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The problem with imposing new rules on credit card issuers is their ability to quickly circumvent them and come up with new ways to make money.

It’s quite evident if you look at what First Premier Bank, a subprime credit card issuer, has done recently to skirt the impending rule changes set to take effect on February 21, 2010 (Credit Card Bill of Rights).

The First Premier credit card typically comes with a minimum of $256 in fees during the first year for a $250 credit line, but because the new laws limit fees at 25 percent of a credit card’s total limit, it will be lowered.

Going forward, the bank will charge a $75 annual fee for a $300 credit line, but to make up for that lost profit, they’ve raised the APR from 9.9 percent to 79.9 percent.

That’s not a typo, it’s the highest APR tied to any credit card currently on the market, according to an industry analyst.

For cardholders with a $300 balance on the credit card, it equates to about $20 in monthly finance charges; assuming you pay $20 per month, you’d be looking at $315 in fees annually for a $300 credit line. Not a bad h

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Your free credit report supplies you with all the necessary information you need to know about your personal credit history. You can request your credit report personally and receive the information online. Without much effort and a small amount of time, you can request a “free copy of my credit report” from an online service.

The website Annual Credit Report allows you, the consumer to review your free credit report once a year. If you do not have access to a computer, you can request a credit report by filling out the information available from the FTC and sending it to the address provided for Annual Credit Report.

The three top credit agencies that you receive a credit report from are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The

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It’s always important to know what your going to be able to get approved for when you are applying for any type of loan. In fact, some jobs these days even run your credit report to see how responsible of a person you are. With these factors being so important, it’s best to know what they will find and what you can expect when they do go into your credit and pull up all your history.

So what if you are going to get a house? Or a car? In order to truly estimate what your interest rates will be you have to know what your credit score is so accurately assess what it may be. I d

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By now, you’ve probably heard about credit card issuers paying customers to close their accounts in the wake of one of the worst credit collapses in history.

But the latest move by card issuers is quite the opposite; some are charging customers inactivity fees for dormant credit card accounts.

That’s right, if you fail to use your credit card for a certain period of time, you may be slapped with a fee (in the ballpark of $20) to keep it open.

Of course, it hardly seems worth paying it, given the fact that most credit card issuers do not charge inactivity fees.

However, some consumers have been led to believe that closing a credit card will do serious damage to their credit score, so they may hold off.

And though your credit score could fall as a result of a closed account, it probably won’t mean a whole lot if it’s a card you seldom use.

Additionally, there’s no reason you should pay a fee to keep your credit card open, regardless of the credit scoring impact.

If you feel you must keep it open, consider using the dormant card to pay a recurring monthly bill such as your gym membership or cell phone bill to avoid the inactivity fee.

Remember, the older the card account, the more value it has in terms of credit scoring, so don’t fret about closing a newer credit card.

And if you’ve got plenty of solid credit history, the “damage” to your score will likely be minimal if at all negative (Should I close my credit card account?).

Tip: Keep an eye out for changes to your credit card terms as issuers look to charge new fees to offset the impact of the recently passed Credit Card Bills of Rights.

Advanta Bank, once the 11th largest issuer of credit cards in the U.S. exited as a lender early in the summer of 2009, taking down with it many of its cardholders’ businesses. Advanta specialized in offering credit cards to small businesses, secured by the individual cardholders’ personal guarantees. The cards were usually offered with teaser rates of 7.9% which were later increased to as much as 39%. Advanta came under increasing regulatory scrutiny and pressure toward the end of 2008 as the recession worsened, and its borrowers defaulted in record numbers.

Advanta Bank operated the way it did because it was an industrial bank chartered in Utah.

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Many homebuyers frequently wonder, “If I shop for a home loan my credit be affected each time a credit report inquiry is made?”
It’s a smart and logical question to ask, the answer is: not much, if credit checks are done in a short period of time.
When a credit check is done by a potential lender is called a hard inquiry. When a difficult research that has an impact on your credit score. However, when you are shopping for a mortgage or car loan, credit agencies often difficult group questions together because the credit reporting bureaus understand that the consumer is looking for a better deal.
That means, for example, that if you’re buying a new mortgage and three potential lenders pull your credit score within three weeks, which is seen as a test for that purpose.
Keep your credit clean is critical. Here ar

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