Usaa

[HMC-FMF-PJ]

One more reason why I prefer doing business with this military-friendly company! I am fortunate enough to have accounts with both USAA and NFCU.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/29/pf/credit_card/index.htm?section=money_mostpopular
(Excerpts) The best and worst credit cards

In a survey of more than 36,000 cardholders conducted by Consumer Reports, five of the largest MasterCard and Visa issuers, -- which together control about 80 percent of the market -- earned mediocre rating scores.

The card issuer USAA Federal Savings, which scored 95 points out of a possible 100, earned the highest rating. The Navy Federal Credit Union and other credit unions followed suit with high scores. The top three rated issuers charged interest rates between 9 percent and 11 percent.

Until recently the USAA Federal Savings card has been limited to members of the military, retired military personnel and their families. It's now opened up its membership policy so that almost anyone can join.

"Credit unions are run by their members, so they are more likely to take care of you if you have a problem, and they are less likely to suddenly increase their interest rates," said Amanda Walker, senior editor at Consumer Reports.

Cardholders said that they had far fewer billing headaches and other problems with the card issuers at the top of the ratings.

"It's more important than ever to have a card with a higher Consumer Reports rating because the lower-rated ones can cost you a lot due to their higher interest rates and fees," said Walker.

The survey said penalty fees for late payments more than doubled in the last 12 years, from an average of $13 in 1995, to $28 this year. Some fees were even has high as $39.

The survey also reported how well customers said issuers treated them when they needed assistance. USAA Federal Savings earned a top score

http://www.usaa.com
http://www.navyfcu.org/

[HMC-FMF-PJ]

It is a pet peeve of mine to pay money in order to spend my money, so as long as we are talking about credit cards, this is a rather informative program you can watch online. When it comes to credit cards, I encourage people to be what the industry calls a "deadbeat"!!

PBS Frontline: Secret History of the Credit Card
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/

In "Secret History of the Credit Card," FRONTLINE and The New York Times join forces to investigate an industry few Americans fully understand. In this one-hour report, correspondent Lowell Bergman uncovers the techniques used by the industry to earn record profits and get consumers to take on more debt.

While it would appear that Stein -- who says he charges a small fortune every month on his credit cards -- is the ideal customer, in reality, he is what some in the industry call a "deadbeat." That's because he pays his balance in full every month.

The industry's most profitable customers, the ones being sought by creative marketing tactics, are the "revolvers:" the estimated 115 million Americans who carry monthly credit card debt.

Ed Yingling, incoming president of the American Bankers Association, tells FRONTLINE that revolvers are "the sweet spot" of the banking industry. This "sweet spot" continues to grow as the average credit card debt among American households has more than doubled over the past decade. Today, the average family owes roughly $8,000 on their credit cards. This debt has helped generate record profits for the credit card industry -- last year, more than $30 billion before taxes.

Some experts say the profitability of credit cards really began twenty-five years ago, when the banking industry successfully eliminated a critical restriction: the limit on the interest rate a lender can charge a borrower. Deregulation, coupled with a revolution in technology that enables the almost real-time tracking of personal financial information and the emergence of nationwide banking, has facilitated the widening availability of credit cards across the economic spectrum. But for some, the cost of credit is often far greater than it appears.

According to Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren, the credit card companies are misleading consumers and making up their own rules. "These guys have figured out the best way to compete is to put a smiley face in your commercials, a low introductory rate, and hire a team of MBAs to lay traps in the fine print," Warren tells FRONTLINE.

Warren and other critics say that a growing share of the industry's revenues come from what they call deceptive tactics, such as "default" terms spelled out in the fine print of cardholder agreements -- the terms and conditions of which can be changed at any time for any reason with 15 days' notice.

"It's not an accident that the banking and credit card business generates more complaints nationally, across the country, than any other industry…Out of one thousand industries that we track, they are number one," says Pat Wallace, head of the San Francisco Bay Area Better Business Bureau.

Despite the number of consumer complaints, the ability of state and local governments to investigate the credit card companies has virtually been eliminated. That's because the federal regulator for the banks that issue the majority of the credit cards, the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has been engaged in what some describe as a "turf battle" with the states. The OCC has fought aggressively in courts and Congress to nullify state consumer protection laws and curb enforcement actions, sparking a nationwide battle.

New York state attorney general Elliot Spitzer has united with his counterparts from all 50 states in opposition to the OCC. "We get thousands of complaints every year about credit card issues…but increasingly over the past number of years what we have heard back from the major banks is that 'we don't need to deal with you.'"

Julie L. Williams, the acting comptroller of the currency tells Bergman, "We have a wide range of enforcement tools, and we have the ability to directly affect what the banks do." The OCC points to advisories they have issued to banks warning about unfair practices, but to date, none of these practices have been banned. Critics believe the OCC's primary mission -- to keep the banks sound and competitive -- helps explain its scant record of public enforcement actions to protect consumers.

In Congress, Senator Chris Dodd has tried numerous times to introduce legislation to curb industry practices, but every one of his attempts has failed. Dodd says that the credit card industry "has become very, very powerful. And it's very successful in defeating every legislative attempt that's been made over the last several years to inject some responsibility on the part of this industry."

Banking spokesman Yingling makes no apologies. "Those are bad bills," Yingling says, "and we'll continue to do our best to block them."

In the meantime, consumers may find themselves on their own when it comes to dealing with problems with their credit card company.

= = =

[AndiRRT]

While it would appear that Stein -- who says he charges a small fortune every month on his credit cards -- is the ideal customer, in reality, he is what some in the industry call a "deadbeat." That's because he pays his balance in full every month.


Haha! I used to work for A large credit company, and this is soooooo true!

[Da-Chief]

I must say, USAA has taken care of me time and time again.

When we transfered from CA back in 2003 back to Great Lakes, All my travel Pay was deposited in a account I had closed on transfer back in 2000 here in Great Lakes. Evidently the PSD here still had a working account open on me and just automatically deposited my money into a closed account.

Well that was about 4,000 and we had just bought a house!! I needed the money and was expecting the cash.

USAA Credited my account with the money after "THEY" contacted PSD to find out my story was true and they contacted the Great Lakes Credit Union to find out my account was indeed closed. Mind you "THEY" did all the legwork. I had my money in my account by the end of "1" Business day.

As soon as the money hit my correct account, they took it in one fell swoop.

There were no fee's or anything, they just helped this family out.

They have a Customer for "LIFE"!!!

Da-Chief