Football supporters are being advised by the Abbey National that credit cards that are affiliated to clubs could cost consumers more than regular cards.
Taking the recent Manchester United versus Chelsea Champions League final as an example, Abbey National found that supporters heading for the match would face foreign exchange fees of between 2.75 and 3 percent on a football club affiliated credit card. The Abbey National credit card charges no fee for foreign exchanges, as well as no fees for balance transfers or cash advances either.
As the Managing Director of Abbey National credit cards said, It can be nice to have a credit card that is associated with your favourite football club, but there are costs associated with them that other cards do not charge.
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American Express has just announced quarterly profits significantly lower than originally expected, leading to a fall in the share price.
The company saw profits down by a massive 38 percent and, accompanied by a warning for the future that earnings per share would be on the decline, shares traded 11 percent lower. Even though American Express is more closely aligned to wealthier clients they have still seen defaults climb as the United States mortgage problems have hit people at all levels.
An American Express spokesman explained that the organisation, though performing very well relative to other players in the market, is behind where it expects itself to be and this is a situation that could continue for some time.
Sainsburys Bank is supporting the use of reward schemes for credit card customers, saying they can help save money.
With over 8 out of 10 credit card users saying they will probably be spending less than last year on their cards the providers are looking at ways to incentivise their customers to use them, and reward schemes have proved very successful. The Nectar scheme is typical of the new approach to customers say Sainsburys Bank. Such cards provide real benefits to users, with the ability to save money on other items they use in their lives and ultimately reducing their costs.
The other point about reward schemes said the Sainsburys Bank spokesman is that they differentiate the credit card from many others. The usual 0 percent interest offers are everywhere so something different and real is the best way to attract users.
