There’s been a fair amount of discussion lately about the ups and down of credit card balance transfers and whether they’re effective debt-elimination tools, particularly in light of some of the changes taking place thanks to the Credit CARD Act. Here’s a look at the basics of understanding balance transfers and determining whether one might [...]

A fascinating article from the New York Times discusses a forthcoming service from MasterCard that could provide a new kind of discipline for those of us who have difficulty sticking with our monthly budgets, despite our best intentions.
The service is called inControl, and, if your bank adopts it, will apparently work like this:

You choose limits: [...]

In welcome news for struggling consumers, Americans have lowered their credit card debts this summer in the wake of a lingering recession. In fact, numbers recently released for June show that overall consumer debt has fallen for the 19th time in the last 21 months.
The news, however, is not all positive, as many economists claim [...]

As you probably already know, having “good credit” can help you get favorable interest rates on loans and may even make you look like a good candidate for a job or an apartment rental. But how can a person achieve the abstraction of “good credit?” There are a few ways. Here’s a look at one: [...]

The Pew Charitable Trusts recently released a report on the effects so far of the new Credit Cardholders’ Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act (Credit CARD Act). The findings suggest that, generally speaking, most credit card issuers have improved their transparency and decreased deceptive pricing techniques—but that certain not-so-consumer-friendly practices remain common.
Here’s a look at some [...]

Credit cards seem like a relatively egalitarian method of payment. Most folks pay the same interest rates and annual fees, regardless of their income level. However, according to researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, poor Americans pay considerably more than the wealthy for credit card rewards.
According to a report cited by National Public [...]

The Federal Trade Commission has announced the release of a new report recommending improvements to the current debt collection arbitration system in place in the United States. Here’s a look at what that might mean for you.
What Is Debt Collection Arbitration?
On many forms of credit (like credit cards), one part of the agreement paper you [...]