As you shop for vacation destinations, be on the lookout for costly resort fees. Resort fees are separate fees added on top of your nightly rate to cover certain amenities that the hotel provides. Resort fees are typically automatically added onto your bill, whether or not you use the amenities that the resort fee covers.
Fees
If you can get something either with or without a fee, why would you ever pay the fee? Unless you just enjoy throwing money away, you’d have to get something of value in return to justify the fees.
A recent survey from Discover, a major issuer of no-fee credit cards, investigated fees and their effects
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could deduct your credit card debt from your taxes? For most Americans, that’s just a dream that will never come true. However, some circumstances allow you to deduct some credit card debt – all related to using your card for business purposes.
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Most consumers know that credit cards can come with fees other than interest charges applied to balances. Annual fees, late payment fees, balance transfer fees, cash advance fees, foreign transaction fees … the list goes on.
Did you know that debit cards could have fees as well? If not, don’t feel bad. In a recent
Did you realize that not all financial advisors are obligated to act in your best interest? Financial professionals are obligated to offer products and advice that are suitable for your needs, but not all of them are obligated to offer the best advice possible.
Two standards govern financial advisors – the fiduciary standard and the
Airline fees are pervasive these days. Baggage fees are particularly obnoxious, because passengers are increasingly forced to check in bags thanks to the shrinking amount of carry-on space. We do not know where the space is going, but we are pretty sure it is not for extra legroom. Some airlines even charge for carry-on bags!
College is not only supposed to give you the skills you need in a particular field of study, but also the general life skills that you need to survive and thrive. Without good habits, your collegiate financial education can come via the school of hard knocks – through incurring fees and interest charges.
According to
Credit is a great convenience, but it’s a convenience that you will pay for — especially if you go over your credit limit.
Traditional over-limit fees were radically changed by the Credit CARD Act of 2009, which switched credit card over-limit fees to an opt-in basis — meaning that consumers have to specifically consent to
A recent survey revealed that the average consumer is unable to fully understand the terms and conditions outlined in their cardholder agreement. The survey looked at a number of different credit card user agreements and rated their reading level using the Flesch-Kincaid readability test. The average reading level for these agreements equates to that of
When travelers use credit cards in other countries, they are generally charged a foreign transaction fee. This covers the extra costs of transferring money from a U.S. credit card company to the business in the other country, including the exchange fee. Many different credit card companies are now dropping this fee.
According to a 2016
Many Americans assume that their financial advisor is legally obligated to act in the best interest of the consumer and disclose any conflicts of interest. However, that is only true for those who are held to a fiduciary standard, such as Certified Financial Planners (CFPs) or Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs). Brokers and other agents may
When making a purchase using a credit card, consumers aren’t simply buying merchandise or paying for services from a merchant; instead, they are involving several third parties in the transaction. These third parties include the company that issued the credit card, the bank used by the merchant, and the network handling the transaction. All of
We hear ads for free or no-fee checking all the time, but are these accounts really free? There are four different account components to consider.
Maintenance Fees – These are monthly fees that the bank charges you simply to maintain your checking account. Some banks list maintenance fees but allow them to be waived under
Can you see the day where the average airline trip costs more in taxes and ancillary charges than it does in the actual fare? It is already possible to do that given the array of fees that we pay along the way.
According to a recent report by consulting groups IdeaWorks and CarTrawler, in 2014,
Love or hate them, you cannot deny that the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) is doing its job with gusto. The CFPB has taken on multiple large companies and financial institutions, levying heavy fines like the nearly $800 million fine against Bank of America. We can now add Citibank to the growing list.
Citigroup will
Banks constantly look to gain the loyalty of new customers. One great place for banks to find these ideal, new customers is at colleges, universities and other post-secondary educational institutions.
Students Make Easy Targets for Excessive Fees Unfortunately, students do not pay much attention to their finances, especially when it comes to the fine print