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News Library - November, 2005

Upromise Savings November, 30, 2005

A new study shows that joining a college savings program that includes a credit card can realistically generate thousands of dollars toward tuition. The research showed that a typical American family with two young children can send their children to a ... more

Card or Box? November, 29, 2005

Americans are quickly grasping that prepaid gift cards can greatly minimize holiday frustration. Besides convenience, prepaid cards keep budgets under control, eliminate unwanted gifts and reduce time spent shopping and wrapping traditional gifts. more

Holiday Gift Cards November, 28, 2005

While solid figures on holiday gift card sales are not available, the consensus is that Americans will purchase between $15 billion and $20 billion this holiday season. The estimated average gift card purchase has an even wider range, from $88 to $339, based ... more

Personalized Cards November, 23, 2005

This holiday season you can make your prepaid gift cards super cool by designing them yourself. Wal-Mart and First National Bank of Omaha are now offering gift card purchasers the option of uploading their favorite photos to create an exclusive, personalized ... more

2005 Volume November, 22, 2005

Americans are on track to charge nearly $2.7 trillion to their general purpose payment cards this year, about 13% more than last year. The projected figure includes $1.9 trillion in bank credit card charges and approximately $800 billion in debit card ... more

Giftcard Sweepstakes November, 21, 2005

The largest general purpose gift card program in the U.S. is handing out 20,000 free cards between now and the end of the year. Simon Malls, along with VISA and retailers in its 160 malls nationwide, has launched the instant-win holiday sweepstakes offering ... more

Perfect Storm November, 18, 2005

New bankruptcy laws, minimum payment rules and Katrina have set up a perfect storm for credit card issuers. The sheer magnitude of the spike in bankruptcies experienced immediately before the new legislation became effective was larger than most credit card ... more

Charges = Status November, 17, 2005

If airline status is your game, then you might want to shell out $50 and board the elite status flight on United. Between November 20th and December 28th you can earn miles toward elite membership status in the United "Mileage Plus" program by using your ... more

Virtual Olympics November, 16, 2005

The Olympic Winter Games are already underway - in the virtual world, that is. VISA has launched an online game that pits players from 23 countries in an international competition. The "VISA Championships-Torino 2006" will take the national winner (and a ... more

Pre-Holiday Spending November, 15, 2005

Overall retail spending on credit and debit cards has been running about 9.5% above year-ago levels but slipped to just a 1.4% gain last week as the nation gears up for the official start of the 2005 holiday shopping season next week. This year consumers are ... more