Awards. Without further ado, here are the top 5 credit card ads featuring celebrities OF ALL TIME!
5. Pierce Brosnan- VISA
Not only does this commercial feature a dapper Pierce Brosnan in his James Bond days, but also a surprise appearance by Mad Men star Christina Hendricks before she made it big.
4. Ellen Degeneres- American Express
Rarely are commercials charming and hilarious at the same time, but Ellen Degeneres makes it look easy in this awesome ad.
3. Conan O’Brien- American Express
In this ad, Conan looks hilariously out of place as he browses around India for the perfect silk curtains. T
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A change is gonna come… and if you are a renter, it could be great news for your credit report.
Experian, one of the big three credit bureaus, began including rental payment data on consumer credit reports in January, and will affect the Experian credit score and VantageScore. It’ll be a good addition to most consumers’ credit toolbox, but as with all big changes, there could be a downside.
Right now, Experian has gathered rent payment history from large property managers of approximately 8 million residents nationwide, but reporting rental data could easily become a more widespread practice amongst credit bureaus. Getti
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Credit reports contain a variety of liability information including loans, collections and public records. But, there is also an incredible amount of highly sensitive personal information. So, what personal information should you expect to see on your credit reports? Before answering the question it’s best to summarize all of the information in a credit report.
A credit report can be segmented into four distinct sections: personal information, inquiries, trade (or account), and public records. We’ll focus only on the personal information. And, you’ll be surprised what information is included and maybe more surprised that there isn’t as much detail as you woulde to expect from a credit report. Follow me…
Personal information includes names, addresses, social security number, date of birth, and employers. The name includes your first, middle, last, suffixes such as junior and senior and “AKA.” AKA (also known as) is usually reserved for females who are or have been married and have had credit in both names. For example Jane Smith married John Doe and now is Jane Doe, but also had credit under the name of Jane Smith. Both names will appear on her credit report.
Address information includes your current and several previous addresses, along with the dates these addresses were reported on the credit report. This helps to determine
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Recent cases have included a man who had £1500 taken from his account using a PIN. The bank refused to pay the money back, saying he must have been careless. The Ombudsman noticed that the criminal had tried every card in the man’s wallet, using the same number, and therefore concluded that the bank must have been negligent. The customer was not refunded.
However, money has been refunded in different cases, including one where an elderly man with a very regular withdrawal pattern had money withdrawn from a different branch, at the time in which he was working at a charity shop. The Ombudsmn concluded that this didn’t fit his usual pattern and demanded that the bank refund.
The moral of these stories is to make sure you are careful with your card and PIN at all times, otherwise you could end up out of pocket. However, if you are unlucky and have been careful, and get into a dispute with your bank about this type of refund, use every bit of information you can – alibis of who was with you at the time are useful. The
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I got an email from American Airlines a couple of weeks back begging me to buy some extra frequent flyer miles for my AAdvantage account, and they’re offering bonus miles on top of whatever I buy until February 28, 2011. The cute graphic even has a picture of a loving couple holding hands on the beach, and a tagline meant to inspire dreams of jet setting. The only problem is, it’s complete crap.
As a general rule, if an airline is trying to sell you frequent flyer miles, it is probably a bad idea to buy them. They give away miles like they’re candy with travel miles credit cards and other bonuses that travel hackers and rewards junkies like to exploit to no end. And when it’s time to make up for all those free miles they’re giving away? They try Read more…
The good news? The Fed is now more optimistic about 2011, predicting that the economy will grow by 3.4 percent to 3.9 percent, according to Time. The bad news? Food and clothing prices are going to rise much higher.
Time published another article that says we can all expect clothing prices to go up 10 percent in the spring even though clothing prices dropped in the past decade. Price tags will get even higher in the second half of the year. The cost of cotton has skyrocketed, labor rates have increased and the demand for synthetic blends has grown. We can expect less embellishments on clothes, less colors to choose from, more synthetic fabrics and higher prices in general.
Food prices are also on the rise. According to Business Insider, food prices have risen 15 percent from October through January. Costs of sugar and edible oils have grown significantly in recent months.
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— Cindy Williams @ 3:22 pm — 
February 24, 2011