What You Should Watch Out For Under The New Credit Card Law
By Nathan Randall
Did you know that credit cards are one of the lowest rated services that Consumer Reports magazine has ever analyzed? Over half (55%) of respondents claimed to be less than very satisfied with their cards.
Nevertheless, consumers continue to swipe their credit cards and carry balances from month to month. The recent Black Friday record sales weekend is further proof of that.
Watch Out For These Credit Card Gotcha Fees
Despite the consumer friendly Credit Card Act, banks still have the following tools at their disposal to reach deeper into your pocket:
reduce your borrowing limit
cancel your account without notice
raise your minimum payment
charge an annual fee
increase cash advance fees
What Is Your Credit Card Interest Rate?
Interest rates have been at historically low levels in the United States for several years. Sometime in the near future interest rates will begin to rise. In preparation for that new trend, many banks have changed their credit card interest rates from fixed to variable so that when rates rise, your credit card payments will rise too. It’’s a huge profit windfall just waiting in the wings for the banks. As of May 2010, the average rate on credit cards was 14.7% so if you are paying more than that you may have an opportunity to shop for a lower rate credit card.
What Is Your Credit Card Annual Fee?
No one should have to pay an annual fee for a credit card, but if you have credit score blemishes you might not have a choice. If your annual fee is $59 or more, you are paying more than you have to. About 50% of U.S. consumers pay less than that and at credit unions, the average annual fee is about $25. Check out resources we have found are available on the internet to shop for alternative credit cards that may help you save money on rate and fees.
Best Credit Rebuilding Credit Cards
Bad credit sometimes happens to good people. Perhaps you lost a job that seemed perfectly secure. Maybe you had astronomical medical expenses only partially covered by insurance, or not covered at all.
There are resources available which specialize in helping people with bad credit. They can help you find the best card to reestablish your credit. According to Consumer Reports two of the better credit cards available for rebuilding credit are:
Citi Secured Mastercard
$29 annual fee and deposit $200 up to $5,000 into an 18 month CD (which you earn interest on)
Orchard Bank Secured Mastercard
$35 annual fee (waived year one) and 7.9% APR
About The Author
Nathan Randall is editor of the Daily Dollar Newsletter[http://www.dailydollarnewsletter.com] which provides consumers with free daily advice on money matters and provides coupons and discount codes at Daily Dollar Coupons [http://www.dailydollarcoupons.com]. FYI…you can now access the Daily Dollar Newsletter via iTunes podcast, YouTube video, and on Facebook and Twitter too.