New American Express service offers daily deals to cardholders…
There’s some serious competition in the “deal-of-the day” arena with American Express hoping to become a legitimate contender. By offering cardholders incentives to pay with their card on money saving discounts, Groupon and LivingSocial may have a battle. And unlike the competition, the AMEX deals will not require a coupon for discounts from leading national retailers and travel providers, including Dunkin’ Donuts, Sports Authority, Westin, Travelocity and more. In addition, merchants will need no special training to redeem the discounts. More
Until just recently, retailers were forbidden from rewarding their customers based on the customer’s choice of payment. Retailers could not suggest a less costly alternative or post a sign stating their preferred form of payment. In short, merchants were restrained from fostering competition among credit card networks at the point of sale. But a recent settlement by U.S. District Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis (Brooklyn, NY) between the Justice Department and MasterCard and Visa has changed all that. 
Javelin Strategy & Research released their annual Credit Card Issuer’s Safety Scorecard – and once again it was great news for Bank of America. For the fifth consecutive year out of seven years of the analysis, the bank rose to the top of the list for credit card safety for fighting identity theft and fixing fraudulent transactions. Rounding out the rest of the top five (in order of ranking) were Discover, U.S. Bank, USAA and Capital One. 
With no buyers coming forward so far, HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver announced that the credit card unit of HSBC Holdings, one of the top 10 financial organizations in the U.S. providing MasterCard and Visa credit cards, could be terminated. The $33 billion portfolio is just one of five key areas the company serves – personal and consumer finance, commercial and private banking and corporate investment banking and financial markets. 
Most lenders use the Fair Isaac & Company credit score (FICO) to determine consumer credit risk. While the goal of any credit scoring model is to gauge potential risk of default, FICO continues to make adjustments to their formula to best meet those ends in an every changing financial industry. The latest formula, 
Consumers are starting to reap benefits two years after the CARD Act took effect, according to the 
Speculation about how the CARD Act would impact consumer credit is proving to be less than accurate. More than a year has passed since the new rules were put in place and predictions of tighter lending, higher interest rates and the return of annual fees haven’t panned out. Instead, consumers with established credit histories and high credit scores are being offered longer intro APRs, increased rewards and other bonus incentives. 
Direct mail industry sources report that credit card companies, after keeping a low profile for more than a year, are actively looking for new customers. Marketing campaigns by three major credit card issuers, 
The future looks optimistic for the first time in several years for credit card companies. Even with the Federal Reserve focusing their attention on regulating credit card fees and penalties charged to consumers, banks have technology to thank for the positive outlook. Increases in smart phone payment services, e-commerce and a steady drop in credit defaults have given the industry new, long-term revenue prospects and reason for the upbeat opinion on the future of credit cards. 
Outperforming Visa, MasterCard and American Express, Discover continues to grow with a profit of $261 million. Although profits are one indication of success, Discover’s claim to fame, according to the 2011 Brand Keys “Customer Loyalty Engagement Index”, is their customer service and their rating as the highest loyalty brand.