Bank of America Plans to Issue AmEx Cards

Looking for a Credit Card for Christmas Shopping? Before you submit a credit card application, first review the main points which will help you choose the right credit card for your needs.

What Charges You'll Make - If you're going to use the credit card mainly for booking airline reservations and hotels, it might be best for you to get a travel credit card that offers sky miles and hotel points or cashback. If this will be an emergency credit card only, then your main concern may be for a low interest rate credit card with low fees.

When You'll Repay Charges - Will you pay off credit card charges in full every month, or will you carry a balance month to month? If you're going to carry a balance, you want the lowest possible interest rate as well as a low introductory rate. But if you'll payoff balances in full every month, then interest rate really doesn't matter so no annual fee and/or a long grace period would be a bigger concern. If you're going to carry a balance, be concerned about how the finance charge is calculated. The most common method is the Average Daily Balance, which means that the daily balances are added together and then divided by the number of days in the billing cycle. Stay away from credit cards that compute the balance using two billing cycles, as this method costs more money in financing fees.

What Amount You'll Charge - If you're going to use the credit card for all your monthly expenses, then you need a card that has a high credit limit and a high cashback percentage.

More info about Interest Rates, Credit Limits, Incentives, Fees and Penalties

Interest Rates - The interest rate (Annual Percentage Rate) APR can either be a fixed rate or a variable rate that is tied to another financial indicator, most commonly the prime rate. With a fixed rate credit card you know what the interest rate will be every month, whereas a card with a variable rate can fluctuate. Of course, even the interest of a fixed rate card can change based on certain events, such as paying your credit card bill late, exceeding your limit, or simply because the credit card issuer decides to change it after providing you ample advance notice.

Credit Limit - This is the amount of money the credit card company will let you charge to the card. This amount varies depending upon the card offer and your credit history. Be sure to get a credit card with an ample limit, because getting close to your max can hurt your credit score. Just remember that you don't have to max out your limit just because it's available.

Incentives - To compete for and to gain customers, many credit card companies offer rewards. Even if you normally use cash, why not use your credit card and then use the cash to make the payment during the grace period? You still won't pay interest and meanwhile you'll rack-up rewards. A credit card with 5% cashback will earn you $5 for every $100 charged. If your total bills come to $2,000 per month, you'll earn a free $100 every month. Look for a rewards program that you'll use and which offers flexibility, such as cashback or travel.

Fees and Penalties - Compare common charges such as late fees, overlimit fees, balance transfers, cash advances, and for making payments by telephone. Regarding balance transfers, look for credit card offers with no transaction fees and zero percent interest for at least 12 months.

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Bank of America Plans to Issue AmEx Cards

By Credit Federal | Published 12/22/2005

Bank of America Plans to Issue AmEx Cards

Bank of America Corp.'s plans to issue branded American Express credit cards should bolster the bank's efforts to attract new customers while retaining more affluent ones, Chief Executive Ken Lewis said Wednesday.

Bank of America Plans to Issue American Express-Branded Credit Cards in Bid to Lure New Customers

"It's a way to bring in new customers, and it's a product we can offer our existing customers," he told reporters. "We see this mainly as a product for our private and premier bank segments."

Private bank and premier bank customers are some of the Charlotte bank's wealthiest clients. Earlier this month, the bank cut fees for online stock trades from nearly $20 to as little as $5 per transaction for those customers.

Other Bank of America customers also will get a discount for their online stock trades, but not as steep.

Bank of America, which will become the nation's largest credit card issuer when it closes its $35 billion acquisition of MBNA Corp. on Jan. 1, said it will market the American Express-branded cards online and through its 5,800 branches beginning next year.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Under the agreement, Bank of America will own the customer loans and American Express will process the transactions.

Separately, American Express confirmed Wednesday it will dismiss Bank of America from its antitrust litigation against Visa, MasterCard and a number of U.S. banks.

Both Bank of America and American Express also said an existing card-issuing partnership between MBNA and American Express will continue. In January 2004, Wilmington, Del.-based MBNA became the first major U.S. financial institution to sign a network partnership with American Express.

Bank of America shares fell a nickel to $46.64 in Wednesday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, while American Express shares were up 64 cents, or more than 1.2 percent, at $52.39.

Meanwhile, Total System Services Inc., which is based in Columbus, Ga., said Wednesday it expects to lose about 15 percent of its annual revenue when Bank of America takes its credit card services in-house next October. In 2005, Total System's contracts with Bank of America and MBNA were expected to generate $376.9 million, or 23.5 percent, of yearly revenue. Overall 2005 revenue is projected to reach $1.6 billion.

Total System forecasts losing $239 million from Bank of America's move. Bank of America will pay a termination fee to switch over its business, Total System said.

Shares of Total System dropped $3.05, or nearly 14 percent, to $18.91 on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Bank of America Plans to Issue AmEx Cards - by <a href=http://creditfederal.com>CreditFederal.com</a> Bank of America Plans to Issue AmEx Cards Bank of America Corp.'s plans to issue branded <a href="http://creditfederal.com/americanexpress-credit-card.html">American Express credit cards</a> should bolster the bank's efforts to attract new customers while retaining more affluent ones, Chief Executive Ken Lewis said Wednesday. Bank of America Plans to Issue American Express-Branded Credit Cards in Bid to Lure New Customers "It's a way to bring in new customers, and it's a product we can offer our existing customers," he told reporters. "We see this mainly as a product for our private and premier bank segments." Private bank and premier bank customers are some of the Charlotte bank's wealthiest clients. Earlier this month, the bank cut fees for online stock trades from nearly $20 to as little as $5 per transaction for those customers. Other Bank of America customers also will get a discount for their online stock trades, but not as steep. Bank of America, which will become the nation's largest credit card issuer when it closes its $35 billion acquisition of MBNA Corp. on Jan. 1, said it will market the American Express-branded cards online and through its 5,800 branches beginning next year. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Under the agreement, Bank of America will own the customer loans and American Express will process the transactions. Separately, American Express confirmed Wednesday it will dismiss Bank of America from its antitrust litigation against Visa, MasterCard and a number of U.S. banks. Both Bank of America and American Express also said an existing card-issuing partnership between MBNA and American Express will continue. In January 2004, Wilmington, Del.-based MBNA became the first major U.S. financial institution to sign a network partnership with American Express. Bank of America shares fell a nickel to $46.64 in Wednesday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, while American Express shares were up 64 cents, or more than 1.2 percent, at $52.39. Meanwhile, Total System Services Inc., which is based in Columbus, Ga., said Wednesday it expects to lose about 15 percent of its annual revenue when Bank of America takes its credit card services in-house next October. In 2005, Total System's contracts with Bank of America and MBNA were expected to generate $376.9 million, or 23.5 percent, of yearly revenue. Overall 2005 revenue is projected to reach $1.6 billion. Total System forecasts losing $239 million from Bank of America's move. Bank of America will pay a termination fee to switch over its business, Total System said. Shares of Total System dropped $3.05, or nearly 14 percent, to $18.91 on the New York Stock Exchange. This article provided courtesy of <a href=http://creditfederal.com target=_new>www.CreditFederal.com</a>, a personal credit resource of good or bad credit credit cards and loans.

Credit Tip: Need a high limit for Christmas credit card charges? If you have bad credit, consider a personal loan by refinancing your mortgage. Even if you have cash to buy Christmas presents, we recommend using a prepaid card to make purchases because it's safer than carrying cash.