Credit Cards Blog

It looks like this Valentine’s Day will be a bit less lovey-dovey than last year’s, according to a survey last week from Visa. Americans plan to spend $117 on their sweethearts this year, down 3 percent from $121 in 2011. And ladies, the gentlemen are the ones ponying up the most. Men said they will

Got some unused gift cards left over from the holidays, but don’t think you’ll use them? (About 5 percent to 7 percent of gift cards go unredeemed every year, according to Plastic Jungle.) Now you can turn them into airline miles. United Continental on Monday unveiled its MileagePlus Gift Card Exhange that allows memebers of the

There’s been some confusion about how the Internal Revenue Service views rewards points. The uproar started when some Citi customers received a 1099-MISC tax form from the bank for the reward miles they got after signing up for a new checking or savings account. The bonus rewards were part of a promotion by Citi. (Tax

American Express wants you to pay an annual fee. That’s one of the takeaways from the credit card issuer’s investor call on Wednesday. And they may not be the only one. Company Chairman and CEO Kenneth Chenault told analysts this week American Express is “driving card fee revenues.” He noted that many of the issuer’s

The new federal consumer watchdog is sniffing at payment protection plans offered by one credit card company, highlighting a profitable plan for issuers that may not be worth your money. Discover said late last month the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.) is checking into the marketing of its payment

It won’t be long before a chip credit card finds its way into your wallet. Visa said Monday that issuers handed out an estimated 1 million EMV-enabled Visa cards as of the end of last year.  That’s up from virtually zero a year and a half ago, according to the global payments technology company. (The

MasterCard is putting more weight behind its push to bring EMV debit and credit cards to the U.S. The credit card company said Monday it’s offering U.S. retailers and ATM owners a road map to make their point-of-sale terminals and cash machines EMV-friendly by April 2013. The company was vague on details, but it did

In Monday’s blog, I wanted to clear up the relationship between credit scores and Suze Orman’s new prepaid card. (The short of it: There’s no connection.) But while I trekked the credit score universe, I came across a few other nuggets about prepaid cards and credit scores that are worth thinking about, especially if you’re

Have you been keeping up with the Suze Orman prepaid card debacle? If not, I’ll fill you in. Earlier this month, the guru of personal finance launched her very own prepaid card. It’s the kind of card that you load up with your own money and swipe it like a debit or credit card at

State senators in Maryland are considering a proposal that will allow parents or guardians to freeze their child’s credit report. The measure highlights an interesting and effective method to protect your identity. A credit or security freeze keeps new creditors from pulling your credit report or reporting information about you to the credit bureaus. However,