The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Rewards American Express® Card is a rewards card that offers a variety of perks for card members. This card is designed for those with good to excellent credit. The card offers a low interest introductory rate and a solid rewards program.
0% Intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 12 months. After that, the APR will be 12.99%-20.99% based on your creditworthiness. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate.
Redeem ThankYou Points for electronics, travel rewards, sporting events & more
Concierge Service–24/7 help with booking trips, dining reservations & much more
Diamond Perks–Access to Private Pass which gives you the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of exciting events and unique experiences
Travel Center from American Express–Your one-stop online travel planning site
Introductory Offers and Rates The card offers an introductory rate of 0% on purchases for 12 months and combines that offer with 0% on balance transfers too. After th
More homeowners may face foreclosure before their modification loans are approved
Proposed legislation that would have provided foreclosure protection to homeowners undergoing the loan modification process has been rejected in the California Assembly. Banks and lending institutions are pleased with the ruling, but consumers, who highly supported the foreclosure protection proposal, are incensed with the Assembly’s decision.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the legislation would have prevented lenders from beginning foreclosure proceedings until after they rendered a decision about a consumer’s loan modification status. The bill would have also allowed homeowners to sue if they failed to comply with the measure.
Lenders that choose to participate in the federal government’s modification program are barred from initiating a foreclosure until the application has been officially decided upon. Read more…
Credit Q&A: “How often to check your credit report?”
Credit reporting seems to be all the rage these days, now that a ton of companies have realized how profitable the fear of the unknown can be.
Now don’t get me wrong – staying on top of your credit history is extremely important, especially when it comes time to apply for a credit card or a loan.
But it may have been blown out of proportion just a bit in recent years.
There are a ton of services out there nowadays to keep track of your credit, such as credit monitoring, which tracks it continuously, and free credit reports, which allow you to access your credit report for free for a week or so, before converting into full blown credit monitoring programs.
See credit monitoring vs free credit reports for more on that.
Choosing which is right for you will depend on your unique situation. As I me
When the CARD Act passed, some skeptical observers complained that it had a big loophole. The CARD Act only covered personal cards. Business cards, also known as professional cards were deemed exempt. At the time, I speculated that credit card companies would be unlikely to have two different sets of rules for business and personal cards. Apparently, I gave the banks too much credit.
Some Business Cards Go By The Old Rules
According to this article in the Wall Street Journal, some banks are choosing to exploit the business card loophole. The article cites CitiBank as applying payments to the lower interest rate balances first, and for raising interests rates sharply in the event of a missed payments. Both actions would be prohibited if the card was a personal card, not a business card. The article does give Capitol One recognition for applying the CARD Act rules to it’s business cards.
What Is The Deal With Business Cards?
Frankly, I have always wondered why these cards exist. They are a great tool for someone like me who wants to receive multiple sign up bonuses. When a really killer deal is out there, I have been known to sign up for both the personal and the business cards. As for legitimate uses, my belief has always been that a business card can allow you to segregate your business expenses from your personal expenses. I have operated a number of small ventures, but I never had any trouble distinguishing my business expenses from my personal ones. If my business grew, I could see how it would be nice to have a different card, although I am not sure why it would have to be a business card, rather than a different personal card.
Some business cards offer the feature of having multiple additional cards for employees with the rewards accruing for the primary cardholder. I would hate it if my job asked me to charge a bunch of stuff to a company card where I didn’t see any rewards. Hypocritically, I would be the first to have such a card if I had people under me who needed to purchases for my business.
For now, I would still consider getting a business card for the sign up bonus, but as always, I don’t imagine really using it much.
As of the end of February, there were 576 million credit cards in circulation in the United States alone, according to CNBC.
And US consumer revolving debt was $864.4 billion as of the beginning of the year, with 98% of it tied to credit card debt.
So who are the top issuers of all these credit cards?
Well, you may be surprised to hear that Bank of America was the leader, with $194.7 billion in credit issued.
That includes business outside the US, in places like the UK, Canada, and Spain.
Chase came in a close second with $184 billion in credit issued via 119.4 million credit cards, making it the largest credit card issuer in the United States.
At third was Citi, with $148.9 billion in credit issued on 92 million credit cards.
Top 10 Credit Card Issuers
1. Bank of America/MBNA – $194.7 billion 2. Chase – $184 billion, 119.4 million credit cards 3. Citi – $148.9 billion, 92 million credit cards 4. Ameri
