Scanning the headlines for credit card information that might be helpful for personal finance teachers:

• This recent video can be helpful to college students as they head off to campus this fall and receive a branded debit card from their college:
  • http://college.usatoday.com/2014/08/27/young-money-choose-your-debit-card-deal-carefully/
  • Here is the full report from Consumer Reports on college debit cards.  

• With Apple’s IPhone 6, Apple diving deeper into payments game (CNET).  This will be interesting development to watch and may need to be added to lessons about payment types in the future.   

“Apple is partnering with American Express, Visa, and MasterCard on a mobile wallet system expected to be introduced with the iPhone 6 on September 9, according to two different reports.”

• This credit card will pay you back for making your credit card payment on time (ABC News). 

• Why carry cash?  Moving to a digital cash world:  50% of millenials use debit/credit for transactions under $5 (Washington Post):

“After cash, people in most other age groups said debit cards were the next best payment method for small transactions, followed by credit cards. Even the youngest consumers, those ages 18 to 29, were more than twice as likely to use debit cards over credit cards.”

• Reasons you could be turned down when applying for a credit card (Time):  “Even if you think you have good credit, even if you get a “preapproved” credit card offer in the mail, you can still be shot down when you apply for a credit card. What gives?”

• Discover and AMEX tops in customer satisfaction per JD Power survey (Marketwatch).  Other interesting factoids in the survey:
  • Almost 1/3 of customers don’t understand their rewards program:  “The percentage of customers who say they “completely” understand how to earn rewards has increased to 63 percent in 2014 from 59 percent in 2013.”
  • Why do customers switch?  It’s the reward program, stupid!  “Even with record-high customer satisfaction, 10 percent of customers have switched their primary card in 2014, up from 8 percent in 2013. Among those who switched cards, 42% did so for a better rewards program.”
  • More than 1 in 10 report a problem with their card, with most common issue related to fraud:  “While only 11 percent of customers report a problem or complaint with their credit card, the most common issue is unauthorized or fraudulent activity, which accounts for 21 percent of all problems. Interestingly, when properly handled, credit card companies can turn a bad event into a positive customer experience.”

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.