CREDIT CARDS — WORST AND THE BEST

————————-——————

Among the cards cited for the editors’ “Razzie Awards for the Worst Credit Cards of 2010” were a new •First Premier MasterCard… with “an astonishing 79.99 percent A.P.R.”…
The Kardashian sisters backed a short-lived but now defunct •Visa Rush Pre-Paid Debit Card. So, what exactly went wrong? For one thing, the card was marketed to impressionable, not always financially responsible teens, and it was riddled with fees. Since it was a prepaid debit card, it allowed parents to limit their kids’ spending. But the problem was, its users would likely be paying more in fees than on actual purchases.

Also on the list were •Best Buy’s Reward Zone MasterCard, which CardRatings.com said had little disclosure of details, and the •Applied Bank Unsecured Visa Gold Card, which CardRatings.com said was the most expensive way to rebuild credit. CardRatings.com noted that the •Applied Bank card offered no grace period, meaning that interest begins accruing on your purchase the moment you swipe your card, not three or four weeks later as most credit cards do.

Meanwhile, cards that the editors rated the best in the cash-back category were the •PenFed Visa Platinum Cashback Rewards Card and the •Fidelity Investment Rewards American Express Card. In the airline and travel credit card category, the •PenFed Premium Travel Rewards American Express Card and •Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card were rated the best.

Source: N.Y.Times/BusinessDay/Your Money