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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Will 0% Credit Cards Make a Comeback?

No one can predict the future, but if our economic recovery continues on its current course, we most likely can expect 0% credit card deals to stage a comeback.

The Past
When our economy hit its low point in 2008, zero percent offers for balance transfers virtually disappeared from the market. Just months before that, there were a plethora of interest-free offers available, many of them being for 12 to 15 months. As our country’s financial health deteriorated, almost every bank terminated these incredible offers. Instead, they were replaced with promotional rates only valid for three to six months.

The Future
Today, we are seeing positive signs that this trend is now reversing. During the third quarter of this year, issuers like Discover gradually began to sweeten their promotional offers. More and more credit card deals for longer promotional periods have been popping up across the net. Unfortunately some issuers, like American Express and Bank of America, have been slower to follow suit.

Assuming we continue on the road to recovery, these incentives should continue to become more common. Initially, they will probably only be made available to those with average to above-average credit. Once unemployment and foreclosures begin to ease up, banks may extend these offers to those with below-average credit, too.

As the percentage of bad debt goes down, lower interest rates on credit cards should follow. However, it’s important to note that most have APRs which are now linked to the prime rate; if that were to increase significantly, then rates may go up.

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New Offer Added: The Pulaski Bank Visa Gold Card

Credit Card

0% Intro APR balance transfer deals are great, but feeless (as in no transaction fee for transferring credit card balances) zero percent deals are even better -- much better! If you are partial to no-fee, zero percent intro APR offers, then we have some great news for you: we've researched and reviewed the Pulaski Bank Visa Gold Card, and added it as a recommended credit card here www.FedPrimeRate.com. Key benefits:

• 0% Intro APR on transferred balances for 6 billing periods
• No balance transfer fee
• No annual membership fee
• A very competitive "go to" rate (FYI: the go to rate is the credit card's annual percentage rate that takes effect once the interest-free period ends.)

It would nice if the zero percent intro APR feature associated with the Pulaski Bank Visa Gold Card included new purchases (à la the Discover Platinum card and the American Express INSIDE Rewards cards, et al.), but it doesn't.

However, it's important to note that the current "go to" rate with this card is highly competitive at 9.5% -- that's a mere 1.25% above the current U.S. Prime Rate. Compare the Pulaski Visa Gold's go to rate to this website's #1 choice: the Discover Platinum card, which has a go to rate as low as 10.99%.

If you decide to signup for the Pulaski Bank Visa Gold Card -- or if you already have one in your purse / wallet -- please feel free to post a review of the card by clicking the "comments" link below. Thanks!

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New Offer Added: The GM Flexible Earnings Card

HSBC Credit Cards

We recently examined the terms and conditions associated with the GM Flexible Earnings Card, and decided that -- with the card's current features and benefits -- it deserves to be recommended here at www.FedPrimeRate.com.

You'll have to pay a fee for transferring balances to the GM Flexible Earnings Card (also known as the GM Flex Card):

...3% ($15 minimum/$75 maximum) for advances by Balance Transfer Checks included in your Welcome Package; thereafter, 3% ($15 minimum) will apply, unless otherwise disclosed...

but on the positive side, it has some great benefits, including:

• 0% Intro APR on new purchases and transferred balances for 12 billing cycles
  
• No annual membership fee
  
• Attractive rewards:
  
  

  ...earn 1% cash back on every single credit card purchase, 1% toward any vehicle or a full 3% toward a brand new, eligible GM car, truck or SUV...

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0% Intro APR Balance Transfer Credit Cards from American Express -- and You Won't Have to Pay A Balance Transfer Fee

American Express Credit Cards

Here at www.FedPrimeRate.com, we are constantly on the lookout for the best 0% credit card deals. We live and breath credit card balance transfers, for the simple reason that 0% introductory annual percentage rate (APR) credit cards are, quite easily, the most consumer-friendly financial tools available today.

Allow me to present the anatomy of the perfect 0% intro APR credit card offer -- in my humble opinion, of course. Here are the attributes:

• 0% Intro APR on both transferred balances and new credit card purchases for at least 6 months
  
• No balance transfer fee for the initial balance transfer(s).
  
• No annual membership fee
  
• A competitive "go to" rate (FYI: the go to rate is the credit card's annual percentage rate that kicks in once the interest-free period ends.)
  

Right now, the best 0% credit card is the Discover Platinum card, a card that -- believe it or not -- meets all of the above-listed requirements! Citibank (Citi) also has 2 excellent credit cards that meet all of the above, except that they don't offer a 0% intro APR on new credit card purchases.

American Express® Now Has Three, 0% Credit Cards That Are..."Perfect"

Some exciting news for credit card balance transfer fans all across the country: American Express has a new set of consumer credit cards that qualify as "perfect 0% credit cards" -- perfect by my definition anyway -- and these cards offer rewards to boot. They are the American Express INSIDE Rewards cards. Details below:

• IN:LA Card from American Express
  
  
  • 0% Intro APR on transferred balances AND new credit card purchases for 6 months
    
  • no balance transfer fee for the initial balance transfer(s).
    
  • no annual membership fee
    
  • competitive "go to" rate (factors including your credit rating will determine how low your go to APR will be)
• IN:CHICAGO Card from American Express
  
  
  • same benefits as the IN:LA card above
• IN:NYC Card from American Express
  
  
  • same benefits as the IN:LA card above

Of course, it's always important to remember that the terms, conditions, features and benefits of the credit cards we recommend at this website and blog are not set in stone, and therefore can change at any time. So if you plan on taking advantage of any credit card offer recommended here, try not to procrastinate.

Looks like the competition among the major credit card companies is heating up. Let's hope the trend continues!

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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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What Is Going On with Bank of America's Credit Cards?

People are starting to wonder about Bank of America, specifically Bank of America's credit card offerings. For some time now, I've been reading lots of posts about MBNA's poor customer support and questionable tactics, and I wasn't a bit surprised to eventually find that thousands of MBNA credit card holders had started paying off their entire credit card balances and closing their accounts in order to permanently sever their relationship with MBNA. MBNA's profits were hit hard by the exodus, leaving MBNA primed for a takeover, and that's exactly what happened: Bank of America purchased MBNA a few months ago; Bank of America (BofA) obviously looking to capitalize on the millions of credit card accounts owned by MBNA.

But now many are saying that Bank of America has adopted some of the worst behaviors that were the cause of much anguish for MBNA's credit card account holders.

One particular complaint really caught my attention. A mature lady with a very good personal credit rating decided to take advantage of a Bank of America 0% balance transfer offer. The lady described herself as person who always pays her bills on time and who never carries a revolving balance on her credit cards. This lady soon found that she was being charged some hefty over-the-limit fees on her BofA account, even though she did not have a balance on her credit card (and she was making regular and timely installment payments related to the balance transfer deal.) When she called BofA to find out why she was being charged over-the-limit fees even though she was making her payments on time, the BofA explained that:

...even though [she was making] payments during the month to keep the balance within the credit limit, there could be a day within the cycle that the card was officially “over the limit.”

To further exacerbate the situation, she was charged $451 in interest charges, even though it was supposed to be a 0% balance transfer deal. Why was she paying interest on a 0% deal? Because her interest rate had gone from 0% to 31% as a result of a violation of the BofA credit card agreement. And this is the part of this story where you really need to pay attention; here are the terms that caused the interest rate to skyrocket:

"During the introductory period, if we do not receive at least the Minimum Payment Due during any billing cycle, you exceed your Credit Limit or you close your account, any introductory rate on Purchases and Balance Transfers will terminate and will be adjusted to the Standard Rates."

Do you see what is going on here? If you don't, allow me to explain.

It is perfectly legal for BofA to charge over-the-limit fees and interest on the above-described account. You see, this is one way of playing the 0% balance transfer game that can result in huge profits for the credit card company involved. Is it wrong for credit card companies to engage in such tactics? You decide.

Allow me to present a hypothetical 0% credit card balance transfer offer from the fictitious Balance Transfer Bank of Anytown, USA. The 0% balance transfer offer is very competitive, offering an introductory interest-free period for 18 months, with a balance transfer fee equal to 3% of the transferred balance, or $75 (whichever is lower.) The terms for this credit card offer are quite ordinary, and include the following clause:

"During the introductory period, if we do not receive at least the Minimum Payment Due during any billing cycle, you exceed your Credit Limit or you close your account, any introductory rate on Purchases and Balance Transfers will terminate and will be adjusted to the Standard Rates."

OK. So you decide that it's a great deal and you are going to go for it. After all, you have some high balances on some of your other credit cards, and the interest charges are really starting to hurt! You call the toll-free number provided to apply. You tell the representative on the phone that you would like to take advantage of the 0% balance transfer facility, and that you want to transfer $5,000 from one of your other credit card accounts to your new Balance Transfer Bank credit card--assuming that you get approved for the card, of course. The representative on the phone informs you that you have been approved for the new credit card and that you've also been approved for the $5,000 balance transfer. Cool! Everything seems to be going your way. The representative doesn't tell you what the credit limit on your new card is going to be, so you decide to ask. The representative tells you that he doesn't know what your credit limit will be, but you will receive a letter in the mail with all those details within 2-3 weeks.

A week later you get a letter from The Balance Transfer Bank of Anytown, USA. The purpose of the letter is to congratulate you on your approval status, and to let you know that your credit limit is $5,000. OK, no problem. You're transferring $5,000, and your limit is $5,000. All the math works out fine!

Two months later, you get a credit card statement from The Balance Transfer Bank, and you see that you've been charged an over-the-limit fee of $29. You also notice that the interest rate on the $5,000 you transferred has gone from 0% to 29%, and you are already accruing interest charges on the balance you transferred. All this and you have never used the card to make any purchases or cash withdrawals. Why did this happen?

It happened because The Balance Transfer Bank decided to set your credit limit to exactly $5,000--which is the exact amount you transferred with the 0% balance transfer offer. And here's the best part: the $75 balance transfer fee caused your balance to jump from $5,000 to $5,075, thus giving The Balance Transfer Bank every right to charge you for being over your credit limit. More bad news: because you violated the credit card agreement by going over your credit limit, your interest rate on the $5,000 your transferred has gone from 0% to 29%.

The scenario I've just described above is happening to folks around the country every day. MBNA was doing it, and it most likely contributed to their downfall. But Bank of America? Why would they adopt such tactics? It doesn't make sense! Surely they must know that they are going to scare away customers. Sure, it makes them some great profits in the short term, but what about the long term? Doesn't it make more sense to focus on retaining their customer base for the long haul by treating their customers fairly? Hmmm...

Just last week, I signed-up for a new Citibank credit card and took advantage of an associated 0% balance transfer offer. I asked about my credit limit, and even though the Citibank representative wasn't able to tell me what my limit would be right away, he did assure me--in fact he guaranteed--that my limit would be set to a level that is higher than the balances I was transferring, so that there would be some room to accommodate any fees that might be assessed. And that's the way it should be. A Chase representative I spoke to a few months ago said basically the same thing.

I feel that it is very important for me to note here that I've had a Bank of America Gold credit card for over 2 years now and I've had no problems with it. To be perfectly honest, it's one of the best credit cards in my wallet. I took advantage of a Bank of America 0% balance transfer offer in order to obtain the card and it was a very good deal. Flawless. No problems. It's the only credit card I own that has a picture of my baby girl on it. Over the past two years the good folks @ Bank of America have not only lowered my interest rate, but they've also given me a generous credit limit increase (both actions look great on a credit report.) So I can write here with complete sincerity that I am really confused about the latest buzz about BofA credit card offers.

The Bank of America grew from a small Italian bank into the American icon that it is today by providing their customers with superior support and service. Let's hope that the acquired MBNA tactics related to their credit card offerings are just a hiccup, and that in the very near future they'll be back to providing some of the best credit card deals around.

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Read Those Balance Transfer Details Carefully: Not All Balance Transfer Deals Are The Same...

Over the past year or so, I've been coming across consumer complaints about the customer service provided by MBNA for their credit card account holders. Yesterday, I found a complaint on the complaints.com website, posted by a gentleman in Wyoming, about an MBNA credit card balance transfer deal that didn't go well. Basically, MBNA imposed a balance transfer fee of $75 on this gentleman's transferred balance, but, instead of posting the transfer fee after the interest-free period ends, MBNA posted the $75 charge to his account right away! I can understand why this gentleman was angry: charging a balance transfer fee to an account right away is not standard practice, and it can translate to some nasty fees being charged each and every month.

The situation described above can be particularly vexing because, as you might already know, many credit card companies will apply your monthly installment payments to your transferred balance(s) first. This means that any new purchases (which sometimes includes fees) will be subject to interest charges (unless you were able to secure a superior balance transfer offer that charges no interest on balance transfers, cash advances and new purchases.) So if, for example, you were to transfer $5,000 to a new credit card via a balance transfer deal, and the deal included a balance transfer fee of $75, then you may find yourself paying interest on that $75 right "off the bat." And because installment payments are applied to transferred balances first, the only way to stop those monthly interest charges from being charged as a result of that $75 fee would be to payoff the entire credit card balance in full--including the $5,000 you transferred! Credit card companies know that most folks can't afford to pay off their entire account balance whenever they please, so this is just another way for them to profit off of your debt.

I personally learned a hard lesson early in 2004, when I transferred a balance to a credit card account that had already been open for some time, but was offering an attractive 0% balance transfer deal (at that time, I owed nothing on that credit card, and the "go to" rate for this deal was a very reasonable 7.9%.) I transferred a relatively large balance, and everything was going great for the first 2 months, until I noticed that I was suddenly and unexpectedly being charged $1.50 in interest. You may be thinking that $1.50 is no big deal, but to me, a 0% deal should be just that: 0%! When I called my credit card company to find out why I was being charged interest, they told me that I had made a $35 purchase on my credit card that month, and that new purchases were subject to interest charges. This didn't make any sense to me, as I had avoided using this particular credit card for new purchases, knowing full well that I would get slammed with interest charges if I did. Well, I was in fact "in the wrong," as I later discovered that the $35 purchase was an automatic payment made to EZ Pass (EZ Pass is a system that gets you through highway tolls very quickly; instead of waiting in long lines to pay highway tolls by cash, you get to zip through tolls, paying with a EZ Pass electronic tag.) I had totally forgotten that I had used this particular credit card for automatic billing, and got snagged!

So, you balance transfer surfers: read those details thoroughly! Credit card companies are starting to get tired of losing profits with all the zero percent balance transfer offers they've been "forced" to offer ("forced" in order to remain competitive within the market.) Many are starting to charge balance transfer fees of around 2-3% with a ceiling of $75. Of course, even with a $75 fee, a balance transfer can still be a great deal for anyone carrying large credit card balances, but make sure you find out when and how those fees will be charged.

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