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 Credit Card News Round Up - 28th July 2008Dedicated credit card news & the latest updates from across the UK
New credit cards are on offer, but with American Express reporting profits down by an unexpected 38% are we spending more sensibly as a result of the tough economic climate? With news that most successful credit card applicants don't have to prove how much they earn, should the banks be more sensible when it comes to lending? Official Sony credit card re-launches with 2 FREE DVDs! THE Sony Card credit card, in association with MBNA and Sony, is back on the shelves and comes with some great rewards. The first time you use your Sony Card, and so long as this is within the first 90 days, you will receive 3,000 free reward points (Sony Pulsebeats) - enough to get 2 free movie DVDs, a free Playstation 2 game or 2 free CDs. Thereafter, you will receive 1 point per £1 spent on the Sony Card, and triple points on Sony products. For people who enjoy music and games, the Sony Card might be the perfect credit card. The Sony Card also offers 0% on balance transfers for 12 months, with a balance transfer fee of 3% and 0% on purchases for 3 months. If you're into Sony products - Playstations, laptops, televisions, etc, then the Sony credit card may well be the credit card for you. Help support campaigns against homelessness THE Co-operative Bank has partnered up with Shelter to launch a credit card that benefits people and families who are homeless or badly housed. When the Shelter credit card is used for the first time, the Co-operative Bank will donate £20 to the charity. A further 25p is donated for every £100 spent on the credit card. Shelter has stated that it anticipates around 2,000 people will apply for the card in the coming three months, which would generate charitable donations of around £400,000. The Shelter credit card also comes with some excellent bonuses for the customer with a conscience, including 24-hour medical and legal assistance abroad. There is no fee for UK cash withdrawals, credit card cheques, traveller's cheques or foreign currency purchased in the UK and no annual fee - the only usage fee on the credit card is the 2.75% foreign transaction fee that will be charged on purchases or cash withdrawals made abroad. Shelter is joining the ranks of these 'affinity' charity credit cards, joining WWF, the RSPCA, Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Cool Earth and Pure - the Clean Planet Trust, to name but a few. The Co-operative Bank has long been the choice for ethical consumers, with its strong ethical policies and its refusal to support businesses that contribute to climate change, and the launch of the Shelter credit card has further established the Co-operative Bank as the ethical bank. Even the wealthy default WHILE it may of taken international banking giant American Express a little longer to feel the crunch, their latest quarterly profit report is showing that even the wealthy are starting to default. Profits for the last quarter were down by 38%, more than anticipated; with profits falling from $1,057 a year ago to $653 (£326m) this year. American Express targets wealthier individuals and focuses its business on credit and charge cards, so it was always slightly protected from the initial 'mortgage loan' credit crisis many banks found themselves a part of. However, credit card debt often comes an easy second to mortgage payments, and so the bank has found out with quarterly profits dropping so much. American Express has stated that even its best customers were spending less and taking longer to pay bills, and Amex was just one of several high-profile companies reporting disappointing quarterly profits, with others including Samsung, Boeing and US Airways. £17 billion leant on credit cards without proof of income HOW much money you earn may not be as important as you might imagine when it comes to borrowing money on a credit card. According to uSwitch.com, over the last year 84% of successful credit card applicants weren’t asked to provide payslips or any proof of income. Credit card companies lent around £17 billion without checking a single payslip. However, the banks retorted saying that credit checks were far higher on their agenda for deciding whether to lend money or not. A spokesperson for Barclaycard stated that earnings aren’t actually that important – someone earning more could spend more, and those earning less might have a smaller budget. With credit checks compulsory since March 2008, banks use these as a basis to granting or refusing credit cards. So how good is your credit rating? Credit checks can be accessed online through credit referencing agencies like Experian |
