Get Gephardt: Lower Your Interest Rate In 3 Min.

Tired of paying finance charges to your credit card company? You may be able to cut your interest rate by as much as half in no time.

That’s the result of a Get Gephardt investigation. So, how easy is it?

Really easy.

Interest rates vary by person. From 3 percent to as much as 35 percent.

And in most cases, all it takes is phone call to put hundreds of dollars back in your pocket.

Two years ago, I showed you how. Let’s try again tonight, to see if it’s still that simple.

Let the Christmas shopping rush begin!

And with that come the credit card swipes after each gift purchase, to be paid off, month by month, next year.

Here I am again at Southtown Mall to see if you are paying the interest rate you ought to be paying.

It’s simple, really using mall pay telephones and 3 minutes or so.

I developed a script that I held up for people to read over the phone to their credit card company. The number is on the back of the credit card.

“My name is Donna Schultz…I’m a good customer and I’ve received several offers in the mail from other credit card companies,” one credit card holder tells her card company.

Are We Seeing The Demise Of The Balance Transfer Credit Card?

By Jon Francis

A few years back, credit card companies realized that they reached nearly every potential new customer. In order to keep increasing their market shares and their profits, they were going to have to entice people who already had credit cards to jump ship from their old companies and apply for a new credit card with them. Thus was born the concept of the balance transfer credit card. Balance transfer cards offer consumers the chance to reduce their monthly payments and total repayment amount on their current account balances by giving them a lower rate of interest - often 0% interest - on any balance transferred from another credit card.

These cards proved to be far more popular than the card issuers expected. Consumers figured out fairly quickly that they could shift balances from one card to the next, moving on to another 0% transfer card when the low interest rate on their last balance transfer card expired. Rate tarts, the term coined for people who moved their balances to avoid paying interest on their carried over balances, shook the credit card companies and encouraged them to start placing some restrictions on their offers.

Originally, the companies thought that people would transfer their balances to a new card, and use that credit card in preference to others. Under that scheme, the card companies would lose out on the interest on the transferred balance, but would make up for it in interest rates and merchant fees on new purchases. Unfortunately for the companies, today's consumer has the benefit of the internet with comparison sites to help them work their way through the complexities of credit card finances and loans. Many consumers transferred their balances to a new card, but didn't use the card to make new purchases.

In response to that, the credit card companies began placing limits and restrictions on their balance transfer offers. This has let a lot of people to believe that we are seeing the demise of the balance transfer credit card. In reality, the concept of offering lower interest for moving your carried account balance hasn't died - it's simply undergoing a metamorphosis to make it more friendly to the credit card companies.

That means, of course, that it's less friendly to consumers, who now have to shop a bit harder to get a good balance transfer deal. Those deals can still save you a lot of money, though, so it's important to keep your eye out for them. You'll also need to watch out for some of the tricks and traps that credit card companies are building into their offers now to discourage rate tarts. Before you apply for a balance transfer credit card, look closely at the member agreement so that you know:

- What is the APR for transferred balances?

- What is the balance transfer fee for the transaction?

- How long will the new APR apply to my balance transfer?

- What is the APR for new purchases made to the card?

- Do I have to whack a certain amount or number of new purchases on my card to keep the low APR on my balance transfer?

- Is the balance transfer fee more than the amount of interest that I'd pay on the transferred balance over the same amount of time?

- What will invalidate my balance transfer offer?

If you're looking for a way to lower your monthly payments, or cut down the total repayment on your credit card bills, a balance transfer card could be the answer that you need. Check out new balance transfer offers at comparison sites on a regular basis so that you'll never have to pay more interest on your accounts than you should.

Jon Francis has been involved in various areas with the world of finance and has a keen eye for a bargin! He has an in-depth knowledge of the credit card UK market and now helps others get the best from a credit card.

Playing the gift-card game

Retailers’ cards come with fewer strings attached than ‘use anywhere’ plastic, study shows.


Gift cards continue to grow in popularity, with some industry experts anticipating that almost seven out of 10 consumers will purchase one this holiday season. But some cards come with a price attached, according to a study released Monday by Bankrate Inc.

The third annual holiday gift card study looked at 38 plastic cards and seven electronic cards from the country’s top 25 retailers, as ranked by the National Retail Federation. It also researched "use anywhere" cards from the four top credit-card issuers: American Express, Discover Card, MasterCard and Visa. The report is online at www.bankrate.com/giftcardsurvey.

All "use anywhere" cards carried fees, while retailer-specific cards rarely did. It’s a logical difference because so-called "open loop" cards make money from the fees they charge, while retailers profit from merchandise purchased with their "closed loop" cards. Customers also often spend more money at a shop than the amount on the gift card.

The average delivery fee on a gift card from a major credit card company is $3.60, according to the report. Discover Card, for example, charges $3.95 for each gift card, or $6.95 for a premium card package, which comes with a matching greeting card and envelope.

Last year, Discover didn’t charge shipping fees for its gift card, according to Bankrate.

Major credit-card issuers also charge maintenance fees of $2 to $3 a month if the consumer doesn’t use the gift card within a certain time period, the study found.

American Express was the sole "use anywhere" card that didn’t have an expiration date, but it still charges a $2 monthly service fee beginning 366 days after the purchase date. Discover Card gift cards, on the other hand, expire in 24 months and charge a $2.50 monthly fee if the card isn’t used for 12 consecutive months.

Still, "use anywhere" cards are growing in popularity, said Ellen Cannon, assistant managing editor at Bankrate.com.

"They’re an easy gift," she said, adding that they’re popular among companies that give gifts to their employees and among grandmothers who have no idea where their grandchildren shop. "It makes it easier for the recipient and the gift-giver to be happy with the result."

But the best bet is to figure out which stores the recipient patronizes, Cannon said. Retailers are moving away from imposing expiration dates on gift cards.

Sears, for example, no longer imposes a five-year expiration date on its plastic gift card, and Costco eliminated its two-year expiration date on its electronic gift cards, according to the study. Electronic gift cards are purchased online and e-mailed to the recipient.

The moves coincide with legislation passed by 13 states that prohibit expiration dates on gift cards, according to the report. Some states have also passed laws forbidding companies from not allowing consumers to redeem their cards for cash, the study found.

But beware: Some retailers still charge dormancy fees, which apply monthly after a set time period.

Gift-card buyers also need to understand where the card can be used. Of the electronic cards researched in the study, only JCPenney allows its e-cards to be used for in-store purchases.

Wal-Mart, Costco, Target, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Kohl’s allow their electronic gift cards to be used only for online or catalog items. Some stores, however, allow customers to use store-bought cards for online purchases, Cannon said.

"Most of them are pretty clear," she said of the terms and conditions - if you take the time to read them. The last thing a customer wants to do is buy an e-card that is restricted to online purchases for a grandma without a computer, Cannon said.

Also, remember there is a secondary market for unwanted gift cards should the recipient want to trade their cards in for others or for cash, she said. Cardavenue.com, PlasticJungle.com and Swapagift.com are a few sites where consumers can trade in cards.

McClatchy Newspapers