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CARDNEWS FOR CONSUMERS
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(6/29/01)
House of Cards
Taking advantage of sinking second mortgage loan interest rates, more Americans are apparently folding credit card debt into home equity. Since credit card rates have not tracked the downward spiral in general interest rates and do not provide income tax deductibility, the smart money is on home equity lines of credit.
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(6/28/01)
Rate Lag
Interest rate cuts are not filtering down to cardholders due to floor rates, fixed rates, and rates that are adjusted quarterly. While the prime rate has already fallen 275 basis points this year, credit card rates have only dropped by 104 basis points since January.
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(6/26/01)
Student Travel Card
Parents can forget about forking over pocket cash for high school trips. New England-based FirstDebit Corporation has developed a pre-paid MasterCard debit card specifically for high school students traveling in the USA or abroad on school organized trips.
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(6/22/01)
Smart Target
The gimmicks are over as smart payment cards enter prime time in the USA. This week a major retailer has decided to give smart cards a big boost by installing smart card terminals as well as announcing plans to issue millions of smart VISAs.
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(6/21/01)
Starwood Card
If you like Westin and Sheraton hotels your gonna love this deal. American Express and Starwood Hotels & Resorts unveiled a new credit card this week that enables you to earn up to four air miles for every dollar spent.
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(6/20/01)
ATM Safety
For consumers, ATMs represent a point-of-contact with a bank, but it can also mean a point-of-crime with a slimeball. With more than 120,000 ATMs in the U.S. there is a lot of potential for problems which can easily be avoided by using common sense.
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(6/19/01)
North Wind
To escape U.S. law enforcement, scamsters have re-located North of the border to continue preying on ignorant Americans who fall for phony credit card offers. The FTC testified last week that cross-border telemarketing fraud involving advance fee loans and credit cards continues to be a significant problem.
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(6/15/01)
Dad's Day
American dads prefer new clothes for Father's Day rather than event tickets. According to a poll conducted by MasterCard last month, family members expect to spend on average $51.90 per gift for fathers this weekend.
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(6/14/01)
Score Boosting
The nation's top consumer credit bureaus want to help you boost your credit score. Last week, NextCard launched an Internet based credit management and credit education service provided by Experian which offers the ability to compare personal credit scores.
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(6/13/01)
Blue Smarts
The first smart payment card introduced in the USA is looking to "Do More". After launching a "Code Blue" to put more life into its smart card, American Express has now turned to Proton.
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(6/13/01)
Smart ID
Paper ID cards will soon be a thing of the past in China, as the Chinese Ministry of Public Security announced this week a program to upgrade to smart cards. The new national smart ID card will be issued by the end of this year.
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(6/12/01)
Smart Colors
When it comes to smart cards American Express wants you to think Blue. But Providian wants you to think Ruby Red, Forest Green, Sapphire Blue, Topaz Yellow and Moonstone Gray. No question, Providian offers the sexiest line of smart cards in the U.S.
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(6/8/01)
Debt Spike
Believe it or not consumers are piling on credit card debt at a faster clip this year than 2000. During April, American consumers added $9.2 billion to total revolving debt compared to $7.0 billion for April 2000.
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(6/5/01)
Smart Ideas
To put some intelligence into smart cards, VISA USA has launched a competition to produce new ideas or applications for the smart VISA card. More than $200,000 in prize money is at stake and the contest is open to any U.S. resident.
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(6/4/01)
Consolidation Fees
As the economy sputters, more and more cardholders are looking to lower
monthly payments by consolidating credit card balances. But watch out for a
nasty little credit card fee that can wipe out your savings.
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(6/1/01)
Wireless Burgers
Beam up a Big Mac. Chicago consumers are now able to use a wireless device
linked to a credit card to purchase fast food. McDonald's announced this
week it will expand the pilot of ExxonMobil's Speedpass contactless payment
program to more than 400 outlets in the Chicago area.
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