Americans will charge more than $5 billion for “Valentine’s Day” purchases this year, compared to $4.2 billion for 2006. Totally, consumers will shell-out nearly $17 billion for the holiday in 2007, compared to $14 billion last year. The National Retail Federation’s “2007 Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey” found that on average each consumer […]

According to research reported by msnmoney: Credit card use in the U.S. is growing, with 14% of Americans holding more than 10 cards, a survey by one of the giant credit-reporting agencies has found. That’s up from 2004, when 10% had more than 10 cards.
The study, released today by Experian, identified two groups of heavy […]

Visa, MasterCard and their affiliated banks will receive a one-day Valentine gift of $169 million this year because of hidden “interchange” fees collected on transactions during the holiday, the Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) said today.
“Visa and MasterCard are plucking a few petals off every rose this Valentine’s Day,” MPC Chairman Mallory Duncan said. “Whether it’s […]

Bank of America Corp. is reportedly offering credit cards to customers who do not have Social Security numbers.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Charlotte-based BofA (NYSE: BAC) program simply requires that customers have a checking account with the bank for three months without an overdraft.
It doesn’t require a Social Security number or a […]

Before you transfer that hefty credit card balance to a card with a super-low introductory rate, read the fine print and ask questions. Otherwise, you could end up paying fees and a much higher interest rate than you expected.
• How long does the introductory rate last?
• What is the card’s annual percentage rate after that […]

Reason No. 1 to get a credit card for your small business? To separate your personal spending from your business spending. Reason No. 2? Credit card companies have finally begun designing programs that provide real, tangible benefits to suit just about any small business. But with a recent barrage of advertisements, the rewards programs and […]

 Below are 5 tips to reap rewards points: 
1)Approval
Find out if your company allows its employees to reap the benefits of the card’s reward programs. Not every company does since rewards programs–particularly those offered by Visa and Mastercard–can cost companies more money to sign up for.
2)Sign Up
Membership in rewards programs isn’t automatic. If you have an […]