Big banks only roll out totally new credit cards every couple of years (typically in an effort to win new customers from competitors by offering some kind of improvement on their rewards). Capital One has done just that with its new Capital One Venture Card, a $59-annual fee credit card that pays double miles on purchases and lets users redeem rewards on any travel-related purchase.

So is the Captial One Venture Card something to get excited about? If you play the credit card points/miles/cash back game and travel is your choosen reward, perhaps. (And a friendly reminder, if you don’t pay off your credit card balance(s) in full every single month, don’t bother with a rewards card…you probably won’t come out ahead).

In general, Capital One cards are becoming popular with travelers for two reasons:

• Simple Rewards: Many users say Capital One’s miles rewards programs have been living up to the card company’s “no hassles” tagline.
• No Foreign Currency Fees: Capital One cards are among the only cards that do not charge foreign currency transaction fees and they have pledged to continue this practice even as other issuers raise fees. Becuase that could save you between two and four percent on any overseas purchases, some would say Capital One cards are among the best credit cards for international travel.

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Shopping for a mortgage can be intimidating. There are thousands of mortgage lenders and hundreds of ways lenders can tweak home loans to distort their real costs. You’re also facing the excitement of buying a new home and you may feel vulnerable as lenders nit-pick your credit report. It’s understandable that many home buyers get stuck with bad mortgages because they just wanted to get the process over with. Unfortunately, that’s no small mistake: On a 30-year mortgage, fractions of a rate point can add up to tens of thousands of dollars.

Want to avoid a similar fate? It’s all about knowing how to shop for a mortgage. [...]

The CARD Act—a set of new regulations designed to limit credit card trickery—went into effect this week even though Congress proposed the act over a year ago. Since then, there’s been a lot of talk about what this all means for people like you and me.

And it’s not all good.

Without prying into painful details, here’s a 60-second run-down of what you need to know about the CARD Act. [...]

Do you have a credit card that raised your interest rate within the last year? You’re not alone. Credit card companies raised nearly everybody’s APRs because as of this month, the CARD Act prohibits them from doing so again without jumping through a lot of hoops.

But once your credit card raises your APR, how can you get it to go down again? You can always apply for a new credit card with a lower rate, but you need good credit, you may not want another credit card, yadda yadda.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you your existing company would lower your APR on the card you already have? It can be done. [...]

Let’s be honest: We make a lot of mistakes with credit cards.

I like to assume that most people don’t start drowning in high-interest credit card debt on purpose. We don’t choose to fork over billions to credit card companies every year because we feel bad that their execs’ planes are getting a little old.

But we do.

As you hopefully know by now, the overarching mistake that leads to all this debt is using credit cards to spend money we don’t have. But again, many people don’t realize this is happening as they swipe their cards. And one dangerous credit card mistake makes this far easier to do. Do you make it?

Do you fool yourself about the value of credit card rewards?

Cash-back and rewards credit cards can put a few hundred extra dollars into savvy spenders’ pockets every year. But the credit card banks don’t offer rewards to pay off customers who will never make the banks money; they offer rewards to bait customers who will pay the banks handsomely. Could that be you? Here are a few reasons it might be: [...]

Do you have an “army” of cashback credit cards? Is this plastic in your wallet a force to be reckoned with? Does each of your credit cards serve a special role that, when combined, earn you a ton of rewards just for your ordinary shopping?

These days, some argue that a cashback credit card is a necessity. After all, if you’re going to shop with a credit card, it doesn’t make sense to swipe a card that doesn’t give you something back in return—whether that’s cash, rewards points, or airline miles.

But the savviest spenders have taken cashback credit cards to a whole new level. Every cashback or rewards credit card works a little differently, but many cards pay higher rewards in specific spending categories like gas, groceries, dining, or air travel.

Pulling out one card while shopping for groceries, another at the gas pump, and another one at your favorite restaurant isn’t that out of the ordinary. Having an arsenal of cashback credit cards at your disposal serves one primary goal: Earn as much cash back as possible.

Let’s look at how a few popular cashback credit cards can work in tandem to optimize your cashback earnings. In this example, my army of credit cards includes: [...]

The American Express Zync Card, a charge card geared towards twenty-somethings, is my most recommended credit/charge card product for anybody under 30. I have always been a big a fan of Amex charge cards (I use one myself), and the Zync Card is even better that their other charge cards because it only costs $25 a year.

So what’s the Zync Card all About?

You may have noticed that American Express has been running ads to renew interest in the product that made Amex famous to begin with—charge cards.

Basically, Amex is betting that as consumers wrestle with the recession, try to spend wisely, and face credit cards that have raised rates and slashed credit lines, Amex’s charge cards will look attractive. Why is that, exactly? Charge cards like the American Express Green, Gold or Platinum card work like credit cards, with some key differences: [...]

FHA mortgage loans are mortgages that are guaranteed by the U.S. Government’s Federal Housing Administration. Thanks to this guarantee, FHA mortgage loans are often available to home buyers who do not qualify for “traditional” mortgages.

Authorized FHA lenders may approve borrowers with less-than-perfect credit and with as little as three and a half percent to put down for FHA mortgage loan. Although FHA loans were designed to serve low- and moderate-income home buyers who would otherwise have trouble getting a conventional mortgage; anybody can apply for an FHA loan up to FHA lending limits (by region).

As traditional lenders respond to the recession by making it more difficult to qualify for a mortgage, more borrowers are turning to FHA loans. That’s good news for able buyers, but it may not be good news for the recovering housing market in general. Recent reports indicate the FHA is losing money as current borrowers continue to default. (Anybody surprised?)

That said, you can still get an FHA loan, and with low mortgage rates and the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit and $6,500 home buyer tax credit in effect until next Spring; it’s still a very good time to buy a home. [...]

Credit card companies are raising interest rates on just about everybody these days, fueling many people’s passionate disdain for using any credit card for any reason.

Once upon a time, there was only one alternative to spending with credit cards: cold hard cash. But then came debit cards—accepted everywhere just like credit cards, but without annual fees, finance charges, and the looming risk of lifelong indebtedness.

Today, credit card alternatives are growing steadily and are looking even more attractive. That said, some alternatives to mainstream, unsecured credit cards are total rip offs—like many prepaid debit cards and even many secured credit cards. [...]

Stories of credit card companies raising interest rates on just about everybody—even customers with perfect credit, no debt, and no late payments—continue to roll in.

That’s because the CARD Act takes effect this winter and will restrict credit card companies’ ability to raise interest rates on existing customers. If you thought credit card companies were committing usury in the past with APRs of eighteen, or twenty percent; you ain’t seen nothing yet. Cardholders are seeing their rates go as high as 29.9 percent; there’s even a story of man who received a credit card offer at 79.9 percent APR!

How do you know if your card is raising your interest rate? What can you do about it? [...]