All Discover Student Credit Cards Now Offering 0% on Purchases for 9 Months

Great news for anyone interested in any Discover Student credit card: All Discover Student cards now feature 0% intro APR on purchases for 9 months. This new introductory APR period makes the Discover line of student credit cards the most competitive in the industry. The next best deal, offered by another large credit-card bank, offers 0% intro APR on purchases for 7 months.

You can find the best Discover Student card offers at the United States Prime Rate website here.

It's encouraging to see that, despite continuing stress in the domestic economy (high unemployment, lackluster growth), 0% credit card offers continue to improve, even for college students. We're hoping to see student credit cards that offer 0% intro APR on new purchases and balance transfers at some point.

Enjoy!

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Discover 24 Month Promotional 0% Balance Transfer Card Is Ratcheted Back to 18 Months

Discover's 24 Month Promotional Balance Transfer card, which offered 0% intro APR on transferred balances for a full 2 years, is no longer available. Not good news, but please don't shoot the messenger!

But today's credit-card news isn't all bad.

Discover has a new promotional, long duration, 0% balance transfer credit card, which offers 0% intro APR on transferred balances for 18 months. This card has no annual fee, but has a 4% balance transfer fee.

Yes, 2 years of freedom from paying interest on credit-card debt is awesome, but, hey, a year and a half of freedom from interest is pretty darn good too.

You can find Discover's new long duration 0% balance transfer card here.

NB: The 18 Month Promotional Balance Transfer card won't be available forever (hence "promotional") so if you plan of taking advantage of this particular offer, procrastination is not recommended.

And, yes, there's even more positive news.

Discover has a new 15 Month Intro APR card, which offers 0% intro APR on both new credit-card purchases and transferred balances, for a full 15 months. You can find this high-value card here.

So, as of May 3, 2011, the two cards described in this blog entry are currently the best 0% credit cards available in the American market. Enjoy!

For more, visit this page.

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No Balance Transfer Fee 0% Credit Cards Are Back

It was December 9, 2008 when we reported that the last no fee balance transfer, 0% credit card on offer from a major bank had been discontinued. It was the Bank of America Pet Rewards Visa card. You can read that post here. Back then, banks large and small were imploding all across America, and all types of loans became very hard to find. Credit cards were not spared. Banks were closing accounts, cutting credit limits and saying "no" to even the best borrowers who applied for credit. If you had any credit cards back then, you probably remember how bad it was. If you didn't have a credit card during the peak of the financial crisis, then read this post to get idea of how ugly it was.

Fast forward to today. Small regional banks are still vulnerable, but most of the big players are healthy, thanks to the American taxpayer (massive bailouts), and the Federal Reserve (extremely cheap loans.) In fact, banks are still able to borrow from the Fed @ next to 0%, then lend it right back to the Treasury Department and make more than 3%. Might not sound like much, but when you're talking about 8 and 9 figure sums moving around, the profits can be substantial. For the banks, this is some of the easiest arbitrage on the planet, no doubt.

Lots of Americans are still very angry about the bailouts, and for good reason. But at least we now have enough large, reputable and healthy banks that they now have the power to compete without worrying about going broke.

A clear sign that banks are strong, confident and ready to compete is the return favorable of credit-card offers, including our favorite type of card: the 0% intro APR, no fee balance transfer credit card. Yummy.

Discover has two new and very attractive offers. The No Balance Transfer Fee card, to which you can transfer a balance with no transfer fees, and pay no interest for 12 months, and the 24 Month Promotional card, which offers 0% intro APR on transferred balance for a full 2 years. You can find these cards here. These are both extremely consumer friendly offers, but there is one caveat: both offers are for a limited time; they'll expire on February 28, 2011. Right now, these two cards are, quite easily, the best 0% credit cards available in the United States. We're hoping that these cards will be so popular that Discover will keep these offers going after February.

So if you were a bit too jolly during the 2010 Christmas shopping season, and you want to avoid paying burdensome finance charges on the debt associated with your Xmas spending spree(s), then don't hesitate to apply for one of these new Discover cards.

PS: if you're approved for the new Discover No Balance Transfer Fee card, you will also be able to take advantage of 0% intro APR on new purchases for 12 full months. With the new 0% intro APR for 24 Months balance transfer card, the new purchase interest-free period is 6 months. Enjoy!

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Plain Vanilla Discover More Card Now The #1 Credit Card @ www.BalanceTransfer.cc

Based solely on the number of applications submitted via this website, the plain vanilla (or "classic") Discover More Card is now the most popular credit card we recommend, knocking the Discover More Black Card to second place. Why are visitors more interested in the plain vanilla card when they could choose the Black Card, or the Discover More $100 CashBack Bonus card? Simple: the classic More Card is now offering the best 0% balance transfer deal: 0% intro APR on transferred balances for 18 months. Here's how these cards look right now, from a 0% intro APR point of view:

Discover More Card (plain vanilla):

• 0% intro APR on transferred balances for 18 months
• 0% intro APR on new purchases for 6 months
  
  

Discover More Black Card:

• 0% intro APR on transferred balances for 12 months
• 0% intro APR on new purchases for 12 months

Discover More Card with $100 CashBack Bonus:

• 0% intro APR on transferred balances for 12 months
• 0% intro APR on new purchases for 6 months

It seems that the 18 month interest-free period being offered by the plain vanilla More Card is just too attractive a deal to pass up. Godspeed to all applicants.

In general, the rate of application approvals is still improving, albeit at a very moderate clip. We'd like to see credit-card banks approve a lot more applications, especially since American credit-card banks are doing OK these days, and because they have the implicit support of the federal government. Banks are healthy, and they should be willing and able to take more risks. Banks have been able to borrow at 0% - 0.25% and lend at much higher rates, like the rates consumers pay on credit cards. And the easy money isn't going to end any time soon. The Fed is going to keep the target fed funds rate at near zero for as long as it takes to get the economy growing fast enough to bring the unemployment rate down, no doubt.

More evidence of improving credit-card units at big banks, from reports of third-quarter performance. From Chase:

"...JPMorgan Chase Reports Third-Quarter 2010 Net Income of $4.4 Billion, or $1.01 Per Share, on Revenue1 of $24.3 Billion...Card Services sales volume up compared with prior year and quarter; 2.7 million new accounts opened during the quarter; net charge-offs and delinquencies continued to improve..."

From Discover Financial Services:

"...Discover card sales volume of $24 billion in the quarter continued to show positive growth trends, increasing 5% from the prior year.

• Net interest margin of 9.16% remained relatively stable as compared to the prior quarter, as the impact of legislative changes was offset by lower interest charge-offs.

• Credit performance continued to improve, with net charge-offs down $102 million from the prior quarter and a net chargeoff rate for the third quarter of 7.18%.

• Loans over 30 days delinquent declined $180 million in the quarter, which led to a $187 million release of loan loss
reserves.

• Payment Services processed record transaction volume in the quarter of $39 billion and showed continued strong results with profit before tax up 36% from the prior year..."

And here's a clutch of clips from a very recent and excellent WSJ article (WSJ is always great, ain't it?) about easing credit-card delinquencies:

"...At American Express, which has an affluent cardholder base, borrowers at least a month behind in their card payments fell to 2.3% in October from 2.5% in September..."

"...Discover said charge-offs totaled 6.83% of credit-card loans that have been packaged into bonds, down from 7.15%. The 30-day delinquency rate fell to 4.34% from 4.41%. Its shares rose 2.4% to $19.05. Discover and its bigger rival, American Express, process card transactions in addition to issuing credit cards..."

"...J.P. Morgan Chase said charge-offs fell to 7% from 7.78% and delinquencies fell to 3.81% from 3.82%..."

"...Bank of America has consistently reported a higher write-off rate than other major U.S. card issuers. Delinquencies were lower, at 5.6% compared with 5.71%..."

"...At Capital One, a card-lender-turned-bank, charge-offs in its U.S. credit-card business fell to an annualized 7.26% in October from 8.38% in September, according to a regulatory filing Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The 30-day delinquency rate continued to fall, to 4.45% from 4.53%..."

Based on our own data here @ www.BalanceTransfer.cc, credit-card approvals by all the major credit-card banks peaked during the first quarter of 2007. We're looking forward to the day banks approve applications like they did back then. Americans need access to credit to feel prosperous and spend, and that spending will contribute much to getting this economy back to strong and sustainable growth, which in turn will bring the jobless rate down.

The old "I'll use the equity in my home as an ATM and buy all the stuff I want" paradigm is dead, or at least in a very deep coma. Waiting for it to return...that would be like Waiting for Godot.

Based my own very recent experience, I'd say the American consumer is itching to spend like the good old days of 2007 (ahhhh, the memories!) After enjoying a fabulous Thanksgiving meal, I took a midnight trip to Wal-Mart, in an effort to burn off some calories. It was the first minutes of Black Friday. The store was a war zone. There was special fencing at the entrance, and a very noticeable police presence. And the lines: unbelievable. They stretched back to the opposite end of the store, which translated to a 2+ hour wait, in my estimation. Eveyone looked very stressed, which was very puzzling to me. After all, these shoppers knew what to expect. For me, it was fun to watch the madness.

I do all my Xmas shopping the day after Christmas. Excellent sales, and manageable lines. I'm too old and busy for the Black Friday thing.

Stay tuned for more 0% credit card updates. Thanks for reading.

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Discover More with $75 CashBack Is Now Discover More with $100 Cashback

Some interesting news out of Discover today. The Discover More Card with $75 CashBack is now the Discover More Card with $100 CashBack. Value has truly increased with this reconfigured card. That's because the amount of spending one must do to qualify for the cash bonus hasn't changed, i.e., spend $500 within your first 3 months as a cardholder. This revamped card is available here.

This card also features the same generous cashback rewards that are the hallmark of the Discover More family of credit cards: 5% cashback when spending within certain categories like grocery and drugs stores, dining, hotels, theme parks, travel and more. Cardholders also earn up to 1% cashback on all other purchases.

Cashback rewards don't expire, but:

"... if your account is closed for any reason or inactive for 18 consecutive months or if you fail to make any Minimum Payment Due for two consecutive billing periods, any Cashback Bonus in your Cashback Bonus account will be forfeited..."

So, as long as you don't shelve the card for a year and a half, and as long as you make payments on time, your rewards won't disappear.

Discover may have reconfigured this card to compete with the Chase Freedom Visa® credit card with $100 cash back bonus. This Discover credit card may be more attractive to consumers, however, because with the Chase Freedom $100 cash back bonus card, the cardholder must spend at least $799 within the first 3 months, whereas the Discover card requires only $500-worth of spending within the same period.

Yup: competition in the financial services industry is always a good thing! Amen. Enjoy!

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News from Discover Bodes Well for the Future of 0% Credit Cards

The stock market performed well today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 1.37% to close @ 10,753.62, while the broader S&P 500 added 1.52% to close @ 1,142.71. Financial stocks contributed to the day's advances, with companies like American Express (+3.6%) and JP Morgan Chase (+2.1%) looking good to investors.

Another shining star in the financial sector was Discover Financial Services, which gained 2.4%. Earlier in the day, the company reported third-quarter net income of $261,000,000, and added:

"...Credit performance continued to improve, with net charge-offs down $102 million from the prior quarter and a net chargeoff rate for the third quarter of 7.18%...'

"...The very positive credit trends that began to manifest themselves earlier this year continued to benefit our results this quarter,'...'The ongoing improvement in the outlook for credit performance of our cardmembers has enabled us to accelerate investments for long-term profitable growth. In addition, Discover card spending continued to grow nicely this quarter and our third-party credit and debit network businesses achieved record transaction volumes..."

This news is significant because it means that the approval rate for the most popular 0% credit card we recommend here at www.BalanceTransfer.cc, i.e. the Discover More Black Card -- is very likely to increase. Great news for anyone shopping for a consumer-friendly 0% Intro APR credit card.

Another reason stocks did well today: According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession ended in June of last year, which means talk of a double-dip recession for the United States should abate:

"...The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research met yesterday by conference call. At its meeting, the committee determined that a trough in business activity occurred in the U.S. economy in June 2009. The trough marks the end of the recession that began in December 2007 and the beginning of an expansion. The recession lasted 18 months, which makes it the longest of any recession since World War II. Previously the longest postwar recessions were those of 1973-75 and 1981-82, both of which lasted 16 months.

In determining that a trough occurred in June 2009, the committee did not conclude that economic conditions since that month have been favorable or that the economy has returned to operating at normal capacity. Rather, the committee determined only that the recession ended and a recovery began in that month..."

Of course, we could get another economic downturn in the near term, but if we do, it would be considered a new recession, and not a double-dip for the recent Great Recession.

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Credit Card Offers Continue to Improve Despite Weak Economy

To be perfectly honest, I don't see how the American economy can continue to expand while there are still some major economic hurdles to overcome:

• Unemployment is still high, and will probably eventually settle at a rate much higher than Americans are used to. It's a whole new economy, no doubt. Anyone waiting for the jobless rate to drop below 6% is an anachronism. Tomorrow's July employment report from the Labor Department: expect ugliness.
  
  
• Banks and corporations are hoarding billions in cash. Result: banks aren't lending the way they're supposed to, and companies aren't hiring like they used to. Banks are still collapsing at an alarming rate, while businesses of all sizes have been enjoying significant productivity gains since cutting back on labor during the Great Recession; they don't want to give those gains up.
  
  
• Home prices aren't improving in any meaningful way. Moreover, the residential foreclosure crisis is still going strong.
  
  
• The national debt is unimaginably high, and there is no political will to bring it down while the jobless rate is painfully elevated.
  
  
• The very real threat of deflation likely means that a return to sustainable growth and prosperity are years away.
  
  
• Distressed commercial real estate (commercial properties that are delinquent, in default, in bankruptcy, in foreclosure or are bank-owned) are rising fast.
  

Double-dip recession? I certainly don't want to see it happen, but I know it could easily become a reality. Here's what former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao had to say about it in a recent TV interview:





Yet, despite the dismal economic climate, credit card offers continue to improve.

Discover recently came out with the Black card, which has the best 0% Intro APR on both transferred balances and new purchases of all Discover cards, and also has the best cashback rewards program. We've always liked Discover's cashback program because it's easy to use and it's one of the most generous cashback programs in the American consumer credit card market.

Just as appealing as the Black Card, Discover has another new card: the Discover More Card with a $75 cashback bonus. This card is great because it offers the same 12 month interest-free period on transferred balances as the Black Card, but also adds a bonus $75 on top of it's already generous rewards program. In order to qualify for the $75 bonus, cardholders have to make $500-worth of new purchases within 3 months. Not hard, really.

Chase is also coming out with new, attractive offers. Chase has the standard Freedom Card, which is a great rewards credit card, but it also has 2 special variants of Freedom: Freedom with a $100 cashback bonus and Freedom with a $50 cashback bonus:

• With the Freedom $100 cashback bonus card, the cardholder must spend $799 on new purcahses with the card in order to qualify for the bonus. Not as easy as the Discover cashback bonus card, but, then again, the bonus is $25 higher with this Chase card.
  
  
• With the Freedom $50 cashback bonus card, the bonus is easy to earn. You get $50 after making one purchase with the card. Sweet.
  

There's also the new Chase Slate credit card, which offers 0% intro APR on new purchases and transferred balance for 12 months (Elite pricing, i.e. reserved for those with excellent credit.)

0% intro APR, no fee balance transfer credit cards are alive and well in the UK. When they'll return to the American market is anybody's guess. Hopefully soon. Thanks for reading.

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Discover Releases A Biodegradable Version of The Discover More Card

While campaigning for the White House, Senator Barack Obama promised America that he would create 5 million "green jobs" over the next ten years. Following through, President Obama tagged $60 billion of stimulus cash for investment in clean energy and technologies. For some perspective: the Obama administration has committed more money to foster America's green economy than the gross domestic product of Luxembourg.

Complaints about all the planned green spending have been few.

It's clear that green movement is no passing fad, so many companies are trying to figure out how to capitalize on America's burgeoning love for and commitment to all things green. Discover Financial Services' (DFS) answer: a new version of the popular Discover More card that's biodegradable.

The Biodegradable Discover More Card is made from a special PVC plastic that's designed to safely breakdown when exposed to conditions similar to those found in landfills.

Card features and benefits include:

• 0% introductory APR on new purchases and balance transfers for 6 months.
  
  
• After the introductory honeymoon is over, the new purchases APR is 10.99% - 18.99%, depending on the cardholder's credit quality. For transferred balances, the "goto" rate is 10.99%.
  
  
• 5% Cashback Bonus® in categories like travel, home improvement stores, department stores, gas, restaurants, pet stores and many more
  
  
• Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus® on all other purchases
  
  
• 5% to 20% Cashback Bonus® through our exclusive online shopping site
  
  
• No annual fee
  

For each transferred balance, the fee is 3%, with no minimum and no maximum.

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No Fee Balance Transfer Update

No Balance Transfer Fee

In our last post at this blog, we confirmed that the Bank of America (BofA) Pet Rewards Visa® card was still offering 0% intro APR on transferred balances, with no balance transfer fee. Today's news isn't good: this card was discontinued yesterday. I felt a need to confirm this somber news because sometimes a bank will discontinue a credit product from affiliate sites like www.BalanceTransfer.cc, but the product can still be found on the bank's website. So I searched for this card using my favorite search engine and found that it was still listed on the BofA website. For clarification, I decided to have another online conversation with a BofA representative. The conversation ended a few minutes ago; here's how that conversation went:

Current Transcript of the Chat Session. Thank you for choosing Bank of America. An operator will be with you shortly. You are now chatting with Amanda.

Amanda: Hello, thank you for joining Bank of America online chat. I am here to assist you in selecting new accounts that fit your needs. How can I assist you today?

you: Hello

you: I want to know if the Bank of America PetRewards® Visa® card is still available

Amanda: No I am sorry it is not.

Amanda: It was discontinued yesterday.

you: OK, so Bank of America hasn't had a chance to remove all pages related to this card yet, is that right?

you: I was able to find this card with a Google search

Amanda: That's not our site so they may still have it (?)

Amanda: However if you try to get to the application you will get an error.

you: Ok, well thanks for your time

Amanda: You’re very welcome.

Amanda: Are you looking for a balance transfer card?

you: yes

Amanda: How much are you looking to transfer?

you: I'm looking for 0% intro APR on introductory balance transfers, with no balance transfer fee

you: I'm looking to transfer about $4,000

Amanda: Well we don't have a card with no fee but we do have cards with 0% APR for 15 months on balance transfers and then we give you $25.00 back for doing the transfer. So once you get the credit back the fee would only be like $95.00

you: are you referring to the Bank of America Cash Rewards card?

Amanda: That is one of them

you: OK, so I'd like to know the other cards with similar terms and benefits

Amanda: Please click here for information regarding our Visa Signature with WorldPoints.

Amanda: Please click here for information regarding our WorldPoints Platinum Plus MasterCard.

Amanda: Are you still with me? Please respond so I can leave this chat window open to answer any application questions you may have.

you: I have all the information I need. Thanks and have a great day.

Amanda: You’re very welcome.

Right now, the best 0% credit card in the American market is the Discover More Card, which currently offers 0% intro APR on introductory balance transfers for 12 months, with a transfer fee of 3%. Unfortunately, there is no longer a cap on the transfer fee with Discover More, so if, for example, you want to transfer $3,500 or more, the transfer fee would be at least $105.

But you do have options, like the Bank of America Visa® Signature® WorldPoints Rewards credit card, which now offers 0% intro APR on introductory balance transfers for 15 months, with a balance transfer fee of 3%. This is one of the cards the BofA representative recommended during our online conversation (which I posted above.) With this card, there is the added benefit of a $25 statement credit that you can use to reduce the balance transfer fee. So if you were to transfer $4,000 to this card, the real transfer fee would be:

• $4,000.00 X 0.03 (transaction fee) = $120.00
• $120.00 - $25 (statement credit) = $95.00

Am I sure that a balance transfer would qualify for the statement credit? Yes, I am, because I just checked the terms & conditions for this card. Here's a clip:

"...To qualify for this offer, your new account must be used to make any purchase, balance transfer or cash advance transaction totaling $25 excluding any transaction fees, if applicable within 45 days of the account open date. Limit one (1) statement credit per new account...."

We also have confirmation of this from the BofA representative (see transcript above.)

Ok, so I'm guessing that your next question is, "Why would you recommend the Discover More card before recommending the BofA Visa Signature with WorldPoints Rewards card? Seems that the BofA card offers more value with the 15 month holiday from paying interest on transferred balances."

The answer: because with the BofA cards, the balance transfer fee is subject to finance charges. Here is a clip from the term & conditions associated with the BofA Visa Signature with WorldPoints Rewards card:

"...We include Transaction Fees when computing finance charges. Incurring Transaction Fees results in an APR exceeding 0% for the billing statement on which those fees appear. The Daily Periodic Rate (DPR) will remain 0% as disclosed..."

We also like the Discover More card because its cash back rewards package is the most generous in the American consumer credit card market.

Where Did The "No Fee Balance Transfer"
Pulaski Bank Credit Cards Go?

A little FYI to end this blog entry: The two "no fee balance transfer" cards from Pulaski bank are still available here. The reason we removed them from the "No Fee Balance Transfer" page was because these cards are very difficult to get. Approvals are few and far between. However, if you feel that your credit profile is stellar -- and I mean super perfect -- then by all means give one of these cards a try.

The reason these two Pulaski Bank cards are so hard to get?

• 0% intro APR on introductory balance transfers for 6 months
• No balance transfer fee
• For the regular Pulaski Bank MasterCard® or VISA® Card, the APR on purchases and cash advances is 6.50%. For the Pulaski Bank Visa Gold Card, the APR on purchases and cash advances is 8.00% (you will have a hard time finding credit cards on offer from other American banks with APR's that low, especially for cash advances!)

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Get A $20 Gift Card for Every $200 You Spend This Holiday Season

Black Friday is almost upon us. Thanks to the sluggish economy and global credit crisis, retailers are going to be offering some serious bargains this year to get shoppers into their stores.

But before you hit the shops this season, you may want to consider taking advantage of a great offer from Discover. Between now and January 4, 2009, if you buy stuff at participating malls across the country with any Discover card, Discover will give you a $20 gift card for every $200 you spend. This offer is great because most Discover cards already come with a generous rewards program. This Turns Receipts Into Rewards promotion won't negate any rewards program that's built into your Discover credit card. In essence, it's a rewards on top of rewards!

Remember to hold onto your receipts. You'll need them to claim your gift card(s).

Which American malls are participating in this offer? Click here and look for the Find a Mall tool on the right hand side of the page.

Of course, if you don't have a Discover card, you can apply for one here. We recommend the Discover More American Flag card, which is the most popular Discover card we recommend at this website. Enjoy!

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Bad Credit, No Credit - Big Problem

“Bad credit, no credit - NO PROBLEM”. Have you ever heard that catch phrase on a TV commercial or seen it on a billboard? Used car salesmen and sub-prime mortgage lenders have practically burned that slogan into the psyche of working class and young America. Of course, we know that potential financiers use such tactics to woo customers into signing for what many would call bad loans, but the reality is that bad credit really is a problem. It can be extremely hard to make ends meet without any credit cushion at all, and the current state of the economy is only making matters worse. Although Congress agreed to a $700 billion bailout plan for America’s largest commercial banks, these lending institutions are actually lending less, not more. The reins have been pulled in tighter, and it is nearly impossible to get a decent loan these days, even for applicants with good credit.

So what do those with bad credit and no credit do?

If you search diligently enough, you can find credit cards designed for people with bad credit. The idea is to approve you for a very low credit limit to help you rebuild your credit. As you pay off your balances on time and develop a positive history, you can qualify for credit increases. It sounds like a good option for starting over - until you read the fine print. The following video highlights the terms and conditions on one of these cards and it will shock you to learn just how terrible a deal this is!



If that kind of card was your only credit option, you would be in pretty bad shape.

The good news is that such a poor deal isn’t your only option. If you have bad credit or no credit at all, consider applying for the Discover More credit card. Discover More offers 0% intro APR on balance transfers and new purchases, and a 5% cash back reward that tops just about all competitors. Because the credit card industry has trained consumers to believe that exclusivity is a sign of quality, many people have been led to believe that Discover is somehow a sub par credit option. The hit prime-time cartoon series Family Guy has even poked fun at Discover.


What’s not funny, however, is applying for credit from one of the more “exclusive” companies and being rejected. Rejection doesn’t just hurt your ego; it hurts your credit rating, too. So, although Peter Griffin had a good time delivering the bad news to that potential patron, it’s actually good news for you. If your credit rating declares you to be just “anybody”, then you may actually have a good way to help rebuild your credit with the Discover More card.

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The Popular Discover "Platinum" Card Is Now The Discover "More" Card

Discover Credit Cards

There's some important news to report about the Discover Platinum card.

For many months now, the Discover Platinum family of credit cards has been the most popular choice at this website, based on both applications and approvals. The news: the good folks at Discover Financial have recently decided to rename the Discover Platinum Card and the Discover Gas Card.

• The "Discover Platinum Card" is now the "Discover More Card"
• The "Discover Gas Card" is now the "Discover Open Road Card"

The features are essentially the same, these cards just have new names.

The following cards have also been renamed:

• The Discover Platinum American Flag Card is now the Discover More Card - American Flag.
• The Discover Platinum Clear Card is now the Discover More Card - Clear.
• The Discover Platinum Wildlife Collection Card is now the Discover More Card - Wildlife Collection.
• The Discover Platinum Sealife Collection Card is now the Discover More Card - Sealife Collection.
• The Miles Card from Discover Card is now the Miles by Discover Card (Discover Financial Services made some minor changes to the features associated with the Miles Card. However, the card's best feature, i.e. 0% Intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 12 months, remains!)

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Executives from Chase, Citi and Bank of America Testify Before The U.S. Senate

A lot of folks out there like to bash credit card companies for their high fees and draconian penalties but I don't buy a lot of it, mostly because I've been able to surf 0% offers and enjoy interest-free loans for years now, which has enabled me to do great things from both a business and personal perspective. Bottom line: if you're a responsible borrower then the banks will treat you accordingly. It's really that simple. And I'm writing from experience: I am now a very responsible borrower, and, many years ago, I was the exact opposite (and then some!)

I was watching Bank of America's Bruce Hammonds, Citigroup's Vikram Atal and Chase Bank's Richard Srednicki testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on C-Span today. The hearing's title was "Credit Card Practices: Fees, Interest Rates, and Grace Periods." It was a very good discussion and I'm glad I caught it. Lots of hard questions were asked, and I learned quite a bit from the responses, comments and complaints made by hearing participants.

I was actually quite surprised to find myself on the side of the banks more often than I was against them. Four industry practices I don't like:

• 1) I'm very much against the marketing of credit cards to high school and college students. My credit woes (which are now ancient history) began in college when I lost my head with a credit card. I just learned today that the credit card companies pay schools for the right to shower kids with credit card offers. Should a kid with no experience with finances, working (maybe) a part-time job at minimum wage have a credit card? I don't think so! A college or high school student should have a prepaid debit card that can be monitored by parents online. Yup. Of course, the credit card companies should not shoulder all the blame: by accepting money from banks and credit card firms, colleges and universities are complicit with this dubious practice. Not good.
• 2) The way the credit card companies calculate the so called "grace period" needs to be fixed. There are credit consumers out there who pay their balance in full each and every month and still get stuck with interest charges because they don't really understand how the grace period rules work. Bottom line: the grace period rules are confusing, and industry leaders need work on improving the way grace periods are structured.
• 3) I understand the reasoning behind Universal Default, but the credit card companies have taken it too far. Credit card companies should either scale it back, or get rid of it altogether (see below for some positive news related to Universal Default.)
• 4) The use of the term "pre-approved." Nonsense. Some time ago I had an application declined, and it was initiated from a so-called "pre-approved" credit card offer. The experience really boiled my blood, especially because any rejection can cause your credit score to decline.
• 5) In my opinion, "fixed" should mean fixed, all the time, every time. Is that too much to ask? Under current federal law, a "fixed" annual percentage rate (APR) on a credit card means that the credit card company can change the so-called "fixed" rate as long as they give you 15 days notice of the change. To be fair to consumers -- especially those who are new to credit cards -- credit card companies should instead use the term "conditionally fixed" or "provisionally fixed."

A guy named Wesley Wannemacher, who had money problems back in 2001, testified about how a $3,200 credit card debt ended up costing him a total of $6,300, and, according to last month's credit card statement, he still owed $4,400! Yikes! Wannemacher was charged an over-the-limit fee 47 times. Chase Bank's Richard Srednicki apologized to Wannemacher for the experience, and pledged to have Wannemacher's credit card debt forgiven. Yup: he actually apologized. Now that was something to behold.

OK, now I present the positive side, the way I see it:

• O% Intro APR offers: love 'em!
• Credit card debt is unsecured! even if you decide to totally blow off your credit card debt, no one will come and take your home, your car, your first-born child, etc.
• Fraud protection: with most credit cards out there, if you get ripped off and you paid with a consumer credit card, you can dispute the charges (chargeback.) Furthermore, If someone gets hold of your credit card and goes crazy, in most cases you won't be responsible for those charges.
• The Internet makes it easier than ever to pay your bill on time. Even if you don't have an Internet connection, you can always stop by your local library and get online from there. And the industry should be commended for instituting payment tools like scheduled payments, automatic payments and email alerts (I use them all), so even the laziest of the lazy need not worry about late payments.
• Competition and regulation keep the banks and credit card firms in check. Don't like the terms with one card? Switch to another!
• No one is forced to open a credit card account!
• Convenience and Tracking: Who wants to carry wads of cash around all the time? Plus, it's much easier to track your spending when you use a credit card.
• Compared to 20-30 years ago (yes, I'm quite old!), credit is very easy to get today. Furthermore, interest rates were in the 20% range for everybody back then! And the fees! How many credit cards (credit cards, not charge cards) do you have in your wallet that charge and annual fee? I'm willing to bet none.

Individuals with credit card accounts who run into serious financial dire straits should keep in contact with each credit card company and workout a payment plan. I think a lot of people who run in to trouble with their finances get scared and try their best to hide from their creditors. Big mistake!


It's my opinion that credit card offers will only improve over time. Just last week, the folks at Citigroup announced that they won't play the Universal Default game anymore. Check out this clip from a recent press release:

"...Citi is eliminating the industry practice of increasing interest rates for individual cardholders due to their defaults on financial commitments with other parties, sometimes known as “universal default”. Until now, Citi has given customers the right to opt out of any such increase. But with this announcement, Citi is going even further, abandoning the practice altogether for all customers.

Citi is also eliminating “any time for any reason” increases to the rates and fees of its customers’ accounts. Traditionally, credit card issuers have taken the position that they can increase the rates and fees of a cardholder’s account at any time for any reason; for example, to respond to general conditions in the financial markets. As a result of the new policy, Citi will not voluntarily increase the rates and fees of the account until the card expires and a new card is issued (typically two years).

Now, the only reason the rates and fees will increase before the card expires is if a customer pays Citi late, exceeds the credit limit or pays with a check that bounces. When the interest rate on the card is linked to the prime rate, the rate would change only as the prime rate moves up or down..."

Kudos to you, Citi, for moving in the right direction.

Bank of America does not today, and has not in the past, engaged in the practice of Universal Default. Kudos to you, BofA.

The folks at Discover Card recently agreed to remove the Universal Default clause from the terms & conditions related to their credit card offerings. A gold star for you, Discover.

Double-cycle billing is one way that you can end up paying interest on charges even though you've been paying your balance in full each and every month. The folks at Chase recently announced that they won't engage in the practice of double-cycle billing anymore. They also announced that once an account is assessed an over-the-limit fee, Chase will stop adding new over-the-limit fees after 90 days.

Some interesting numbers:

• In 2006, Chase Card Service made $3,206,000,000 in profit, accounting for 22% of Chase's overall earnings.
• Profitability for large credit card issuers was in the 3.6% to 4.1% range between 2003 and 2005.
• Right now there are 6,000 credit card issuers in the United States.
• 41% of credit card account holders pay their balance in full each month.

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The Reason Why The Discover Platinum Credit Card Is Very Popular for Transferring Balances

Discover Credit Cards

Lately, I've been getting emails from folks asking why the Discover Platinum credit cards are so popular for balance transfers. Why do savvy consumers chose Discover over the competitors?

Well, folks, it's really quite simple: Discover offers the best value.

The Discover Platinum Card offers an interest-free period of 12 months for both transferred balances and new credit card purchases. Generally speaking, other credit cards typically only offer an interest-free period for balance transfers, and charge interest on new purchases.

Discover Platinum is also a rewards credit card: icing on the cake!

Last, but certainly not least: there's no annual membership fee with the Discover Platinum card.

NB: The Discover Platinum Card used to be a "no balance transfer fee" card, but you'll have to pay a fee for transferring balances now: 3% for each balance transfer, with a minimum of $10 and a maximum of $75.

We like the following 3 flavors of the Discover Platinum Card (Update: "Discover Platinum" has been renamed to "Discover More"):

• Discover® More Card- American Flag
  
• Discover® More Card
  
• Discover® More Card - Wildlife Collection

OK, now I know that for some of you, the next question is:

"What if I've already transferred my credit card balance(s) to a Discover account? I know I can't transfer from one Discover credit card to another, so what to do? I want a first-class, fee-free balance transfer offer, and I won't settle for anything less!"

If the above describes your situation, then we have good news for you: Right now, there are two Citibank credit cards that offer a 12 month, interest-free period on transferred balances with no balance transfer fee. The tw0 cards are:

• Citi® Driver's Edge® Platinum Select ® Card
  -- 0% APR on transferred balances for 1 year
  -- no balance transfer fee
  -- no annual membership fee
  
• Citi® Home Rebate Platinum Select® MasterCard®
  -- 0% APR on transferred balances for 1 year
  -- no balance transfer fee
  -- no annual membership fee

Remember: the interest-free period for the above-listed Citibank credit cards is for transferred balances only, not for new purchases, so you'll have to stay disciplined if you signup for one of these offers.

It's also important to remember that credit card offers can change at any time, so if you plan on taking advantage of any offer recommended here today, you shouldn't procrastinate.

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Consolidating My Debt While Avoiding Interest Charges: Zero Balance On All but Two of My Credit Cards

I recently transferred a few balances in order to consolidate my credit card debt and take advantage of some great lower interest balance transfer deals. Once again, I used a "2.99% until the transferred balance is paid in full" promotional offer that was presented to me by the folks who manage my Citibank Dividend Platinum Select® Card, simply because it was the best deal I could find at the time (Discover is still sending me offers of 0% APR on transferred balances, with the interest-free period recently extended until June 2007--which is a fantastic offer--but I'm still not sure about using Discover, and I really shouldn't be opening a new credit card account. I think I have too many as it is!)

Within a couple of weeks, I will have a zero balance on all my credit card accounts save two, which makes me happy: it means that I have far fewer accounts to monitor, thus reducing the number of did-I-forget-to-make-a-payment-on-one-of-my-credit-cards-this-month? panic attacks, I hope. These days, if you're late on a payment, or skip a payment, you not only get in trouble with the credit card account in question, but all your other creditors can raise your APR's as high as 29% (not all do, but they can); they may also nullify any promotional APR's related to any balance transfer deals you've signed up for, which for me would translate to a nightmarish escalation of debt. It's called Universal Default, and it's perfectly legal.

Stay tuned for more on my adventures with credit card balance transfers!

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