http://takingcredit.com Credit Cards, Credit Ratings, and Credit Resources. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:59:42 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A few articles have been tweeted our way concerning debit cards vs. credit cards. As debit cards become more important, it's equally crucial for consumers to be well informed about their advantages and disadvantages. Credit card companies are ready to make the transition. Are you? http://takingcredit.com/2010/03/10/debit-cards-vs-credit-cards/ ABC News reports some violent reactions to the idea. As we've reported, the CARD Act changed the age at which children can apply to credit cards. The parents are concerned- but maybe they should give credit a chance. You can help build your child's credit and responsibility through cards. Managing credit is an ... http://takingcredit.com/2010/03/09/should-kids-have-credit-cards/ A tweet about American Express prompted us to research the company's relationships with merchants. An interesting article at Bargainer highlights the average fees merchants pay to credit card companies. Want a peek behind the curtains? This is it. http://takingcredit.com/2010/03/08/american-express-and-merchants/ Here's a fun promotional video for MasterCard PayPass created for Polish consumers. We like the music and fun, retro style. Enjoy. MasterCard PayPass from Bitter Lix on Vimeo. http://takingcredit.com/2010/03/05/mastercard-paypass-in-poland/ The CARD act may have a few more consequences. One commenter notes that CARD has reduced the number of cash back offers for consumers. Of course, it's easy to interpret this in a couple of ways. For those who like credit card companies, this makes the CARD Act seem financially harmful to ... http://takingcredit.com/2010/03/04/cash-back-and-card/ Travelers may rely upon credit cards when going abroad. However, the convenience of credit should be coupled with some amount of concern. This post from Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler illuminates some of the confusion about varying exchange rates and credit cards. http://takingcredit.com/2010/03/03/navigating-exchange-rates-with-credit-cards/ OriginalNixster is confused: I really just don't understand this whole FICO Score / Credit report thing We'd encourage checking out some of our resources on the topic. A good start? Reading our articles on credit scores and FICO scores. In short, these scores are ways of measuring your financial reliability based on your credit ... http://takingcredit.com/2010/03/02/understanding-fico-and-credit-score/ We recently wrote about credit cards for people 21 and older. Now, Jon Stewart has another take on the CARD Act and young people. As you might expect, it's strongly worded and not quite safe for work. But it's always good to hear a new perspective. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon ... http://takingcredit.com/2010/03/01/another-take-on-the-card-act-and-young-people/ Frontline provides a solid new update on the CARD Act. Their coverage is always worth checking out. http://takingcredit.com/2010/02/28/the-card-game/ If you've followed us, you know we've covered extra info about FreeCreditReport.com (maybe too much). Aficionados can now add another site to the list- FreeCreditReport.com Tabs, for aspiring guitar players. That's in addition to our reports on where to see the FreeCreditReport.com commercials, who is the FreeCreditReport.com guy, and how to get ... http://takingcredit.com/2010/02/27/freecreditreport-com-tabs/