Regulation Z requires creditors to disclose all costs and terms before a new credit card's first use. However, according to the board, "Currently, there are few format requirements for these account-opening disclosures, which are typically interspersed among other contractual terms in the creditor's account agreement." |
Credit card customers are awash in choices, able to pick from any number of customized rewards programs, affiliations, fee structures -- even the images decorating the front. But an upstart player is taking on the card network giants, hoping that its innovative features and security -- combined with a deal it hopes merchants can't refuse -- can cut through the noise to find a home in your wallet and on your computer. |
As with the account opening disclosures, there currently are few format requirements for change-in-terms disclosures. Thus consumers generally discover them in notices, amendments or pamphlets seemingly written by a legal whiz but undecipherable to average readers. That will end under the proposals. If the change in terms is one that must be provided in a table in the account-opening summary, it must be provided in a table in any notice of a change in terms. Creditors can also give notice of change-in-terms on your periodic or monthly billing statements, but again, in a table. |
Dear Credit Guy, I have graduated college and found a full-time job, but I have loads of credit card debt to pay off. What is a wise payment plan I can go on to pay off the debt, but also pay my living expenses and possibly set some aside for savings? |
Thought you couldn't get a rental car if you didn't have a credit card? That's probably what you've heard for years from rental car agents at airports, but it may be getting easier for some travelers to rent a car without a credit card. A CreditCards.com survey of the top rental car companies indicates that nearly all of the companies allow you to rent their vehicles without credit cards. However, it may take some work on your part -- and patience -- to get the vehicles. |
The proposed Regulation Z revisions cover two different kinds of disclosures designed to warn consumers who make the minimum payments on their accounts. Paying only the minimum amount each month lengthens the amount of time credit cardholders can take to pay off their debts -- and increases the amount of interest creditors earn from accountholders. The Fed proposes alerting consumers on monthly (periodic) statements about the consequences of minimum payments. The proposal requires credit card issuers to: "provide (1) a 'warning' statement indicating that making only the minimum payment will increase the interest the consumer pays and the time it takes to repay the consumer's balance; (2) a hypothetical example of how long it would take to pay a specified balance in full if only minimum payments are made; and (3) a toll-free telephone number that consumers may call to obtain an estimate of the time it would take to repay their actual account balance using minimum payments." |
Was 2007 a bad year for you and credit card debt? CreditCards.com recommends paying attention to the fine print on credit card contracts, comparing credit card rates and protecting your identity in the coming year. Here are some easy and not-so-easy steps to take: |
Credit card debt is an epidemic in the Western world, most notably in the United States. The combination of large outstanding balances, penalty pricing and late fees often conspires to keep consumers in a vicious cycle. It doesn't help that 74 percent of Americans put holiday gifts on their credit cards, according to a 2006 survey by the Family Credit Counseling Service. |
Dear Credit Guy, In 2006, I invested and lost $13,000 in an Internet scam. To get the money I got cash advances from credit cards. Now I'm stuck living with my in-laws and am tired of living here. I couldn't afford the interest rate so they put all of my debt in their names. My question is if I get the debt put back in my name and quit paying it, will I have bad credit for the rest of my life? Or what will happen if I file bankruptcy? |
Depending on who you ask, today's credit card industry -- a multibillion dollar easy access lending machine -- operates like a deceptive, predatory mafia or is a convenient service for those in need of quick cash. Consumers and advocacy groups complain that banks that issue credit cards unfairly change their rules, hiking annual percentage rates with little notice or changing payment due dates so that consumers are constantly hit with late fees. Banks, on the other hand, contend that people who borrow money should be prepared to repay their debts and banks should be compensated for their risks and losses when lending money. (See what everyone has to say about the credit card reform measures.) |
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