Credit Cards & Rewards
New card launches, reward program changes, sign-up bonuses, annual fee comparisons, cashback and travel cards, and how to use credit cards strategically.
Latest in Credit Cards & Rewards
Downgrading a card to a no-fee version keeps your credit history intact
Cardholders facing higher annual fees on premium credit cards have a simple defensive move: ask the issuer to switch the account to a no-fee product....
Most cardholders who simply call and ask get their interest rate lowered — yet almost no one with a 21% APR picks up the phone
Millions of Americans carry credit card balances at annual percentage rates near or above 21 percent, yet the vast majority never contact their issuer to...
Pay your full credit card statement balance by the due date and you owe no interest at all
Credit card holders who pay every dollar of their statement balance before the printed due date owe zero interest on those purchases. That protection, written...
Most cardholders who call and ask get their interest rate lowered, yet almost no one with a 21% rate picks up the phone
Credit card holders paying rates above 20% are leaving real money on the table by not making a single phone call. Survey data collected over...
Federal law gives you 60 days to dispute a credit card billing error and withhold payment on it
Credit card holders across the United States have a strict 60-day window to challenge billing errors and legally withhold payment while their card issuer investigates....
American Express now charges $895 a year for the Platinum card, and Chase $795 for the Sapphire Reserve
Cardholders carrying two of the most recognized premium credit cards in the United States now face significantly higher annual fees. American Express raised the Platinum...
Federal law gives you 60 days to dispute a billing error on a credit card and withhold payment on it
Credit card holders who spot an unauthorized charge or billing mistake on their statement face a hard deadline: 60 days to notify the card issuer...
The average credit card now charges 21% interest — near the highest rate ever recorded
Americans carrying a balance on their credit cards are paying more in interest than at almost any point in modern history. As of February 2026,...
Americans’ credit card balances actually fell to $1.252 trillion — the first drop in years
American households saw their combined credit card debt dip to $1.252 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, breaking a streak of quarterly increases that...
Most travel credit cards waive the 3% foreign-transaction fee — but your debit card almost certainly doesn’t, costing about $30 extra on every $1,000 spent abroad
A $47 dinner in Lisbon turns into $48.41 on your bank statement. A $200 hotel night in Tokyo posts as $206. None of these overages...
You can reverse a charge for something that never arrived — federal law gives you 60 days to dispute a credit-card purchase
Last spring, a reader wrote to the CFPB’s complaint database about a $400 pair of sneakers ordered from a third-party seller. The tracking number went...
Most cardholders who simply call and ask get their interest rate lowered — yet almost no one with a 21% APR ever picks up the phone
Imagine knocking $300 or more off your annual credit card interest bill with a single phone call. That is not a hypothetical. Multiple LendingTree surveys...
Your credit card’s annual fee is often negotiable — a quick call asking to waive it or match a retention offer frequently works
Chase charges $550 a year for the Sapphire Reserve. American Express asks $695 for the Platinum Card. Capital One’s Venture X comes in at $395....
Most major card issuers now generate a one-time virtual card number for online checkout — so a breached retailer never sees your real account
In May 2024, Ticketmaster confirmed that hackers had siphoned personal and payment data tied to roughly 560 million customer records. The breach followed a depressingly...
Carrying a $6,000 balance at 21% costs about $1,260 a year in interest — but a 0% balance-transfer card can freeze that interest for up to 21 months
Carrying a $6,000 balance at 21% costs about $1,260 a year in interest – but a 0% balance-transfer card can freeze that interest for up...
The average credit card rate finally slipped to 21% from a three-decade high — but on a typical $6,000 balance that still drains about $1,260 a year in interest
A $6,000 credit card balance is not unusual. Credit bureau data from TransUnion and Experian have placed the average balance per borrower in the $6,000...
The two most popular premium credit cards just raised their annual fees again — Amex Platinum to $895 and Chase Sapphire Reserve to $795, even as more cardholders carry debt
The American Express Platinum Card now costs $895 a year. The Chase Sapphire Reserve costs $795. Both fees took effect in early 2026, and both...
Credit card rewards hit a record $47.5 billion last year — but they’re largely bankrolled by the interest paid by the half of cardholders who can’t clear their balance
Picture two neighbors, both swiping the same credit card at the same grocery store. One pays her bill in full when the statement arrives and...
Credit-card APRs hit 22.12%, the highest average in three decades — and a 10% interest cap bill has been stalled in Congress for six months
Every month, roughly half of American credit-card holders open a statement showing interest charges calculated at rates that have never been this high. The Federal...
Credit card delinquencies hit 13.1%, the highest in 16 years — but total balances actually dropped $25 billion last quarter
More than one in every eight credit card accounts at the nation’s largest banks is now at least 90 days past due. That is not...