How’s your post-holiday financial hangover? Let’s hope you don’t have one at all, but, if you do and your credit score’s healthy, you might well be thinking of exploring balance transfer credit cards. Many of these offer a break of 6, 12, 15 or even 18 months from high credit card interest rates through 0-percent APR introductory periods on the amount you transfer.

Balance transfer credit cards: two caveats

Before you get too excited about that weight being lifted from your shoulders, you need to heed three warnings:

1. As with most credit, you can’t always get it if you really, really need it. Credit card companies aren’t crazy (mostly), and they won’t lend to you if they think you are already in financial trouble. The stronger your credit report, the better your chances of approval for the card you want.
2. Don’t see balance transfer credit cards as additional lines of credit. It’s a classic mistake to transfer a balance and then run up others on the cards you zeroed. Instead, use the vacation from interest payments to more quickly pay down as much debt as you can, including that on the new card.
3. Most of these cards charge a one-off fee (often 3 percent) on the amount you transfer. That’s usually added to your new balance, and it’s rarely enough to undermine the economics of the deal, but unless you choose one of the fee-free offers described below, you ought to build it into your calculations. Use one of IndexCreditCard.com’s credit card calculators to model your savings and plan how you’re going to pay down your balance.

Balance transfer credit cards without the balance transfer fee

Sometimes, credit card companies run special promotions during which they waive balance transfer fees. They’re not always available, but you should invariably check for them before you apply for one of these credit cards. Right now, there are at least two such offers, and both are time-limited.

Discover has signaled that its offer is likely to expire on Jan. 31, so don’t delay if you’re considering making an application. Here are some of the headline points for this offer, which is on the Discover More Card:

• No balance transfer fee, annual fee or rewards redemption fees.
• Introductory period of 12 months during which there’s a zero-percent APR on both balance transfers and purchases.
• Discover’s usual rewards program, with cash back that can be earned based on eligible purchase categories.

Of course, before you make any credit card application, you should comparison shop online. If you were to do so at the time of writing, you’d find that Chase is offering a similar deal on its Slate from Chase card. There are no balance transfer or annual fees, and the introductory 0-percent APR lasts for 12 months if you have excellent credit, or six months if you have average credit.

Again, this offer is flagged as being available only for a limited time. So if you’re looking for a holiday hangover cure, you’d better act now.

As people up and down the eastern seaboard continue to clear up in the wake of Hurricane Irene, many are likely to be looking to their credit cards to help pay for repairs and the replacement of wrecked household goods. It’s depressing work, and especially distressing for those who are uninsured, either completely or just for flood damage. Business Insider recently quoted one source that suggested that up to 95 percent of all affected homeowners fall into this group.

Low interest credit cards versus rewards credit cards

Wow! That’s a colossal and genuinely shocking figure. And it suggests that huge numbers of victims may be forced to fall back on their plastic just to restore their lives to something approaching normalcy.

If you’re one of them, you’re likely to be pretty short on silver linings at the moment, and might be attracted by even the minor one offered by rewards credit cards. While you’re spending all that money, you may think, you might just as well get some cash back, travel miles, points or whatever.

Good idea. But it may not be the smartest move for all your purchases. For many of those, you should probably be pulling your low interest credit cards from your wallet instead.

Credit card rates, rewards credit cards and credit card calculators

That’s because, on average, interest rates are higher for rewards credit cards than those for ordinary ones. Indeed, at the time of writing, IndexCreditCard.com’s credit card rates monitor says that the average annual percentage rate (APR) for consumer non-rewards cards is 14.72 percent, while that for consumer rewards cards is 17.30 percent.

You’d need a spectacularly generous rewards card for it to make sense for you to charge items to it that you know you won’t be able to pay down for a long time. Generally speaking, the rule is that it’s good to use rewards credit cards for purchases that you know you can clear quickly, and low interest credit cards for those that are going to take you longer.

You can use credit card calculators to see how long it should take you–and how much it should cost you–to pay down balances at your own cards’ different interest rates. Then you can work out what your personal strategy should be.

Balance transfer credit cards

If your credit’s good and you’re having to load your cards a lot post-Irene, then you might want to consider applying for a balance transfer credit card. There are two reasons why this could be a good idea:

1. A number of these–mostly from Citi–offer zero percent APR on transferred balances for 21 months. Others make a similar offer for 15 months. That could provide you with just the breather that you need to get over the hurricane.
2. Your credit score could suffer if the balance on any of your cards is higher than 30 percent of its credit limit. So even if you can manage paying down your credit card debt easily, you could be better off spreading the load across more plastic.

Credit card companies human!

One tiny positive revelation that emerged in the aftermath of Irene is that credit card companies are human. That’s not necessarily in the sense that the U.S. Supreme Court thinks, namely that corporations are people. No, it’s in the sense that they’re run by real-life, breathing and occasionally sentient human beings. Many of them announced that those affected by the hurricane could see their late payment and/or other penalty fees waived, though only for a strictly limited time. Awww. Ain’t they sweet?

This time last week, this blog ran a story (Credit card offers that tempt) about how credit card companies are engaged in stiff competition, and are coming up with increasingly attractive offers to win new customers. With summer looming ever closer, now could be a good time to check out a couple of cards that could make your vacations more comfortable, more enjoyable and less expensive.

Credit card deals for the poolside

Arguably, two of the strongest credit card rewards programs for travelers have resulted from an alliance between Chase and Marriott, the global hotel people. These are the Marriott Rewards Credit Card and the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card, both from Chase.

In many respects, including credit card rates and most fees, these are very similar products. Balance transfers, cash advances and foreign transactions all attract the same 3 percent fee across the two cards. For both, expect to pay between 14.24 percent and 19.24 percent variable annual percentage rate (APR) on any balances you carry forward, depending on your credit score.

And, speaking of credit scores, it’s unlikely that an application for either card would be successful unless yours is toward the Excellent end of the spectrum.

Credit card rewards for the traveler

The real differences between these credit cards become apparent when you compare their bonus rewards and their annual fees:

The Marriott Rewards Credit Card from Chase

1. Annual fee: $30 (waived in the first year)
2. Earn 22,500 bonus points with your first purchase
3. Receive an e-certificate worth two free nights’ stay on approval of your application
4. Those bonus points and the e-certificate can be worth up to five nights at Marriott locations
5. Get 10 nights’ credit toward earning Marriott’s “Elite” VIP travel perks every year
6. Earn three points for every dollar you spend at a Marriott location
7. Earn one point for every dollar you spend on other purchases

The Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase

1. Annual fee: $65 (waived in the first year)
2. Earn 30,000 bonus points with your first purchase
3. Annual free night’s stay
4. Those bonus points and e-certificate can be worth up to five nights at Marriott locations
5. Get 15 nights’ credit toward earning Marriott’s “Elite” VIP travel perks every year
6. Earn five points for every dollar you spend at a Marriott location
7. Earn three points for every dollar you spend on airfares, dining and car rentals
8. Earn one point for every dollar you spend on other purchases
9. Receive 15,000 bonus points when you redeem a seven-night stay

Choosing the best credit card deals for you

If you’re a keen traveler who enjoys vacationing in luxury, and if you’ve a good credit score and rarely carry forward significant balances, then these two credit cards should almost certainly make your short list. How should you choose which to apply for?

Well, that’s simple. You should use the same process that you do when choosing any card: sit down and realistically assess what your spending patterns are, what your needs are, and how the different credit cards perform in meeting those needs. In this case, you just have to work out whether the higher annual fee of the Premier product is worth to you the extra rewards it can bring.

Last Tuesday, comScore®, a company that describes itself as a “global leader in measuring the digital world”, published its latest Online Credit Card Report. Although some of the document focuses exclusively on credit card use on the Internet, much of it takes a broader view. And among its most interesting insights are those concerning how consumers think when they’re applying for a new card.

Credit card applications: the selection criteria

In December 2010, comScore conducted a survey of almost 2,000 Americans who use the Internet and have at least one credit card. Purists should note that not all credit card users are also Internet users, so the results may not reflect the general population entirely accurately. However, given the near ubiquity of online usage in this country, any skewing of outcomes is likely to be tiny.

Anyway, the survey asked those respondents who had shopped for a new credit card in the previous 12 months about the factors that were most important in choosing the product they ultimately applied for. The results were:

1. Low annual percentage rate (APR)/interest rate–38 percent
2. No annual fee–25 percent
3. Rewards program–16 percent
4. Introductory offer for new account–13 percent
5. Low APR for balance transfers–8 percent

Researchers then asked all respondents (not just those who’d shopped for a new card over the previous year) to score the importance to them of certain credit card features. The resulting ranking was:          

1. Low APR/interest rates–40 percent
2. No annual fee–28 percent
3. Rewards or points–13 percent
4. Card accepted as most merchants–8 percent
5. High credit limit–5 percent
6. Reputation of the issuer–3 percent
7. Customer service–2 percent
8. Low APR for balance transfers–1 percent

People who write about credit cards come across a whole lot of stories about consumers who’ve made dumb choices. And this may lead them (your blogger included) to believe that people in general pick their plastic using poor criteria. But the comScore research suggests that this belief may be mistaken, or, at least, exaggerated.

The study breaks down results between people who perceive their credit scores to be excellent or good and those who think they’re fair or poor. And, to a large extent, both groups value selection criteria in ways that suit their needs.

For example, those with excellent/good credit scores worry less (34 percent) about having a low APR than those with fair or poor credit reports (53 percent). And that makes perfect sense. Those in the first category are less likely to carry forward balances than those in the second. That means that they should be less concerned about credit card rates; they’re less likely ever to have to pay any interest.

Credit card rewards

The same applies to credit card rewards or points. Those who believe they have excellent or good credit rank these higher (17 percent) than those who identify themselves as having fair or poor scores (6 percent). And, again, that suggests an informed and self-interested awareness. APRs tend to be higher for plastic with rewards programs, and those who are likely to carry forward balances frequently are often better off prioritizing low credit card rates. Those who never pay any interest should often seek out the most generous rewards program.

Credit cards & lifestyle

The trick to choosing a new credit card is first to sit down and make a realistic appraisal of how you’re likely to use the product. If you’re struggling to cope under the burden of high credit card rates on significant debt, then you should prioritize finding great deals on balance transfer credit cards. If you never carry forward balances, focus on rewards. If you frequently carry forward significant balances, look for low interest credit cards.

This isn’t rocket science, and the comScore study suggests that there’s a good chance you’re already making intelligent choices–and that’s especially likely to be true given that you’re an Index Credit Cards visitor. However, another part of the study could be read as meaning that most consumers don’t invest enough time in carefully comparing all the available offers. So make sure you’re not one of them.

Tomorrow, this blog will dig further into the comScore research to find more useful information.

On Saturday, the Forbes website included a paean of praise to the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (Credit CARD Act) of 2009. It said legislation was “a complete success in its yet young life.”

And it went on to claim that trecent research, including Center for Responsible Lending that was covered here on this credit card news blog last week, “definitively proved that the rise in interest costs and the decline in credit availability during the past year occurred as a result of economic pressures, not the CARD Act, and thereby confirmed the most prevalent criticisms regarding the law’s performance to be baseless.”

Credit card regulation not a complete success–absent stellar credit score

Not everyone agrees with the Forbes analysis. USA Today certainly saw things differently in a piece it ran yesterday. That accused the credit card regulation that flowed from the law of forcing issuers to target new annual fees and higher interest rates at those with less than perfect credit scores. However, it acknowledges that those with spotless credit reports are now getting some excellent deals.

Peter Garuccio of the American Bankers Association told USA Today, “when you look at the regulations, it’s a net positive for consumers. But there have been some trade-offs.”

Balance transfer credit cards–a resurgence

Meanwhile, Fox Business looked at the resurgence of balance transfer credit cards. Of course, these fall into the “excellent deals” category highlighted by USA Today, so applicants are likely to need respectable credit reports to get approved.

One of the balance transfer credit cards that Fox singled out was the Discover® More Card, which has been featured more than once here on this blog. Right now, you have to pay a 5-percent fee on the balance you transfer, but after that you get a full 24-month zero percent introductory rate on that balance. Fox says that that’s the longest interest-free period currently on offer anywhere.

Credit cards keeping Target on target

And finally, Bloomberg is reporting remarks made by Doug Scovanner, chief financial officer of Target, in a conference call with investors last Thursday. Apparently, Mr. Scovanner ascribed much of the company’s 10.5 percent growth in revenues during the fourth quarter of 2010 to its branded credit cards, which include the Target Visa® Credit Card.

This is hardly surprising as Bloomberg says that the company gives a 5-percent discount when customers pay using one of its debit or credit cards.

A just-published 2010-2011 survey by the consumer rights group Consumer Action confirms what all too many credit card users already know–today’s rates are extraordinarily high. The average variable rate was 13.20 percent in 2009, but jumped to 15.06 percent in 2010. The rise went straight to credit card companies‘ bottom lines as the Prime Rate remained steady at 3.25 percent during that period.

Consumer Action made an interesting point about how banks use credit card rates to prop up margins. The prime rate tumbled by well over a half between 2008 and 2009, from 7.25 percent to 3.25 percent. Yet the average interest charged on variable rate cards inched down over the same period by only 1 percent. Don’t expect the same sluggish response if (or, rather, when) rates start to rise.

Credit card regulation good?

As you’d expect from a consumer advocacy group, Consumer Action is broadly supportive of the last wave of credit card regulation, which was mainly based on the Credit CARD Act of 2009. It points to caps on many fees, and to restrictions that prevent card issuers from raising interest rates on existing balances except in unusual circumstances, as positive measures. Consumer Action also welcomed new levels of transparency that were imposed on credit card companies by the new law.

However, audits of the Federal Reserve’s database of credit card agreements showed that “participating issuers have done nothing to cut down on fine print and incomprehensible legalese,” Consumer Action said.

Credit card use changing

Consumer Action found three major changes in the way people use credit cards:

1. 24 percent of respondents said they now paid more than the minimum required as a result of newly required card statement disclosures that show how long it would take to achieve a zero balance when paying the least possible amount
2. 40 percent claimed credit card rates had risen
3. 60 percent of those who carried forward balances said they “significantly” reduced credit card debt last year

Fees changing

Consumer Action also looked at fees on credit cards, and found these four trends:

1. Annual fees rose slightly to an average of $65.20, but seemed to be charged on fewer products, confounding those industry lobbyists who predicted that they’d become ubiquitous after the Credit CARD Act
2. Some credit card companies appear to be eliminating over-limit fees
3. The average fee charged on balance transfer credit cards rose from 2.94 percent of the amount transferred in 2009 to 3.53 percent last year
4. Late fees have dropped widely as a result of the cap imposed by the new law

Credit card debt likely to remain a problem

Reporting on the Consumer Action survey, the New York Post forecast gloomy short-term credit card trends ahead. Though the latest unemployment data showed a drop in the overall unemployment rate, over 6.3 million Americans have been jobless for at least 27 weeks, The Post reported. These long-term unemployed people may cause card delinquency and default rates to remain high, The Post said.

On the whole, delinquency and default rates have been falling but it will be interesting to see what the Federal Reserve’s monthly “G.19–Consumer Credit” statistical release shows about 2010 holiday spending. Based on Mastercard’s fourth quarter results, The Financial Times said last week it expected “the first positive growth in US consumer credit card spending in nearly three years.” Is that a good thing? We’ll have to wait and see. But it’s certainly a reversal in recent credit card trends.

Credit card rates continue to head north

Earlier this month, on January 6, this blog carried a story under the headline, “Credit card rates at record highs“. It reported not only the extraordinarily high interest rates that credit card companies are currently charging, but also the widely anticipated likelihood that they would continue to rise.

That message was reinforced Sunday by Jennifer Waters. Writing in The Wall Street Journal, she explained that, at the end of 2010, the spread (difference) between the prime rate and the average credit card APR was bigger than it had been for 20 years, and that when–as it pretty much inevitably must–the prime rate rises, it’s likely to drag credit card rates up with it.

And she made another telling point. Quoting the Synovate Mail Monitor, she said that all credit card offers sent out since the second quarter of last year had been for variable rate cards. So, unless you’re lucky enough to have an old, fixed-rate one, you should plan for higher rates–possibly quite soon.

Credit card regulation could cap rates

One congressman, Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), is unhappy at this prospect, and is preparing a bill that would see credit card rates capped at 15 percent. The Atlantic quoted from a statement he made:

Many hardworking Americans are using credit cards to make ends meet in this recovering economy, but credit card companies are finding new ways to squeeze the middle class despite significant reforms in the last Congress. Credit card companies are charging interest rates as high as 50 percent, trapping millions of Americans in a spiral of debt, forcing bankruptcies, and ruining peoples financial futures. We need to put an end to this legalized loan sharking.

The congressman may make a persuasive case (although an unintended consequence of the bill could be that desperate and uncreditworthy people could be denied essential financial lifelines), but, following the recent mid-terms, there seems likely to be little appetite in the House for another round of credit card regulation.

What to do if your rates are too high

There are plenty of people out there who are struggling to keep on top of their credit card debt, and who are finding the interest they’re paying on it to be a real burden. What can you do if you’re one of them?

Francine Huff, who writes for Index Credit Cards, last week had three suggestions for viewers of Fox Business. She recommended:

1. Call your credit card companies and ask for reductions. If the agent who takes your call says no, then ask to speak to a manager
2. Check out balance transfer credit cards. Some of these have really lengthy zero percent introductory APRs on transfers, and can provide a very worthwhile breather from interest payments
3. If neither of those works, explore your opportunities for consolidating all your credit card debt into a home equity line of credit

Sometimes, this blog refers to credit card companies “charging off”, which is industry jargon for writing off delinquent accounts that are regarded as uncollectible. That debt may be thought of that way, but, of course, every effort is still likely to be made to collect the uncollectible.

Credit card debt collection: “a broken system”

What usually happens is that each of the credit card companies bundles up a whole lot of delinquent accounts and sells them on to a specialist collection agency for cents on the dollar. Collectors then begin relentless campaigns to “persuade” the debtors to pay up. Back in July, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a paper on this system. It said that, after extensive analysis, the FTC concluded:

…that neither litigation nor arbitration currently provides adequate protection for consumers. The system for resolving disputes about consumer debts is broken. To fix the system, the FTC believes that federal and state governments, the debt collection industry, and other stakeholders should make a variety of significant reforms in litigation and arbitration so that the system is both efficient and fair.

Credit card companies careless over accuracy…

Behind those dry words are some exceptionally dodgy practices. Some weeks ago, The New York Times reported a story told by Linda Almonte, a former middle manager with one of the nation’s biggest and most respected credit card companies. She said that, in 2009, she was helping her employer to sell on to a collection agency 23,000 accounts. Together, these were worth about $200 million, but they were to be sold for 13 cents on the dollar, so the bank expected to raise roughly $26 million.

As the process of preparing the files progressed, it became clear that they contained numerous errors, ranging from wrong addresses to incorrect balances. Indeed, there was more than one case in which cardholders had actually won court judgments against the issuer. In fact, when a sample was tested, it turned out that more than one-fifth of the files contained material errors. That’s 5,000 out of 23,000.

…and collection agencies are too

The extent to which faulty information is likely to bother collection agencies is up for debate. The same story in The Times tells of a former employee of a collection company who told lawyers who were deposing her that she was expected to sign 2,000 affidavits a day. Assuming an eight-hour working day, that’s about one every four seconds, so the chances of her picking up on mistakes were slight.

Indeed, John G. Watts, Esq., an attorney with the Watts Law Group of Birmingham, Alabama, thinks that rogue collection agencies go beyond the careless. He says that many will routinely flout the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and that some will pursue bogus debts that they know are not owed.

Credit card debt–a way forward?

Often the only way to deal with a collector who’s unlawfully strong-arming you over bogus or legitimate credit card debt is to consult an attorney who specializes in such matters. But the best time to act is way before your debt becomes a problem.

If you currently feel–or if find you find you do so after the holiday –that both your balances and the credit card rates you’re paying are uncomfortably high, then you may want to think about applying for one of the many balance transfer credit cards that are available. You often have to pay a one-off fee (usually between three and five percent) on the amount you transfer.

But some of these balance transfer credit cards offer zero percent introductory rates for long periods, which can provide you with a worthwhile breather from high credit card rates. For example, the Discover® More(SM) card is, at the time of writing, offering a 12-month zero percent introductory APR on both balance transfers and purchases. Meanwhile, the Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard® offers the same 12-month, interest-free period on purchases, along with a whopping 24-month interest holiday on balance transfers.

If your credit score is still healthy, but your balances uncomfortably high, it’s well worth considering these.

Over the weekend, Barron’s carried a feature about consumer debt. Some of its conclusions were based on data contained in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, which were covered in this blog last week.

Barron’s took a fairly rosy view of the situation, commenting: “Look almost anywhere these days, and the data paint a picture of household finances on the mend.” Hmm, maybe. But with unemployment the way it is, and delinquency and default rates still high, it may be premature to be too self-congratulatory. There are plenty of people out there facing unmanageable debt, made worse by crippling credit card rates.

Credit card debt and the elderly

One group that is likely to contain many who are struggling financially is America’s senior citizens. This uncomfortable truth was covered here in October in a blog entitled “Credit card debt increasingly affecting seniors“. But new research published earlier this month by CESI has shed new light on the problem.

It’s important to note one caveat with this study: its research base was significantly smaller than that used by most national polls. But even bearing that in mind, some of its findings are startling:

• Fifty-six percent of respondents had outstanding debts when they retired
• At the same time, 59 percent had saved less than $50,000
• Thirty-five percent still had credit card debt when they retired
• Thirty percent still had a mortgage

Credit card debt–a personal case study

CESI included in its report the story of one woman, Victoria Johnson (not her real name), who may have encountered a situation shared by many. She’s now 65, but when she quit work she bought into a retirement dream that is common across the nation.

She lived well, she traveled, she bought gifts for her kids and her friends. It was the sort of sunny lifestyle that is often portrayed when the media focus on people in their supposedly golden years. And she loved it–right up until she realized that, at $17,000, the balances on her credit cards were out of control. She explained how she felt at that moment:

I never meant to run up that big a bill. Retirement was fun, I kept saying I would get a part time job to pay it off, but I just never did, and soon it got out of hand. I was embarrassed, ashamed and I felt I was ruining the fun retirement we had planned.

Credit card rates can turn a dream retirement into a nightmare

When USA Today reported the survey, yesterday, one piece of advice it offered to people in that situation leaped off the page: whatever you do, don’t make a late payment on your credit cards. Not only is this likely to give your credit score a knock, but it’s also liable to trigger much higher rates.

According to this site, credit card rates are already averaging 16.77 percent, which is bad enough if you’re relying on so-called high interest savings accounts for much of your income. But a single late payment can instantly bump whatever you’re paying to close to 30 percent on new purchases, sometimes even more. Go 60 days past due, and that high rate could apply to your existing balances.

Balance transfer credit cards

If your credit score is still good, but you’re struggling with debt, why not consider a balance transfer credit card? For many, the Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard® could prove the king of these.

Of course, there are many other balance transfer credit cards out there, and one of the most popular is the Discover® More(SM) Card.

Credit card debt–the worst holiday hangover?

As Black Friday and Cyber Monday (those incredibly busy mall and online shopping days immediately after Thanksgiving) approach, and the temptation to go out on a card-fueled spending binge grows, it’s worth taking a closer look at at credit card use during the holiday season. Credit card debt can give you a worse–and much longer–hangover than even the most bacchanalian office party.

In fact, that “longer” can be very long indeed. At the end of last month, the Consumer Reports® Holiday Shopping Poll found that 13.6 million Americans still haven’t paid off the credit card debt they acquired during last year’s holiday season.

Credit card use in detail

And an earlier Consumer Reports survey, conducted at the beginning of this year, found that shoppers aren’t good at sticking to their holiday budgets. On average, Americans said they expected to spend $699 on gifts over the 2009 holiday period, but actually spent $811, a 16 percent overshoot. It was worse for those who used credit cards. They managed to pay out a whopping $896, nearly 30 percent more than planned.

Another survey, this time commissioned from Javelin Strategy and Research by eBillme™, also explored 2009 holiday spending. Its figures were more detailed than those from Consumer Reports:

• Thirty-three percent of consumers acquired no credit card debt
• Thirty-nine percent paid off all holiday debt within three months
• Twelve percent required six months to do so
• Five percent took six to nine months
• Five percent were still paying it off at the end of the third quarter of this year

In a statement, the president and CEO of eBillme, Marwan Forzley, observed:

The fact that 33 percent of consumers shopped without credit cards last year is evidence that consumers are approaching holiday shopping differently. They are saving and spending within their means rather than following the buy now pay later mantra. We expect to see similar shopping habits this year as the number of consumers preferring cash over credit continues to increase.

Credit card use online

Another aspect of holiday spending that was address by the eBillme survey was online shopping. Given that you can’t pay in dollar bills in cyberspace, this sort of purchasing more often involves credit cards. The report found that 55 percent of consumers–an increase of seven percent over 2009–intend to avoid Black Friday by shopping online this year and the amount they plan to spend on retail sites is slightly higher.

Discover® brings you a holiday gift?

Yesterday, Discover announced an online shopping incentive for holders of its credit cards this holiday season. From Monday (November 15), cardmembers can earn Double Cashback® Bonus on any online shopping purchases, up to a total of $1,000, through to December 31. Once that $1,000 limit is reached, they go back to the standard Cashback Bonus. Cardmembers have to enroll to take advantage of the program, and they can do so at Discover’s website or by calling 1-800-DISCOVER.

If you want to take advantage of the offer, but aren’t currently a Discover cardmember, you can apply online for one of its credit cards. Two of its most popular products are the Discover® More® Card – $100 Cashback Bonus® and the Discover® More® Card. The latter is an especially good balance transfer credit card. Just click on either link to apply online.