Although it seems the pace of credit limit cuts has slowed recently, they are still an issue many of us have to deal with.  The same goes for the relationship between balance transfers and credit limits.

Two helpful articles on this subject on our site include, “What to Do When Your Credit Limit is Cut,” and “How Balance Transfers Affect Credit Scores.”  If you are interested in learning more about protecting your credit score after a limit decrease or before a balance transfer, you may find these quite useful. Continue Reading »

I stumbled on an idea so obvious and so simple that I am truly amazed more credit card companies have not adopted it.  For years, credit card companies have rolled out elaborate rewards programs, also known as loyalty programs, that offer consumers cashback, points, miles, and other rewards.  Over the past two years, many credit card companies have cut back on these deals, but most still offer rich rewards programs.

Personally, I love these programs.  I get 3% rewards with one of my cards.  Airline miles with another.  While these perks are often the reason I choose to use one credit card over another, I would still use credit cards if the programs were cut back, especially if all credit card companies cut back on these loyalty programs and I had no other options. Continue Reading »

I’ve been writing about default rates recently, as banks have been slapping people with these astronomical penalties with great frequency lately.  In the past, a consumer with good credit and a solid history of making payments on time could often be late once and not be penalized with a 29.99% default interest rate.  This is not the case anymore.  

So, were the late Johnny Cochran, former lawyer for O.J. Simpson, alive today, I’m pretty sure he’d say something like this:  IF YOU ARE LATE, YOU WILL PAY THE DEFAULT RATE. Continue Reading »

Late last week, a visitor to Smart Balance Transfers posted a credit card complaint that topped every single credit card complaint this website has ever received.  As you’ll see below, this customer made a simple mistake that her credit card issuer used to charge her $500 in fees, raise her interest rate into the twenties, and earned Compass Bank a front row seat on the bus of shame.

First, let me share the customer’s original complaint.  Its a doozy, and I’ve got the documents to prove it: Continue Reading »

As I wrote earlier, the average default rate is about 29.99%.  In that article, I quoted the standard, and complicated, language about default rates found on a typical credit card application.  Today, I got a glimpse into what the future of credit card terms will look like when my wife got a Citi 0% credit card offer in the mail.

In this Citi offer, the language was plain and simple.  Here’s what they wrote: Continue Reading »

I’ve been intrigued by the thought that Citi might be becoming a good credit card company.  At first, I had some theories, which I stand by. (Read More Here).  Today, after sticking my neck on the line, I got some reassuring evidence that the new Citibank is a good credit card company.

Today’s evidence arrived in the mail, in the form of a mail offer for my wife.  Unlike similar offers which have been infrequently appearing, this card provided a 0% APR for a full year on purchases and balance transfers.  This in itself is surprising, as the few offers that have hit our mailbox lately have only offered 0% rates for 6 months.  (The offer was the Citi Platinum Select Card, which you can learn more about here.) Continue Reading »

Consumers worried that their credit card companies are going to raise their interest rates who are also scared that a company they do a 0% balance transfer with will also raise their rates are justifiably concerned.  However, these concerns are generally unfounded, as credit card companies must honor 0% introductory rates as long as consumers don’t violate the terms of their agreements by going over the limit or paying late.

That said, 0% interest rate periods only last so long, and choosing a good credit card company is more important today than ever.  That is why even I am surprised to write that Citibank’s 0% balance transfer deals are probably the safest balance transfer offers around.  I recently outlined my thesis on Citi in the article, “Is Citi Becoming a Good Credit Card Company?.” Continue Reading »