Got Good Credit? Too Bad
Those credit card holders who pride themselves on paying their bills on time, and who have enjoyed rewards in the past for so doing, are in for an unpleasant surprise: They may soon be targeted by the very companies that used to ply them with perks.
Those credit card holders who pride themselves on paying their bills on time, and who have enjoyed rewards in the past for so doing, are in for an unpleasant surprise: They may soon be targeted by the very companies that used to ply them with perks.
WAIT, BEFORE YOU GO…The New York Times:
Now Congress is moving to limit the penalties on riskier borrowers, who have become a prime source of billions of dollars in fee revenue for the industry. And to make up for lost income, the card companies are going after those people with sterling credit.
Banks are expected to look at reviving annual fees, curtailing cash-back and other rewards programs and charging interest immediately on a purchase instead of allowing a grace period of weeks, according to bank officials and trade groups.
“It will be a different business,” said Edward L. Yingling, the chief executive of the American Bankers Association, which has been lobbying Congress for more lenient legislation on behalf of the nation’s biggest banks. “Those that manage their credit well will in some degree subsidize those that have credit problems.”
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They feel Americans have demonstrated that they value discounts more than intangible privacy concerns.
The justices sided with big corporations Thursday when they ruled 5-3 that companies can write contracts that force small businesses to challenge monopolistic practices on an unaffordable individual arbitration basis rather than through class-action lawsuits, effectively killing the ability of small businesses to defend themselves in court against larger predatory ones.The justices effectively killed the ability of small businesses to defend themselves in court against large predatory companies.
Consumer borrowing shot up $15.5 billion in June -- three times more than projected -- in the biggest increase in credit in four years, with credit card and other types of revolving debt rising by $5.21 billion -- the largest jump since spring of 2008. (more)
Everyone knows you have to pay a municipal sales tax on your purchases, but what about a corporate Visa tax that's levied by credit card companies?
Joining in the unhappy trend of mass layoffs, American Express announced Thursday that 10 percent of the credit card company's work force will soon be cut due to the current economic crisis.
The McCain-Palin campaign team might soon borrow a page from the celebrity crisis management handbook (see Chap. 11: Poke Fun at Yourself on a Late-Night Comedy Show), if the rumor that Sarah Palin is considering an appearance alongside her "Saturday Night Live" doppelgänger Tina Fey comes true before the Nov. 4 election.
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