Back to Mobile View

CreditCards

Visa said Wednesday that its fiscal first-quarter profit rose 16 percent, as card use rose both in the U.S. and overseas. The San Francisco-based payments processor posted a notable 10 percent increase in U.S. credit card use. But debit card use rose just 6 percent. That's the slowest debit card growth rate in more than a year, and comes during the first three-month period that new rules were in place to limit the fees retailers pay to accept the cards.
A few weeks ago, we asked DailyFinance readers for their best tips for putting your financial house in order. First, we covered saving, but spending in the right way is just as important. Here are some of your best suggestions for managing how your money flows out.
Banks offer all sorts of credit cards. For the savers, there are cash-back cards. For the indebted, there are balance transfer cards. For the shoppers, there are retail cards. And for travelers like me, there are rewards cards.
After the overindulgence of December, it's no surprise that so many people spend January trying to turn over new leaves. If you're ready to get your financial house in order, consider one of these three websites, each with a different take on helping you better manage your money.
Sometimes it pays to wait; sometimes it doesn't. Just ask the roughly 10 million cardholders who were part of the Foreign Currency Conversion Fee Antitrust class action lawsuit settlement. After a decade of legal wrangling, the settlement funds are finally being disbursed -- but a suit this large can dilute even $336 million.
Remember Bank Transfer Day? Well, mark your calendar: Dec. 11 is being publicized as "Balance Transfer Day," with Americans urged to transfer their credit card balances from high-interest cards to low- or no-interest ones.
Credit cards are making a comeback. At the end of 2008, more consumers were using debit cards than credit cards but now that trend has reversed. It's hard for some consumers to resist: Banks have been ramping up solicitations and boosting incentives for credit cards over the past year in an effort to get them to choose credit over debit. But have the big banks changed their ways?
Now that consumer protection laws have pushed back against some of the methods banks devised to make excessive profits at your expense, the financial institutions are trying new techniques. Here's one that at first glance seems like a benefit: Taking away your credit limit.
Even though last year's financial reform was supposed to make credit cards more transparent, consumers are still complaining about interest rates, billing disputes and confusing credit card terms.
For over a century, the Salvation Army's red kettles have reminded holiday shoppers not to forget charity during the season of giving. But this year, you don't need cash on hand to give, because there's something new in the kettle: a card reader and a mobile donation app.

Market Movers

SymbolLastChange / %Volume

Most Actives

BAC
Bank of America Corp
8.09-0.10
-1.16%
144.54M
ALU
Alcatel-Lucent (ADR)
2.19+0.25
+12.63%
92.86M
PBR
Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (ADR)
29.64-2.35
-7.35%
23.01M
GE
General Electric Company
18.82-0.32
-1.65%
22.24M

% Gainers

CIE
Cobalt International Energy
32.67 +8.77
+36.69%
11.64M
LNKD
LinkedIn Corp.
89.23 +12.84
+16.81%
7.21M
ALU
Alcatel-Lucent (ADR)
2.19 +0.25
+12.63%
92.86M
WNS
WNS (Holdings) Limited (ADR)
10.56 +1.16
+12.34%
2.63M

% Losers

NBG-A
National Bank of Greece SA (ADR)
5.74-1.01
-14.96%
72,615
KV-A
K V Pharmaceutical Co. Class A
2.22-0.39
-14.94%
914,345
OSG
Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc.
10.26-1.57
-13.27%
1.16M
KV-B
K-V Pharmaceutical Co. Class B
2.29-0.34
-12.93%
2,179
Newswire

Follow Us

Headlines From DailyFinance Partners

CNN Money
CNBC
Smart Money
Consumer Reports
Huffington Post
AOL Energy
AOL Jobs
Business News Personal Finance Investing Our Partners

DailyFinance Sitemap | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Trademarks | HELP | Advertise With Us

© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved