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.

It’s two days before the New Year and many of us are busy coming up with resolutions we can break during the first week.  However, with all the chaos in the financial world, many of us will be setting our sights on fixing household finances.

With that in mind, Smart Credit Choices has an easy New Year’s resolution that you can accomplish in a few minutes.  That resolution is to pay no credit card interest in 2009.

For credit card abusers, this may seem like a difficult task.  However, all one needs is a new credit card that offers a 0% interest rate for a year to actually follow through on this resolution.

To get started, gather up all your credit card statements.  Take a look at the interest rates and add up the balances.  Chances are, this is not a fun thing to do.  However, once you’ve assessed your credit card debt situation, fixing the problem is easy. 

First, pick out a card that offers a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for a full year (you can find one of these in the 0% APR credit card section of this website.)  Once you’ve found a card, complete the online application, input your current balances and set up transfers and click submit application. 

Voila!  If approved, you can expect to save at least $100, if not substantially more, for every $1000 you transferred from your high rate card to a 0% interest card.  For example, if you had $5000 in credit card debt at a 14% interest rate, you’ll save yourself about $600 in interest this year.  Not so bad.  And by doing this today, you won’t give yourself enough time to break the resolution.

We at Smart Credit Choices wish you the best for 2009 and hope this little resolution can help you save a lot of money next year. 

To find the 0% credit card that will save you the most in 2009, simply visit the credit card comparison section of our website by clicking here.

During 2008, credit card companies have gone out of their way to make life difficult for consumers.  They’ve cut off business credit, lowered consumer credit lines, raised interest rates and made it more difficult for even the best consumers to obtain 0% interest rates.

Of the bountiful gifts our beloved credit card companies have bestowed upon us this year, the nastiest is the raising of interest rates on current customers, often for no apparent reason.  The method by which credit card companies are notifying consumers of interest rate increases is the mail, a tactic that is helping to pad their bottom lines. 

The reason this tactic has proven so effective lay in the fact that we have all become accustomed to tossing credit card mail in the garbage (I personally prefer to shred it).  However, regardless of a person’s preferred method of destruction, the standard response to most credit card mail is to dispose of it.  Bank’s know this, and they are using it to their advantage by sending out updated disclosures and credit card terms to consumers.

These updated disclosures often include notices to consumers that they have two options:  close your credit card account and pay off your balance at the current rate OR do nothing and accept a higher interest rate.  Unfortunately, many consumers are accidentally doing nothing because they don’t even bother to review these notices.

The cost of this oversight can be tremendous.  A recent visitor wrote in and informed me his interest rate had been increased to 23.99%.  And he’d never once been late on a payment.  Horror stories like this have become all too common.  Please don’t let this happen to you.  If you get a notice in the mail, read it and respond.  In the long run, this could save you hundreds of dollars in interest.  If its already too late and your credit card company has raised your rate, take advantage of a 0% APR balance transfer as soon as you can.  This will not only save you money on the higher rate, but also, on the rate you would have paid before.

By all means, however, read and respond to any mail from your bank, especially if it is labeled a NOTICE or mentions a CHANGE IN YOUR AGREEMENT.  This is big red flag.

If you have friends or family you think might benefit from this information, be sure to share it with them.  It may be the best gift they get all season.