ICC Twitter

May 12th, 2009

Advanta to Cease Small Business Credit Card Lending

May 12, 2009

Advanta Corp, which specializes in small business credit card issuance, has taken the drastic step of completely shutting down the issuance of credit beginning June 10. No new Advanta credit cards will be issued, and current Advanta customers will not be allowed to make further purchases with their cards. (Current customers will of course be liable for debts they’ve incurred.) While Advanta is leaving the door open to conducting business in the future, the new mode of operation will be to collect receivables from past customers and use that capital to pay off shareholders in Advanta’s securitization trust.

Advanta’s uncollectable debt had reached 20 percent and the company reported a loss of $76 million in the first quarter. At least one stock analyst predicted the company was headed for bankruptcy.

Advanta’s current small business customers will likely be scrambling for new credit lines, as the business credit card market has shrunk significantly. Credit card issuers that once saw the small business market as fertile ground for growth have scaled back their offers. Among the cards still marketed, interest rates have risen and card reward programs have been discontinued or watered down.

Most popular / best credit cards according to IndexCreditCards.com visitors:

  1. Discover® More Card
    1.
    Discover® More Card - 0% APR on balance transfers for 12 months & 6 months on purchases, 5% cashback bonus in popular categories, up to 1% cashback bonus on all other purchases
  2. Chase Freedom Card
    2.
    Chase Freedom Card - 0% Intro APR and no Annual Fee, 5% bonus cash back in popular categories , 1% cash bank on everything else
  3. Citi Platinum Select MasterCard
    3.
    Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard® - 0% on purchases & balance transfers for Up to 18 months, APR as low as 9.99% variable. $30 statement credit.
  4. Blue Cash from American Express
    4.
    Blue Cash® from American Express - Earn up to 5% cash back on gas, groceries and drug store purchases, and up to 1.5% back on all other purchases, no annual fee, fast approval under 60 seconds
  5. Slate from Chase
    5.
    Slate SM from Chase - 0% Intro APR, Now with Blueprint, patented fraud protection

  6. American Express® Gold Card
    6.
    American Express® Gold Card - 10,000 American Express Membership Rewards bonus points when you use the card for at least $500 in purchases within the first 3 months.
  7. TrueEarnings® Business Card from Costco & American Express
    7.
    TrueEarnings® Business Card from Costco & American Express - 4% cash back for annual gas purchases up to $6,000, 3% restaurants, 2% travel, 1% everywhere else, 0% APR on purchases for first 6 months

Return to IndexCreditCards.com

Return to Credit Card News Home

* variable rate = credit card interest rate changes in line with federal interest rates or other rate index; fixed rate = credit card rate stays the same regardless of changes in federal rates, but still may be changed by credit card issuer in the future.

** See the online Discover credit card application for details about terms and conditions. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. When you click on the "Apply Now" button, you can review the credit card terms and conditions on Discover's website.

About us | Contact Us | Index Credit Cards in the News | Credit & Financial Links

Site Map | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

ICC User Survey