Banking & Credit Cards
How banks, credit cards, and payment systems work. Covers products, rates, fees, regulations, and what consumers need to know to navigate the banking system.
Latest in Banking & Credit Cards
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...
The FBI personally warned 8,935 crypto-fraud victims they were being scammed — and 77% had no idea it was happening
Nearly nine thousand Americans were losing money to cryptocurrency fraud without knowing it, and it took a direct phone call or email from the FBI...
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...
A new class action claims Best Buy secretly sold customers’ personal data to advertisers
A proposed class action lawsuit accuses Best Buy of quietly funneling customers’ personal purchase data to advertisers through its in-house media unit, Best Buy Ads,...
Fandango charged “convenience fees” on online movie tickets — now a $9.4 million settlement is paying California customers back
California customers who bought movie tickets through Fandango are now receiving payments from a $9.4 million settlement that resolved claims over convenience fees tacked onto...
Scam victims can check ftc.gov/refunds to see whether the FTC owes them money
Scam victims who get a surprise message saying they are owed money now have one simple way to check if it is real: look for...
The highest savings account rate available nationwide is now 4.1%
Savers shopping for the best return on their cash can now find a top advertised yield of 4.1 percent APY on a savings account open...
A Washington retiree lost more than $300,000 to a gold-coin scam — then got a $53,000 tax bill because cashing out her investments for the scammers counted as income
A Washington state retiree handed over more than $300,000 to a precious-metals dealer that federal and state regulators later confirmed was a fraud operation targeting...
Krispy Kreme’s data-breach settlement pays up to $3,500, with claims due June 22
Krispy Kreme customers affected by a late-2024 data breach can file claims for up to $3,500 through a class-action settlement, but the window closes on...
Banks must refund unauthorized debit-card charges reported within 60 days under federal law
Anyone who has spotted a charge they did not make on a debit-card statement faces a hard deadline: report it within 60 days of the...
Scammers are sending photos of fake FTC badges to fraud victims — offering to “recover” the money they already lost
People who have already lost money to fraud are now receiving text messages from strangers claiming to work for the Federal Trade Commission, complete with...
AT&T’s $177 million breach payouts, up to $7,500 each, are waiting on a judge’s final sign-off
Millions of AT&T customers whose Social Security numbers were exposed in a 2024 data breach could receive individual payouts of up to $7,500, but the...
Trader Joe’s shoppers have until Tuesday, June 9 to claim an estimated $102 each from the chain’s $7.4 million receipt-privacy settlement
Trader Joe’s shoppers who paid with credit or debit cards during a specific period can file claims for an estimated $102 each from a $7.4...
A new class action claims Bitcoin Depot’s ATMs let a scammer drain $76,000 from one victim
A proposed class action lawsuit accuses Bitcoin Depot of allowing a scammer to drain $76,000 from a single victim through its cryptocurrency ATMs, adding to...
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...
Graduate student loans will cost 8.07% for anyone borrowing after July 1, the highest rate in three years
Graduate students who borrow federal Direct Loans after July 1, 2026, will pay a fixed interest rate of 8.07 percent, the steepest borrowing cost for...
A courier who drove more than $1 million in gold bars from elderly scam victims to his bosses was sentenced to more than 15 years
Syed M. Makki, a 38-year-old Indian citizen living in Illinois, was sentenced to 15 and a half years in federal prison for driving more than...
Bonus checking accounts at Chase, Truist, and U.S. Bank pay $300 to $700 for setting up direct deposit — but the bonus is taxable, reported on a 1099 next January
Switch your direct deposit to a new checking account at Chase, Truist, or U.S. Bank and the bank will pay you a cash bonus, typically...
Older Americans handed $333 million to scammers through Bitcoin ATMs last year — Indiana became the first state to ban the machines outright on March 9
The scam almost always follows the same script. A phone rings. The caller claims to be from the IRS, a bank’s fraud department, or a...