credit cards

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It's the Sharpest Credit Drop Since the Great Recession

FICO data shows borrowers are falling behind nationwide

(Newser) - From credit cards to student loans, Americans are missing payments—and their credit scores are paying the price. CNN reports credit scores are falling at the fastest pace since the Great Recession as borrowers struggle with high inflation, soaring interest rates, the return of student loan payments, and the sheer...

Platinum Is Now the Priciest Luxury Card

American Express says card now has $3.5K in annual rewards and credits, for an $895 fee

(Newser) - American Express is hiking the annual fee on its flagship Platinum Card, raising it from $695 to $895—a 29% increase that puts it atop the list of priciest premium cards on the US market. The change introduced Thursday comes with a revamped rewards package Amex says now exceeds...

Americans Could Save $100B if Trump Caps Credit Card Rates

Vanderbilt research supports president's campaign promise, as do lawmakers of both parties

(Newser) - Americans would save roughly $100 billion a year in interest costs if President Trump's campaign proposal to cap credit card interest rates at 10% nationally is implemented, according to a paper published by Vanderbilt University on Thursday. Further, the paper finds that banks and credit card companies would be...

Hard Times Fall for 6-Figure Earners, Too

Delinquencies surge as job market cools, costs climb

(Newser) - A growing number of high-income Americans—those earning more than $150,000 annually—are starting to fall behind on credit card and auto loan payments, according to new data from credit-scoring firm VantageScore. Delinquency rates for these households have more than doubled since 2023, outpacing the increases seen among...

You a 'Transactor' or 'Revolver'? Credit Card Firms Know
A Two-Tiered System
Defines Credit Cards
analysis
Mar 30, 2025 3:30 PM CDT

A Two-Tiered System Defines Credit Cards

Annie Lowery of the Atlantic explains how the rich benefit at the expense of the poor

(Newser) - People with comfortable incomes tend to pay off their credit card bills every month to avoid fees and interest, plus they collect cash-back rewards, travel points, and other perks to boot. These people, explains Annie Lowery at the Atlantic , are known in the industry as the "transactors." To...

With Eye on Fraud Crackdown, Mastercard Makes $2.65B Bid

Card-issuer will buy threat intelligence company Recorded Future

(Newser) - Mastercard is buying global threat intelligence company Recorded Future for $2.65 billion to strengthen its cybersecurity services. The card issuer has been attempting to enhance fraud protections for customers and in May it rolled out a software update that integrated artificial intelligence into its fraud-prediction technology. The company believes...

A Record Amount Is on Americans' Credit Cards

National tab tops $1T, New York Fed finds

(Newser) - Americans owe more money than ever on their credit cards: $1.14 trillion. That's after consumers added $27 billion to their tab in the second quarter, a 5.8% jump from the year before, a new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York says. Credit card delinquency...

Huge Credit Card Late Fees May Be Going Away

New regulation capping late charges at $8 goes into effect in spring, but banks will likely push back

(Newser) - Back in October, the White House announced an ambitious initiative to get rid of rampant junk fees, including in the banking industry. On Tuesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a big move toward that end, with a new regulation that will significantly reduce the late fees that customers have...

Capital One-Discover Deal Faces 'Gale-Force Headwinds'
Capital One-Discover Deal
Seen as 'Dangerous'
THE RUNDOWN
Feb 21, 2024 9:03 AM CST

Capital One-Discover Deal Seen as 'Dangerous'

Sen. Elizabeth Warren leads charge against $35B merger, saying it will hurt 'working people'

(Newser) - Capital One announced on Monday that it was buying Discover Financial Services, in a $35 billion deal to combine two of the nation's largest credit-card firms. But experts say it will take at least a year for the merger to be completed, and there's already pushback from advocacy...

Deal Would Combine Two Credit Card Giants
One Credit Card Giant
Is Buying Another
UPDATED
Feb 19, 2024 8:54 PM CST

One Credit Card Giant Is Buying Another

Capital One will take over Discover in all-stock transaction

(Newser) - Capital One and Discover Financial Services announced Monday that, as expected, the former is buying the latter for $35 billion. Discover's shareholders will receive shares of Capital One valued at almost $140, per the news release cited by the AP . Discover shares were trading at $110.49 when trading...

Americans' Credit Card Debt Is at Record Levels

'Significant stress' is emerging for lower-income people

(Newser) - While the US economy is broadly healthy, pockets of Americans have run through their savings and run up their credit card balances after battling inflation for more than two years. Experts worry that members of these groups—mostly lower- and middle-income Americans, who tend to be renters—are falling behind...

By Returning What He Stole in 1999, Thief Revealed Himself

He used his credit card to pay to ship the gold-painted weathervane back

(Newser) - A thief returned what he stole more than two decades ago anonymously—but he didn't remain anonymous for long. AFP reports a gold-painted weathervane that sat atop a Catholic cross in southwestern France was taken from its perch in April 1999. Over the years, historian Michel Sabatery wrote about...

Macy's Says Consumers Are Having Financial Problems

There's been a steep rise in failures to make credit card payments

(Newser) - In what could be a warning sign for the wider US economy, Macy's says it's dealing with a steep rise in the number of customers who are failing to make credit card payments. Macy's CFO/COO Adrian Mitchell told Wall Street analysts Tuesday that the company was surprised...

An Ex-Roommate of Santos Emerges With New Allegation

Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha says congressman was the one behind his 2017 ATM fraud scheme

(Newser) - A man convicted of fraud in a 2017 credit card skimming scheme in Seattle is now blaming a familiar name for setting the entire operation up. "I am coming forward today to declare that the person in charge of the crime of credit card fraud when I was arrested...

Household Debt Just Had Its Biggest Increase Since 2007

Researchers say credit card, mortgage balances are rising sharply

(Newser) - During the early days of the pandemic, consumers weren't breaking out their credit cards. Those days are behind us. Household debt is now surging, with credit card balances seeing their biggest rise in more than 20 years in the third quarter of this year, researchers say. The Federal Reserve...

Visa Delivers Big Win to Gun Control Advocates

Payment processor will start categorizing gun shop sales

(Newser) - Payment processor Visa Inc. said Saturday that it plans to start separately categorizing sales at gun shops, a major win for gun control advocates who say it will help better track suspicious surges of gun sales that could be a prelude to a mass shooting. But the decision by Visa,...

Mastercard Users, Say Goodbye to the Magnetic Stripe

Card issuer is doing away with them entirely by 2033

(Newser) - The magnetic strip will soon be a thing of the past for Mastercard users. The card company plans to do away with the strips on all of the credit and debit cards it issues by 2029, and the cards will have been completely phased out by 2033. New cards will...

Kevin Hart's Personal Shopper Charged With Stealing From Star

Dylan Jason Syer accused of spending $1M on himself

(Newser) - Kevin Hart's former personal shopper apparently thought "personal" applied to himself. Dylan Jason Syer of Long Island City, NY, is facing up to 25 years in prison after allegedly stealing more than $1 million from the actor, the BBC reports. Syer, who ran the personal shopper business Sire...

This Nation May Soon Run Out of Credit Card Numbers

So many people are shopping at home during pandemic that it's facing a dearth of digits

(Newser) - In one sense, the extra credit cards that nearly 300 companies in Japan are issuing during the pandemic due to more people doing their shopping at home is a boon. In another sense, it's causing quite the headache. The Mainichi reports that, because so many people are requesting new...

This State Needs to Put Its Credit Cards in the Freezer

Alaska has the most credit card debt in America

(Newser) - Many people are struggling with money as the pandemic continues, and resorting to plastic has become even more of a crutch. WalletHub looked at all 50 states and the District of Columbia, using TransUnion credit data to review each state's median credit-card balance and monthly credit-card payment, assuming a...

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