Credit Cards

Inflation has steadily been rising in recent years. The Consumer Price Index — a major measure of inflation — rose again in March, by 0.4% on all items. Rising inflation is causing consumers to rely more heavily on credit cards for everyday expenses, a Varo Money survey found. Close to…

Capital One and Walmart announced Friday that they ended the agreement that made Capital One the exclusive issuer of Walmart’s consumer credit cards. Walmart and Capital One launched their partnership in 2018 after the retail giant ended its two-decade partnership with Synchrony Financial. Capital One began issuing Walmart-branded credit cards…

Nearly every store has rewards credit cards available for customers, but not all the offers add up to major savings. These offers are often the “genesis” of long-term issues, one personal finance expert warns. “There’s just a trickle effect that could last maybe years for that consumer,” financial planner and…

Capital One Financial’s $35.3 billion deal for Discover Financial would create new competition for payments behemoths Visa and Mastercard, potentially helping smoothen the path for regulatory approval, analysts said. The all-stock deal announced on Monday would give Capital One access to Discover’s network of payments processing and settlement services, allowing…

In the wake of Capital One announcing plans to purchase Discover earlier this week, opposing views have already emerged over whether the deal — if it goes through — will be good or bad for consumers. One camp argues that the acquisition would benefit consumers because it combines two major…

Retail and food service purchases hit an estimated $700.3 billion in January 2024, a 0.6% rise from the year before, Census Bureau data shows. Growing purchases, paired with other debt, has helped increase household debt. In Q4 2023, total U.S. household debt increased to $17.5 trillion in Q4 2023, a…

A growing number of Americans are falling behind on their car payments, an ominous sign for the U.S. economy as high auto prices and stubborn inflation strain household budgets. Car loan delinquencies tumbled in the early days of the pandemic as the government sent trillions in stimulus money to American…

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