If Google actually indexed my blog posts, people would have been aware that credit card rewards programs have been on the decline for quite some time.  Unfortunately, Google hates this website, and you may have only recently learned of the fact that credit card companies are cutting rewards programs through the mainstream media. 

A recent article on CNBC.com (http://www.cnbc.com//id/29637583) discusses some superficial trends in the credit card rewards landscape.  However, the article misses the big picture, which is best understood in the context of the past three years. 

A great place to start is cashback credit cards.  In 2006, Citi offered a card which provided a full, unconditional 5% cashback on all gas, grocery, and drugstore purchases.  This offer was quickly discovered by saavy consumers who not only just used their cards where they could get 5% cashback, but also paid their bills in full every month.  These consumers made handsome profits by simply using their credit card in place of cash.

It didn’t take the banks very long to isolate money losing rewards programs.  Consequently, full 5% cash back offers were quickly replaced with 3%, 2%, and ultimately, the 1% cash back rewards card.  Today, earning 1% cashback is about as good as it gets, although a few cards still offer double rewards.

Blue Cash from American Express, for example, still offers a full 5% cashback on gas and grocery store purchases.  However, there is a rather large caveat:  you must spend $8,500 in order to earn 5% cashback.  Until you hit that threshold, gas and groceries earn 1.5% and all other purchases earn 0.5%.  Despite this spending threshold, consumers who do all of their spending with this card and pay their bills in full can still make out pretty well with this deal.  However, I wouldn’t be surprised if American Express pulled this deal from the market tomorrow, as credit card companies are about as predictable as the weather these days.  (You can learn more about cash back offers in the cash back credit card section of Smart Credit Choices.)

While cash back credit cards have seen the most dramatic cuts over the past few years, airline rewards cards have remained relatively stable.  One reason for this lay in the fact that most airline credit cards associated with a single airline charge hefty annual fees of $75 or more.  Another reason these cards haven’t cut promotions as much lay in the fact that it takes quite a bit of time to earn enough miles to get a flight.  With most cards, you’ll have to spend $50,000 to earn enough points for a single flight. 

Consumers who want to earn airline miles without paying an annual fee still have options.  More than a few credit cards offer no fee airline rewards.  For additional information, see the airline credit card section of Smart Credit Choices.

Overall, it is quite true that credit card rewards programs are on the decline.  However, this is not a new phenomenon.  It has been going on for a few years.  What is alarming is the recent rate of change, which indicates that credit card rewards programs will get stingier before things improve.

Credit card companies have been tightening lending standards dramatically over the past year, with a recent Fed study reporting that more than 60% of senior loan officers increased credit requirements.  This does not bode well for consumers, especially those trapped by high interest rates or in need of short term funds.

TALF, the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, was supposed to begin in early February and facilitate the packaging of credit card loans into securities.  This would, in theory, free up capital for credit card companies to issue new credit card loans.  Unfortunately, the TALF has yet to begin operations, and consumers are still facing difficulties obtaining credit card, car, and student loans.

Tomorrow should bring news about the TALF program, and hopefully the news is good.  Otherwise, consumers will face even more obstacles in the quest to obtain credit.

Sources:  http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0927208920090209

Chase, one of the largest credit card issuers in the country, doesn’t want your credit card business.  At least that’s a conclusion one could draw from an article in the Wall Street Journal stating that, “Chase, for example, is now referring unsolicited calls from people wanting to sign up for credit cards to its Web site and bank branches.”

Its almost absurd to imagine that the same company that flooded mailboxes with credit card advertisements for the past decade is now turning people away at the door, but this appears to be the situation.  Of course, they are still raking in the dough on all the people they’re charging 27.99% interest rates.  However, the fact that they are making it difficult for people to get credit cards is not a great sign for the economy. 

Fortunately, having a Chase credit card is not all that its cut out to be.  A recent post on Chase credit card practices drew more than a few negative comments.  Perhaps its best to not have something Chase in your wallet?

Source:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123180989113175857.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal by Jane J. Kim, “Banks Make Rewards Plans Less Rewarding,” brings to light a long term trend in the credit card world.  Although the Journal article focuses more on recent changes, credit card rewards programs have been pulling back perks for the past three years.

The main victims of the credit card rewards crunch is the cash back credit card.  Two years ago, a number of credit cards offered a full 5% cash back on all gas, grocery, and drug store purchases.  Today, the only credit card to offer that level of cash back is Blue Cash from American Express.  However, a person must spend $8500 a year to reach 5% cash back.  Before that, the cash back level is 0.5% to 1.5%.

Airline miles rewards have also seen a pullback, but these changes have as much to do with the airlines as the credit card companies.  For the most part, consumers still earn the same amount of miles.  In some cases, such as with the you can earn more.  Unfortunately, the airlines are requiring more miles to get seats, so the value of the miles you earn is diminished.

Inspired by the Journal article, I put together a list of the best credit card rewards programs in the main section of Smart Credit Choices which is accompanied by my editorial opinion.  Ultimately, and specifically for smart, rewards junkies, the best way to earn rewards is to employ a multi-card strategy.  By using a different card to get the best rewards, you can essentially build the best rewards credit card yourself.

For more information, you can read more about the best credit card rewards programs or compare all rewards credit cards in the main section of this website.

Sources:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123180989113175857.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Okay, so maybe its a little late to be using Christmas metaphors, but I’ve received a lot of email recently from people who have been mistreated by their credit card companies.  This is not a new phenomenon – everyone complains about their credit card companies.  However, in the past, the majority of complaints came from people who did something wrong, i.e. those who missed payments, went over their credit limits, or just didn’t read the bold, big lettered part of the fine print. 

Recently, however, credit card complaints are coming from people who are paying on time.  A common issue is the raising of interest rates.  This has been going on since the summer and credit card companies continue to raise interest rates on customers, even as the Prime rate had dropped by nearly 5 full points.  During the last year, credit card interest rates should have gone down by 10-20%, if not more.  Yet more and more people are getting their interest rates raised.  Of course, the credit card companies do provide warning.  However, in typical credit card company fashion, they are doing so with junk mail letters many people are tossing in the garbage.

The other issue which continues to occur is the lowering of credit limits.  While I understand and agree with the logic behind many of these decisions, I am still outraged at the consequences this can have on people’s credit scores.  Many people who were using 30% of their credit limits before a limit decrease end up using 90% after the decrease.  This can lead to credit scores being reduced significantly and the cost of borrowing (from the same banks) more expensive.

The final issue that has recently come to my attention is the raising of minimum payments.  A visitor to this blog posted about a disgusting credit card practice being used by Chase.  Essentially, they gave her two options:  pay twice as much every month or we’ll double your interest rate.  This is truly shameful and I hope this is not occurring frequently.

2008 was a tough year for people and credit card companies.  However, when Christmastime arrived, the banks were still eager to put coal in our stockings.  Hopefully, we’ll see some positive changes in 2009.  If not, we should all start stocking up on coal to send to our credit card companies.