According to a Reuter’s story, U.S. credit card defaults continued their rise in April, with both Citi and Wells Fargo reporting double digit credit card loss rates.

Citi led the default pack with its charge-off rate reaching 10.21%.  Wells Fargo came in a close second, with a 10.03% charge-off rate.  Other large issuers, including Chase and Discover, reported default rates in the low 8% range, slightly below the current 8.9% unemployment rate.

While this is obviously bad news for the banks, it is really bad news for consumers.  As credit card companies try to cope with excessive loan losses, credit availability may decrease even more than currently depressed levels.

Additionally, consumers looking for 0% credit cards are likely to find these offers more difficult to come by.  Continue Reading »

The Office of the Comptroller of Currency has launched a new website, www.helpwithmybank.gov.  While it appears this website is in very early stages, the site may eventually provide good information to consumers.  A section on credit card balance transfers currently has two questions and answers, a far cry from the hundreds of articles and comments that can be found at Smart Balance Transfers.  However, this site contains questions and answers about a range of credit card issues, including fees and penalties, as well as general banking concerns.

Over time this site may become a useful tool.  In the meantime, however, you may want to review balance transfer credit card information on our site if the helpwithmybank doesn’t resolve your questions.

If you have an Advanta credit card, make sure you leave your house with cash and a backup credit card.  According to an Advanta press release made public yesterday evening, Advanta credit cards will, for lack of better words, stop working on June 10th.  Yes, in a public announcement titled, “Advanta Announces Plan to Maximize Capital and Dramatically Reduce Risk,” Advanta announced that, “Since the securitizations will not be permitted to fund new receivables after June 10, the Company will shut down all credit card accounts to future use at that time.”

In other words, you don’t want to find yourself with an empty gas tank at an Exxon station on a deserted highway with no cash and only an Advanta credit card on June 11th.  Because your card won’t work.  In fact, you may have better luck trying to use a Diners Club card (or Monopoly money for that matter). Continue Reading »

Smart balance transfers has long derided the practice of allocating consumer payments to the portion of a credit card’s balance with the lowest interest rate.  Here’s a common situation:

A person has$1000 in debt being charged 14% and does a 0% balance transfer from another credit card for $1000.  The first $1000 that person pays back reduces the balance being charged 0%, leaving them with $1000 in debt being charged a 14% interest rate. Continue Reading »

President Obama’s weekly address to the nation focused on credit card refom, a topic he’s been attacking with a vengeance lately.  After meeting with credit card executives on April 23rd, our website had a tremendous decline in consumer complaints.  Apparently, credit card executives listened.  Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough. 

In today’s address, the President calls on Congress to, “to take final action to pass a credit card reform bill that protects American consumers so that I can sign it into law by Memorial Day. Continue Reading »

As we reported earlier, Bank of America is increasing a number of credit card fees, including balance transfer fees, to 4%.  While news of the impending balance transfer fee increase was made public a few weeks ago, I received a letter from Bank of America outlining other, substantial fee increases relating to a wide range of transactions.

First on the list are ATM cash advance fees, check cash advance fees (yet another reason to put balance transfer checks in the shredder), direct deposit cash advances, and wire transfer purchases. Continue Reading »

During the better part of last month, we received more complaints about credit card companies than we did during all of last year.  This was no minor feat, as everybody has a reason to complain about their credit card.  Oddly, however, credit card complaints have come to a standstill since President Obama met with credit card executives on April 23rd.

Whether by force or not, it seems that Obama was able to strongly influence the policies at all the major credit card companies.  Days before the meeting, consumers were complaining about random rate increases, massive fees, and customer service reps who only knew one phrase:  Sorry, can’t help you. Continue Reading »