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(4/30/03) Debit Suit In a stunning move this week, and shortly before the start of the trial for the Wal-Mart debit card antitrust lawsuit against VISA and MasterCard, U.S. District Judge John Gleeson announced that a settlement had been reached between MasterCard and the merchant plaintiffs. Under terms of the deal, MasterCard has agreed to pay the equivalent of $1 billion in damages, cut fees for off-line debit card transactions, and make concessions over the "Honor All Cards" policy. -(READ MORE)	(4/29/03) A-Plus Rewards AirTran Airways has upgraded its "A-Plus Rewards" loyalty program and is hitting mailboxes this month for its new "AirTran A-Plus Platinum VISA." The revamped frequent traveler program now offers "Elite" status to customers flying ten roundtrips in 90 days or 25 roundtrips in one year in coach. -(READ MORE)
(4/28/03) Debit Transactions Last year Americans purchased $180 billion of stuff using a PIN with a debit card at retailers nationwide. By contrast, U.S. consumers made $318 billion in purchases during 2002 using a VISA or MasterCard-branded debit card without a PIN. -(READ MORE)	(4/24/03) Big 3 Profits The nation's three largest credit card issuers posted $1.4 billion in profits during the first three months of this year, a 19% jump over same period in 2002. Citibank, MBNA, and Bank One now control 40% of the U.S. bank credit card market, based on outstanding balances. Citibank's global credit card profits jumped 27% in the first quarter to $735 million. -(READ MORE)
(4/23/03) Deadbeat's Revenge Losses in the sub-prime credit card market are continuing to set new records. A decade ago it was very difficult for consumers with no credit history, or a bad credit history, to qualify for an unsecured credit card. That all changed in the mid-90s when some credit card issuers decided to go bottom fishing for new customers. -(READ MORE)	(4/22/03) Call for Action Victims of personal identity theft now have a new shoulder to lean on when it comes to putting their financial life back together. VISA and Call For Action have teamed to provide victims of identity theft with free, confidential counseling as well as assistance of trained professionals to walk consumers step-by-step through the process of getting their identities back, including providing important phone numbers for law enforcement and credit bureaus that need to be notified. -(READ MORE)
(4/21/03) MyPoints MasterCard Citibank and MyPoints.com have teamed to launch a new co-branded, rewards MasterCard. The new "Citi MyPoints Rewards Platinum Select MasterCard" will be marketed to ten million members of MyPoints "True Opt-in" database. -(READ MORE)	(4/18/03) WWF Coins Those mean green coin-counting machines in supermarkets across the country can now be used to save endangered species. The World Wildlife Fund has teamed with Coinstar to accept donations through a feature available on most of its 10,000 machines installed at participating supermarkets. -(READ MORE)
(4/16/03) ID Fraud Fighter The nation's three major credit bureaus have teamed to simplify the process of notifying them about identity fraud. ID fraud victims can now make one toll-free call to any of the nationwide credit reporting companies and the company contacted will share that information with the other two. -(READ MORE)	(4/15/03) GM 4-Play The pioneer of co-branded rewards-based bank credit cards continues to deliver solid results more than 11 years after its launch. General Motors and Household Bank reported that the "GM MasterCard" recently passed the 4 million mark in new GM vehicle redemptions. -(READ MORE)
(4/14/03) Exchange Fees A California Superior Court judge last week ordered VISA and MasterCard to refund more than $800 million in foreign currency conversion fees to cardholders. Now, American Express has been sued over the same issue. The California court also ordered the card associations to amend their operating rules to require their issuing members to make effective disclosure of the currency conversion fees charged to consumers. -(READ MORE)	(4/11/03) Last Minute Charge With "Tax Day" coming up next week, keep in mind that you have the option of charging your balance-due taxes on all major credit cards. This year, the IRS and 22 states and Washington, DC offer taxpayers the credit card option. Official Payments Corporation is the official provider of these services. -(READ MORE)
(4/10/03) Debt Rebound Consumer revolving credit continued its rebound in February, growing at an annual rate of 9.0% compared to 2.2% one year ago. Americans added $5.4 billion to revolving credit in February, compared to $2.6 billion in February 2001. -(READ MORE)	(4/9/03) Credit Counseling Crisis As consumer debt problems grow, about nine million Americans seek out a consumer credit counseling agency annually. But a new report shows that consumers may be getting a raw deal as a new generation of credit-counseling agencies often harm debtors with improper advice, deceptive practices, excessive fees and abuse of their non-profit status. -(READ MORE)
(4/8/03) Sub-Prime Lawsuit An issuer offering VISA cards to the "credit challenged," has come under fire for its business practices. Last week, the Minnesota Attorney General and the New York Attorney General filed separate lawsuits against Delaware-based Cross Country Bank. -(READ MORE)	(4/7/03) Skip PIN & WIN!!! Missouri-based Commerce Bank is beefing up its promotion to encourage customers to sign for their debit card purchases instead of using the PIN. Now in its fifth year, the "Skip the PIN, Sign and Win" sweepstakes will offer three $10,000 bonus prizes. -(READ MORE)
(4/4/03) Blue Cash The success of the American Express "Cash Rebate Card" has now been extended to its "Blue" smart card product. The new "Blue Cash Card" in the USA will offer a cash rebate of up to 5%. The annual cash reward for purchases is up to 3%. There is an additional rebate of up to 2% for purchases in months in which the account carries a balance. -(READ MORE)	(4/3/03) South of the Border South of the Border Cardholders of the Discover card will soon be able to use their cards when travelling within Mexico. Discover, launched in 1985, is primarily a domestic card with acceptance at 4 million U.S merchants, and at some travel related merchants in Canada and the Caribbean. -(READ MORE)
(4/2/03) Rewarding Cards American Express' new rewards charge cards have been rewarding for the issuer too. The new AmEx "Rewards Green" and "Rewards Gold" charge cards, along with the earlier introduction of the AmEx "Cash Rebate Card" have produced 500,000 new cards issued. -(READ MORE)	(4/1/03) DNC Fees While consumers will have free access to the new national "do not call" registry, telemarketers will have to pony up. The Federal Trade Commission announced last week it intends require sellers to pay a $29 annual fee, per area code, for access to the national registry. The maximum annual fee would be $7,250. -(READ MORE)