Low Interest Credit Cards

Britain’s leading credit card provider has wasted no time in launching a new card to counter Virgin’s 13/13 card, which we wrote about last week.

Meanwhile, a building society has launched a new range of tax-free family savings products promising to plug the gap left by the Child Trust Fund, which the Government has scrapped.

Though the Coalition itself has already offered up Junior Isas as a way for families to save for children tax-free, Scottish Friendly said it had gone one step further and would allow families to invest up to £25 a month tax-free on top of their Junior Isa allowances.

Barclaycard bites back

Hot on the heels of Virgin Money’s 13/13 credit card, which offers 13 months of 0pc interest payable on both balance transfers and purchases, Barclaycard has released a rival credit card.

You don’t have to be a genius to work out what the Barclaycard 14/14 card offers – but suffice to say it betters its rival by a month.

There is a 2.9pc balance transfer fee and after the 0pc interest period is up you are charged 18.9pc.

Verdict This is the longest dual 0pc period in credit card history. Ho Read more…

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the AAdvantage program, AA has lined up a deal a day for 30 days. Its deal of the day for tomorrow, May 10, 2011, is 1,000 bonus AAdvantage bonus miles simply for having a Citi AAdvantage credit card.

In order to be eligible for the promotion, you must have an open Citi Aadvantage credit card or CitiBusiness AAdvantage credit card on or before May 8, 2011. To register and reserve your bonus miles, visit www.aa.com/AAdvantage30 on May 10, 2011, starting at 12:01am CST. Note that this promo is valid for one day only, so don’t miss it!

The Sony PlayStation Network security breach may have put your personal details at risk, possibly including your credit card information. Here’s what you should do now.

Sony is warning customers of its PlayStation Network that hackers have obtained the following information from its servers:

Name
Address
Country
Email address
Date of birth
PSN login and password

If you are a PSN customer, here’s what you should do now:

1. Change your passwords
Many people use the same password for multiple websites. If you use your PSN password on other sites then it is essential that you change it as soon as possible. Go to the website concerned then login and look for an option to change your account details. Choose a new, secure password.

2. Contact your bank
Sony says it has no evidence that PSN customers’ payment details have been stolen but it can’t be ruled out. Call yo

Read more…

Flowers, dresses, friends, yummy food, cake, and dancing. What’s not to like about weddings? Well, just one little thing: its drain on our bank accounts.

Getting married is a big deal, and you want to be there to celebrate with your friends. But that often entails shelling out for an engagement gift, a shower present, the bachelorette party, the wedding gift, a dress to wear, the right shoes–plus, hotel and transportation if the wedding isn’t local.

Multiply that by the number of weddings you have in a year, and your friends’ nuptials can put you in the poorhouse.

Make your way through wedding season gracefully while going easy on your budget with these tips:

Gifts

1. Be The First Person On The Registry

“Get in on the registry early so you have the widest variety of price points available,” says Amy Eisinger, associate editor of WeddingChannel.com. This way yo

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One of my favorite sources for financial news, CNN Money, recently featured a piece on America’s “Lost Decade.” It references Japan’s “Lost Decade” — a period of similar economic crisis that began in the 1990s when their own real estate bubble burst. The writer, Chris Isidore, says that private household debt in America is actually a much bigger problem than the government’s monstrous debt. With high unemployment and slow growth still plaguing us, it’s likely that things will continue to be this way for another six or seven years. We are “in for a long and painful adjustment period,” he says.

If consumer spending doesn’t increase, however, things just won’t get any better, Isidore writes. Our problems will continue as long as Americans stay in debt and out of retail shops. Isidore quotes the chair of Morgan Stanley Asia, Stephen Roach, as saying that “American consumers were turning into ‘zombie consumers,’ greatly because [they were] ‘burdened with underwater mortgages, excessive debt, and subpar saving, U.S. Read more…