DON’T LET THIS….

TURN INTO THIS…

That’s right Money Matters with Greg Bowens listeners. The hot new threat to you hanging onto your money is “card-jacking.” Banks and credit card companies are gearing up to jack your credit card with new fees and interest rates. Industry pundits blame changes in the credit card law. But we know better. They want to keep the money coming right out of your bank account and into their bottom line.

Meanwhile, Washington is reportedly about to give the finance industry another excuse to add a little more to fees and interest rates. The Obama administration is mulling over a plan to charge banks fees in order to recoup taxpayer dollars used to bail them out. See it all here at USA Today… http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/01/obama-budget-may-include-fees-for-bailed-out-banks/1

Now which high finance executive do you think is going to come out of his/her annual bonus to pay that money back? You guessed it — zippo, not-a-one, zero, nada, goose egg… The money is more likely to come from another point or two inserted into the credit card fee and interest calculations that will be reflected in your monthly statement.

So watch out listeners for the “card-jacking” move coming to a mailbox near you. To help you see what is going on, we have the “card-jacking” list of new trends coming from the credit card industry. Special thanks to http://www.thewisdomjournal.com/Blog/top-10-consumer-credit-events-of-2009/ where you can find even more information.

1. Credit card companies charge for not using credit cards regularly, even if you carry a balance. In January, Chase began charging $10 a month to 400,000 customers who have large balances but little account activity.

2. Credit card companies change minimum payments at anytime with minimal notice. Chase increased the minimum payment from 2 percent to 5 percent for cardholders with large balances

3. Credit card interest rates generally increased for all major card issuers and even doubled or tripled for consumers who pay their bills on time. Citi sent some cardholders letters notifying them that the variable APR for purchases on Advantage Citicard’s would increase, in some cases to a 29.99%. The hike on interest rates has prompted Senate Banking Committee chairman Chris Dodd to step in and propose an immediate interest rate freeze on the estimated 700 million credit cards in circulation. No word yet on when it when or if it will happen.

4. Rewards programs are less rewarding. Citi’s Thank You Rewards program added a $39 fee for all tickets redeemed through its CitiMiles program. American Express’ Delta Sky Miles dropped its “Always Double Miles” program. Though many rewards cards are available, they’re getting harder to find.

5. Credit card companies lower limits or cancels cards altogether. Analysts expect credit card companies to cut limits by $2 trillion by mid-2010.

6. Creditors add annual fees to existing credit cards. In October, Bank of America announced it would start charging cardholders who pay in full each month an annual fee of $29 to $99 a year. Citigroup started charging annual fees to card holders who don’t put more than a specific amount on their cards, typically $2,400 a year.

If you have had it up to here with high credit card debt, these guys may have the solution…