The LowCards.com credit card prediction for 2010 is no surprise: cardholders will pay more for credit card loans. The cost of credit cards will continue to increase for consumers even though the major provisions of the CARD Act go into effect on February 22. Cardholders could see increases in both their interest rates and existing fees, as well as the introduction of new credit card fees.

“Credit card issuers have lost billions of dollars in credit card loans during this economic downturn. Now they are staring at these new provisions of the CARD Act that will limit their ability to make revenue. They are coming up with ways to generate additional revenue and it obviously comes at the expense of the cardholder,” says Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com and author of The Credit Card Guidebook. “This means that cardholders will continue to pay more for credit card loans.

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Around this time of year, many people may be contemplating resolutions for the new year, including common ones like quitting smoking or losing weight.

However, given the recent problems some consumers have had with debt management and budgeting, other people may take a different approach this year by sticking to financially-related promises for 2010. Recently, the CEOs from member organizations in the National Foundation for Credit Counseling gave their own suggestions as to what people should resolve to do in the coming year.

Coming in at the very top of the list of suggestions from the executives was saving money, a practice that can help consumers if they find themselves with emergency expenses or suddenly without a job.

“Americans might ask themselves how they paid for their last emergency. If it was with a credit card, that?s a red flag,” the NFCC report said. Read more…

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2010 Financial Predictions 10. Your spending 9. Your credit card 8. Your debit card 7. Your rewards 6. Your phone 5. Your paycheck 4. Your home 3. Your mail 2. Your ID YOUR KIDS

How will young adults obtain credit in the new financial landscape?

The Credit CARD Act and its crackdown on campus card promotions will likely have a chilling effect.

“Young adults have never really been the focus of direct marketing activity, and now with more restrictions in place, there could be fewer offerings for this particular demographic,” says Andrew Davidson of Mintel Comperemedia.

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Balance transfer credit cards are credit cards that transfer the balance from one card to another card. Cardholders often search for these types of credit cards to eliminate or reduce finance charges and save money. Balance transfer credit cards are like any other credit cards, therefore looking at the variety of features will help you make the best choice.

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Credit card features are composed of the APR (annual percentage rates), balance transfer fees, interest rates, late fees, and so forth. The APR is a primary feature to reflect on while searching for balance transfer cards. Credit card companies are competitors; therefore, the companies will strive to offer special deals on credit cards. Some of the deals include 0% introductory rates and low interest rates, particularly for balance transfers. In your search for the best balance transfer credit cards, be sure to take maximize the advantage of the offer by using the card strictly for balance transfers.

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Debt on credit cards continues to haunt some people as a recent report from a financial services company shows that delinquencies and defaults on accounts increased.

Moody’s Investors Services’ Credit Card Index for November showed that charge offs increased to 10.56 percent during the month. The two months before saw charge offs drop, with October posting a rate of 10.04 percent.

The firm noted that it expects charge offs – or credit card card debts that lenders deem uncollectable – will reach a high of between 12 to 13 percent during the middle of 2010.

One of the things that could lead to a further increase in the number of credit card defaults is a rise in account delinquencies. Like charge offs, delinquencies of 30 to 180 days rose to 6.2 percent in November after coming in at 6.1 percent the previous month.

However, the Moody’s index also showed that early-stage delinquencies dropped to 1.6 percent in November.

Many experts have noted that one of the driving forces behind a number of different loan delinquencies and defaults is unemployment. Read more…

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