Credit Card Fees

CardTrak reports that credit card fees have become uniform for the most part among the top ten credit card issuers. The list of the top ten: Citibank, MBNA, First USA, Discover, Chase, Providian, Bank of America, Capital One, Household, and Fleet. The top nine issuers charge a late fee of $29, while Providian charges $35. All ten report that their highest over-limit fee is $29. To prevent over-limit fees, CardTrak suggests that you find a card issuer that provides online access to your account balance and then keep your debt below 75 percent of your credit limit.

You will recall that Montgomery Ward filed for bankruptcy this past December. Now, GE Capital is offering the Wal-Mart credit card to holders of the Montgomery Ward credit cards. GE Capital manages both the Montgomery Ward credit card and Wal-Mart card through its Monogram Credit Card Bank. Rates on the Wal-Mart card range from 13.24 percent to 21.24 percent depending on risk. Cardweb reports that GE Capital owns or manages 100 million credit card accounts with about $25 billion in outstanding.