Posted by Peter Brady on Fri 1st December 2006 at 06:00 AM, Filed in US Credit Cards
If you fancy the opportunity of winning a fuel efficient Toyota Prius you should consider applying for a GE Money Low APR Platinum MasterCard.
The offer includes:
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According to Newsnet5 Local authorities in Ohio are looking for a man accused of stealing credit cards and using them in a spending spree amounting to more than $100,000.
Apparently, surveillance video captured the man leaving a Target store in Streetsboro. In understatement of the year Police said “he has expensive tastes when he shops with the stolen credit and debit cards.”
“He’s going big ticket, plasma screen TVs, electronic equipment, and then he goes to the banks to get cash advances upwards to $14,000,” said Twinsburg police Lt. Jeffrey Nash.
With UK banks being squeezed over unfair charging, I guess it was only a matter of time before we would end up paying elsewhere to plug the gap.
According to Easier Finance:
“Following the OFTs cap on fees, card providers will need to reintroduce annual card fees of up to £35 or raise interest rates by up to 2% to recoup losses estimated at £1bn, claims a report issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).”
Michelle Slade, analyst at moneyfacts.co.uk comments: “Credit card providers have not been slow to react. In the three months following the OFT intervention, Moneyfacts researchers found 19 card providers increase interest rates by an average of 2.5%. With some unlucky customers facing rises of 5%, 6% and even as much as 12%, so it looks as if the £1bn reclaim is already well under way.”
“The trend of introducing card fees has also begun. Recently Lloyds TBS launched a new card, Premier Amex with a £4.95 per month fee available for Premier Current Account customers, offering a comprehensive range of benefits. But more interestingly, last week Co-operative Bank announced that for new and existing customers, their Platinum Tracker and Northern Rock Base Rate Visa would both carry a £2 per month fee. So while the Co-operative received special attention, in cutting its default fees to below the OFTs recommended £12 threshold, with default fees lowered to £11, this recent introduction of a monthly fee will prove unwelcome news for their customers.”
Posted by Peter Brady on Wed 8th November 2006 at 06:00 AM, Filed in US Credit Cards
The New York Times reports on the privacy pitfalls of no swipe credit cards. Oh boy isn’t that a worry!
According to the article researchers Tom Heydt Benjamin and Kevin Fu were able to easily retrieve data from the new cards - data without encryption and in plain text.
“They could skim and store the information from a card with a device the size of a couple of paperback books, which they cobbled together from readily available computer and radio components for $150. They say they could probably make another one even smaller and cheaper: about the size of a pack of gum for less than $50. And because the cards can be read even through a wallet or an item of clothing, the security of the information, the researchers say, is startlingly weak. Would you be comfortable wearing your name, your credit card number and your card expiration date on your T-shirt?’ Mr. Heydt-Benjamin, a graduate student, asked.”
If you’re a college student you may want to check out the Chase +1 Student Visa Card with Flexible Rewards.
Aesthetically it’s a very nice looking piece of kit - shades of the Amex Black!
Chase say:
“When you buy your clothes, gear and tunes why not choose to reward yourself? Save with low interest rates, get great cardmember benefits, and establish your credit history at the same time.”
The features include:
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