Is a joint credit card application a bad idea?
Posted on March 4th, 2011
A: I’m glad to see you are giving this some thought before submitting an application. There are some benefits to going this route – but at the same time – some big pitfalls you need to be aware of.
Obviously first and foremost, the biggest benefit is that the person with insufficient credit history will have a chance to build (or rebuild) their credit using a credit card they might not qualify for on their own.
With a joint credit card application, you are signing up for 100% liability (not half liability, as some wrongly assume). That means if the other person makes late payments or defaults on the account, your credit score will be harmed… just as if you did those same things on your own account. It does
Aussies told to return ‘free money’
Posted on March 3rd, 2011
Aussies who rejoiced at an ATM dispensing “free money” in Sydney have been dealt a blow by the police.
Those who thought their cash worries were over could be tempted to compare credit cards online after being ordered to return any cash.
The Daily Telegraph has reported that after spitting out money, the Commonwealth Bank ATM has been placed under guard.
Furthermore, the police have warned that those who took money from the machine have committed a fraud.
The machines in question were allowing people to withdraw much more money that they actually had in their accounts, which prompted something of a frenzy.
Police have now warned that anyone caught withdrawing more than they owned will be traced and could face up to ten years jail for fraud.
Col Dyson, from the New South Wales fraud squad, told the newspaper:”Its the first Ive heard of something like this happening on such a scale.
“If these people know theyre not entitled to the money then certainly they are committing an offence.”
Tags: Free Money, Money
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Confusion About New Credit Score Disclosures
Posted on March 2nd, 2011
Consumers have been entitled to annual, free credit reports from the three credit reporting agencies for several years. Credit applicants who were denied were allowed to get a free copy of their credit report, but not their actual credit scores. Unless a copy of their report was required for a mortgage, most consumers never receive a ‘free’ credit score, but pay up to $20 for a score. And for those who received a report, it may not have been the one used, as there are different scores for car loans, mortgages, insurance and credit cards. In addition, the three credit reporting agencies sell scores to consumers that aren’t FICO scores.
But beginning January 1st, lenders must either tell consumers who apply for credit exactly which score they used or provide a letter explaining how they came to the decision using the consumer’s credit reports, if they didn’t receive the best terms available. And then
Tags: Credit, Credit Score
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Take the sting out of credit card charges
Posted on February 26th, 2011
Dealing with a 200 credit card sale costs a business 2. So why are we surcharged up to 10 by airlines, train companies, ticket agencies and utilities among others?
The issue is on the radar at the Office of Fair Trading after lobby group Which? launched a ‘super-complaint’ this month, claiming that the charges are far higher than the true cost to the retailer of processing the transaction.
The cost of handling card payments varies with the size of the company or retailer and the fees charged by the payments giants such as Visa and MasterCard. Typically, costs are between one and 2.5% of the transaction for credit cards and pennies for debit card sales.
But many companies have boosted card payment charges dramatically, sparking accusations that they are simply pumping up profits at the customers’ expense.
Tags: Card, Credit Card
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Fidelity Credit Card Review
Posted on February 24th, 2011
Over the years we have seen quite a shake-up when it comes to brokerage credit card offers. During the Great Recession and the tough economy that followed, some were discontinued or had their rewards reduced. However the Fidelity credit card offers never went anywhere.
There are actually four different Fidelity credit cards. Let’s review all of them…
This Fidelity Visa card has a two-tiered reward structure as follows:
- For annual spending up to $15,000 there is 1.5 points per dollar given.
- For annual spending which exceeds $15,000 there is 2 points per dollar given.
There is no cap on the amount of rewards that can be earned.
When it comes to redemption, the most common choice is to convert them to cash that can be deposited into the accountholder’s eligible Fidelity account. Every
Tags: Card, Credit Card
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Australian Economy sluggish even without floods, figures suggest
Posted on February 24th, 2011
Australias economy is not out of the woods yet, with new figures suggesting business conditions will remain hard across the country for some time yet.
While a number of recent reports have warned that the recent floods seen in Queensland will hit everyday consumers hard, with banks tipped to put up rates on debit cards or home loans in order to compensate for their losses, figures show that this may have been the case even without the natural disaster hitting.
Indeed, according to the National Australia Bank (NAB), business conditions were weakening at a steady rate towards the end of 2010, with its business conditions index dropping markedly several weeks before the first of the floods hit.
Notably, several of the sectors most likely to impact upon the lives of ordinary Australians, such as utilities, finance and agribusiness were all seen to suffer at the end of the year, with conditions found to be tough in the state of Victoria as well as Queensland.
Meanwhile, shares in some of Australias biggest banks have taken a hit in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake.
Have a question about credit cards? Read full post…
Tags: Figures Suggest, Suggest
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