First Premier Bank of South Dakota, U.S.A., is now offering a credit card with an interest rate of 79.9% p.a.

Yes, you read that correctly. New U.S. regulations, partially in effect now and hitting fully in the new year, severely limit the amount of money banks can earn through fees, which has long been the preferred method of squeezing cardholders with poor credit ratings. A typical ploy would be to offer a credit card with a $500 credit limit, then charge $515 worth of fees in the first year the account is open. read more..

• High school students commit credit card fraud in Tasmania http://is.gd/5mcbV #
• Citibank Silver credit card with decent rewards and a 12 month balance transfer, have a look http://is.gd/5mceK #
• Internet spurs credit card fraud http://is.gd/5nIwD #
• Exclusive ANZ Low Rate MasterCard Offer, 4.9% Purchases for the first 12 months http://is.gd/5nICg #
• RBA now on hold, says deputy governor http://is.gd/5qGo0 #
• Risks and Rewards of Additional Cardholders http://is.gd/5qGoK #
• Credit card spending still not hot http://is.gd/5rNmN #
• Flying about Europe? Beware hidden fees http://is.gd/5rNuP #
• Why Debt Consolidation Can be a Bad Idea http://is.gd/5rNGa #
• New Year, Same Old Credit History, check your credit file http://is.gd/5rNVf #
• New Year’s Resolution: Stop Spending More Than You Make http://is.gd/5rQoC #
• New Year’s Resolution – Negotiate Lower Credit Card Costs http://is.gd/5rQzG #

If one of your goals for the New Year is to save money on your credit card bills, you might be able to do it even without a balance transfer. You could negotiate better rates and fees instead. Don’t wait for better opportunities or credit card offers to come your way. Improve your existing credit card offers today! read more..

Don’t spend more money than you make. It’s common sense, right? Then why do so many people rack up credit card debt? Credit cards make it easy to spend more than we have — that’s why. Instead of keeping our spending habits in line with the actual cash we have now, credit cards let (no, encourage) us to spend based on money we expect to have later. We must be suckers, because we keep on falling for it!

Fortunately the New Year is coming, and it’s the perfect time for fresh starts and changing habits. So if you find yourself under a mountain of debt (or just the temptation to build it), make a New Year’s Resolution for 2010 — don’t spend more than you make. read more..

The start of a new year is quickly approaching. Maybe you’re making goals or resolutions to improve your life in 2010. Maybe some of those goals include improving your financial situation. Are you really prepared to do that? If you haven’t checked your credit history lately, you’re probably not. read more..