Credit Card Myths

AZCentral.com has a story on understanding credit cards.

It answers some questions on some common credit card myths :-

• Myth: “As long as I make my credit-card payment, the interest rate won’t change.”
• Myth: “Card issuers need my consent to change key terms.”
• Myth: “Interest rates on credit cards stay the same for people who pay their bills promptly.”
• Myth: “It’s important to report lost cards immediately to minimize financial liability.”
• Myth: “The federal government caps the amount of interest that can be charged on credit cards.”
• Myth: “My credit-card problems won’t affect my ability to buy insurance or other services.”

While some of the points are only valid for my North American friends, quite a few apply to Australia as well.
Read the full article Here

1,497 Credit Cards For One Man

I found this story through Financial Maturity.

Walter Cavanagh has amassed a collection of 1497 credit cards and earnt himself a place in the guiness book of records.

What started as a bet in the 1960′s has turned into a $1.7 Million line of credit.

Unlike me Walter only uses one credit card and pays it off every month.

40 Million Credit Card Numbers Stolen

Budgeting Babe reports in her blog that 40 million credit card numbers have been stolen from merchant processor Card System Solutions.

The theft was reported to the FBI on May 22nd. Both Mastercard and Visa are reviewing their arrangements and will see if CardSystems can meet the security requirements needed.

So my advice is to keep an extra eye on your statements for the next few months.

You can read the full story at CNN