Fewer offers, more fees after credit card reform
The number of credit card offers to U.S. households plummeted 67 percent in the first quarter, when compared to last year’s January through March period, reports lowcards.com. At the same time, 27 percent of those offers carried a fee, up from 18 percent a year ago.
Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com and author of “The Credit Card Guidebook,” said consumers should brace for the changes.
The new credit card regulations will substantially reduce the revenue for issuers. Increasing the number of cards with annual fees is certainly one way to make up for this shortfall. Consumers must pay attention to the offers they receive to see if the card has an annual fee. In addition, consumers need to look at the notices you receive in the mail or in your bill to see if your issuer has added, or even increased, an annual fee.
Just this week, I received a credit card offer from Citi. I’m not interested in opening a new account, but if I were I might want to check the issuer’s credit report before signing up. Exactly how much does Citi owe me already?
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