Current Zero Percent Balance Transfer For 1 Yr Cards

Pack your bags! 6 airline credit card offers for spring travel

The new year may start in January, but it doesn't really feel like a fresh beginning until spring arrives. Warmer weather and cheerier moods make it easier to look ahead: new goals, new hobbies, new friends…and at least one big trip to experience new adventures.

Whatever your springtime travel plans, you'll want to maximize the value of the reservations you make. Depending on how--and how often--you travel, you can find a new credit card to make the most of your purchases, with points, miles and other goodies.

Frequent flier? Tell Capital One to "Match My Miles"

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a perfect choice for the frequent traveler or overseas adventurer. You'll earn two miles per dollar on every purchase, and there are no foreign transaction fees. But the card's special current deal is the "Match My Miles" challenge: After you're approved for a new card, submit proof of your current airline miles, and Capital One will match the amount up to 100,000 miles when you spend $1,000 in the first three months. Plus you'll get a 10,000-mile bonus.

The annual fee is waived the first year; after that, it's $59. The card's variable APR is 11.9 to 19.9 percent.

Make the most of travel expenses with Miles by Discover

Spend up to $3,000 each year on travel, and Miles by Discover offers a tempting deal for you. You'll earn double miles on the first $3,000 in eligible travel and restaurant purchases each year. All other purchases will earn a mile per dollar. Discover also is offering 1,000 bonus miles for each month you make a purchase in the first 12 months after you open your account.

The Miles card has no annual fee and a zero percent introductory rate for the first six months. After that, the APR varies from 10.99 to 16.99 percent.

Airline loyalists: Look at credit card offers from Southwest, Continental and JetBlue

Do you find yourself flying Southwest, Continental or JetBlue the most? Consider their special deals:

Southwest

The new Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Plus Visa Credit Card from Chase has some special deals for you. With a new account, you'll get a special bonus: 20,000 points after your first purchase. You'll get two points for every dollar spent on Southwest Airlines purchases as well as partner hotel and car rental expenses. The regular rate of one point per dollar applies to all other purchases.

New rules promote smarter use of credit cards | BankingMagazine.net

Get ready for the sticker shock from your credit cards to hit you even sooner.

The government’s new watchdog wants consumers to have a complete picture of a card’s costs before they apply — including its exact interest rate and credit line. Currently those terms aren’t determined until after an application is processed.

Having the information upfront will help borrowers make smarter choices, according to David Silberman, the assistant director for card markets for the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“When the costs and risks of a credit card are clear, consumers generally will make wise decisions about borrowing,” said Silberman. He said letting people compare rates and credit limits before applying for a card would be a significant step toward that goal.

The CFPB can’t prevent consumers from charging too much and it can’t dictate the interest rates banks charge. But it’s planning several changes aimed at helping consumers avoid fees and debt overload, simply by making the right information available, Silberman said.

In addition to the early disclosure of specific interest rates and credit lines, the agency is considering tweaking the summary of rates and fees that appears on marketing materials.

For example, balance transfer offers usually carry a one-time fee of about 4 percent. Yet the first line of the summary of terms lists the interest rate for balance transfers, which often is a promotional rate of 0 percent. The fee information appears several lines down.

The CFPB also is developing easier-to-understand legal disclosures for new card customers.

The changes would build on sweeping new regulations that went into effect last year.

Under the new rules, monthly statements must now state how long it would take to pay off debt if only minimum payments were made, and how much interest a borrower would pay over that period. Statements show how much borrowers need to pay to be debt-free within three years.

To understand the effect of the additional disclosures, officials are studying data from credit bureaus, academics and regulators that were produced for a conference marking the one-year anniversary of the new requirements.

So far, the additional information appears to be helping consumers.

A phone survey of 800 cardholders by market research firm Synovate found that about one-third of the respondents who noticed the changes to their bills, used their cards less or made larger payments. About the same number said the new rules make it easier to pay on time, according to the study, which was commissioned by the CFPB.