Credit Card

MBNA America Bank yesterday introduced a premium credit card with a limit that can give consumers who qualify enough cash to put a hefty down payment on a house.The nation's second-largest bank card issuer behind Citibank is offering the no-fee MBNA Platinum Plus Visa or MasterCard, which has a credit limit of up to $100,000.The new card should be in consumers' hands within four to six weeks, said Peter Osborne, a spokesman for the Wilmington, Del.-based company."We are constantly surveying our customers and this is something they told us they wanted," he said.

CardHub.com , the credit card comparison site, lists its top plastic for new college grads:  -- The Journey Student Rewards from Capital One that offers 1 percent cash back on purchaes and a quarter-point if you pay your bill on time for a total of 1.25 percent. -- The BankAmericard Cash Rewards for Students that pays a $100 reward for spending $500 or more in the first three months, plus cash back rewards of 1 to 3 percent on purchases. -- Discover Open Road Card for Students that provides cash back rewards ranging from 0.25 percent to 3 percent on purchases.

Five of the six largest credit card issuers reported higher delinquency rates --- payments late by at least 30 days --- in September, according to Bill Hardekopf of lowcards.com . These rates had been declining recently, which could mean that consumers are once again struggling to make ends meet. But the issuers were also reporting that charge off rates --- debts deemed uncollectable --- are lower.  I wonder how these data might correlate with the jobless rate , which has been creeping up in Maryland since May. American Express The delinquency rate increased to 1.5 percent in September from 1.4 percent in August.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has revised rules on the 2009 CARD Act, paving the way for non-working spouses and partners to qualify for credit cards. The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act was designed to rein in some of the egregioius practices of card issuers, such as handing out lines of credit to college students who didn't even have jobs. The banks counted on mom and dad to step in if junion got in over his head. One of the provisions of the law, though, was that a card company had to make sure consumers had the ability to pay before issuing them a credit card or raising their credit limit.

CardHub.com, the credit card comparison site, gave these cards top marks for new college and high school graduates: For college student, CardHub likes: Journey Student Rewards from Capital One - No annual fee, and 1 percent cash back for all purchases. Make your payment on time and your cash-back rate is bumped up to 1.25 percent. Citi Dividend Platinum Select MasterCard for College Students - No annual fee, and 5 percent back on purchases at certain merchants, such as gas stations, supermarkets and convenience stories for first six months.

The credit card reform signed into law a year ago by President Barack Obama is not only causing the industry to change but scaring some consumers straight. Under the law, credit card statements must disclose how long it will take to pay off a balance if you make only the minimum payment. For Norma Kaplan of Baltimore County, it would take her 13 years to pay off the $9,000 balance on her card, and over that time she would pay about $4,200 in interest. That has inspired her to pay more.

A second person charged in connection with a credit card skimming scheme that operated in Harford County pleaded guilty to mail fraud in U.S. District Court in Baltimore Friday. Tri Tran, also known as "Tony," 35, a citizen of Vietnam unlawfully in the country and living in Maryland, skimmed credit card account data and re-encoded onto different credit cards used to buy merchandise at retail stores, according to the statement of facts in his plea agreement that was entered into court Friday.

Update Kenneth Clayton, chief counsel of the American Bankers Association responds to CFPB's report: “There are more than 383 million credit card accounts in the U.S., and less than one-tenth of one percent of those have submitted a complaint to the Bureau. This is a strong record, and one the industry will work to build upon. "   The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today released its first report on credit card complaints. The federal agency began accepting credit card complaints on July 21 - when it officially opened for business - and received 5,074 complaints in the first three months.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been accepting consumer complaints about credit cards for close to a year. Today, the agency made a database of those complaints available online. You can see the names of the card issuers griped about, the gist of the complaint and company's response and the consumer's zip code. The CFPB says it has received 16,840 credit card complaints, with the most common complaint involving billing disputes. The agency sent 84 percent of those complaints to the card issuers, while the rest went to other regulators or were incomplete.

First, there was Bank Transfer Day, a Facebook campaign that encouraged consumers to switch from a big bad bank to a credit union by Dec. 5. Now, there's Balance Transfer Day, a Facebook campaign encouraging consumers to switch their credit card debt by Dec. 11 to a lower-rate card. But questions are being raised about a conflict of interest by the Balance Transfer Day founder, Michael Germanovsky. According to the Associated Press , Germanovsky is “editor-in-chief of a website that profits off credit card applications.” Germanovsky told the AP that his online campaign has nothing to do with his role at Credit-Land.com.

The Maryland State Police and Harford County Sheriff's Office report: Aberdeen Willtronious Fene Gates, 21, of the 4500 block of Susquehanna Avenue of the Aberdeen Proving Ground, was charged Tuesday with failing to appear in court in a case in which he was charged with stealing another's credit card and making another charge on a credit card greater than $500. Contressa D. West, 33, of the 4400 block of Antrim Court, was charged Tuesday with possessing a drug other than marijuana, obtaining drugs by fraud, possessing drugs with intent to distribute and defrauding state health care.

Americans' hearts going out to the victims of the marathon bombing in Boston, which means, of course, con artists will have to take advantage of that. The Federal Trade Commission is warning people to be leery of charity solicitations from telemarketers. The agency advises people to: -- Ask for the charity's name if the telemarketer doesn't provide it immediately. (This alone should be a warning sign if the solicitor isn't forthcoming) -- Find out what percentage of your gift will go to the cause.

Choose your day to "Cruise into Success" at the annual Office Professionals Conference held at the Richlin Ballroom in Edgewood, on Wednesday, April 24 or Thursday, April 25 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Harford Community College is offering a day of entertaining workshops on topics from administrative fundamentals to the latest in social media. The keynote presentation will be given by Content McLaughlin, a local attorney who works tirelessly with several nonprofit and community organizations and was the recipient of the 2009 ATHENA Women's Leadership Award.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. is warning customers about scams in which people pose as BGE employees in person or over the telephone to steal money, valuables or credit card information. A recent scam has targeted customers over the telephone, BGE said. Callers say service will be terminated and direct customers to pay by buying a "Green Dot" Visa credit card. Customers are given another phone number where information is obtained from a customer's credit card. But the funds are not used to pay BGE bills, BGE said.

The Harford County Sheriff's Office is seeking a woman in connection with the use of stolen credit cards at local drug stores and eateries in the Bel Air and Edgewood areas. The suspect may be driving a white Lexus or Infiniti or a green Mazda, the Sheriff's Office said. Surveillance photos of the woman and the two vehicles were released to the media Friday by the Sheriff's Office. Anyone with information regarding the suspect in the photo is encouraged to contact Det. Chris Rothlingshofer of the Sheriff's Office, 443-409-3328.

The Harford County Sheriff's Office is seeking two men in connection with theft from a car and the fraudulent use of the victim's credit card. According to the Sheriff's Office, the card was stolen around Jan. 29. The men are believed to be driving a red or maroon Oldsmobile or Buick. Surveillance photos of the suspects were released by the Sheriff's Office Friday. Anyone with information regarding the suspect in the photo is encouraged to contact Detective Chris Rothlingshofer of the Sheriff's Office, 443-409-3328.

Regarding your story about Baltimore City school administrators' credit card expenses, I propose that schools CEO Andrés Alonso be sent to the principal's office - in another state ("City school officials play loose with credit," Aug. 26). The reports of ongoing financial irregularities should outrage all taxpayers. Mr. Alonso has chosen to minimize the seriousness of the problem but he simply doesn't get it. He came to Baltimore with sterling credentials and a vision for improving a seriously distressed school system.

The Nottingham woman had ducked into a bathroom at the White Marsh Sears when she heard a voice from the adjoining stall: Her neighbor had found the toilet-paper dispenser empty. Could she pass some under the divider? As she gathered a bunch, authorities said, someone reached over the stall's door and took cash and credit cards from the purse she had hung there. It wasn't until she stopped at other stores that she realized her cards were missing. She would later find that the thieves had bought thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise with the cards.

Here we go again, observing our government changing laws to suit the business owners at the expense of the poor schmucks who are just trying to buy a little entertainment ("City politicians rush to save Ticketmaster's user fees," Feb. 24). Shame on Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and shame on the Ravens, the Orioles and all the smaller outfits that support Ticketmaster's stupendous rip-off of the American public. How could they stomp on the very folks who support their businesses?