CREDIT CARD RATES » Credit Card Rates

HSBC has agreed to sell its U.S. credit card division to Capital One only a few months after announcing it may let the division go. As a result of the sale, Capital One, which is looking to grow in emerging markets, stands to reap a $2.4 billion after-tax gain.

Capital One to Pay $32.7 Billion

This post provided by our friends at Nerdwallet.com

Decoupled debit cards are a relatively recent financial innovation, but because of the Durbin Amendment, these consumer-friendly products are on their way out. Normally, a consumer has a debit card linked to his or her checking account–a third party can handle payments processing, “decoupling” the debit card from the corresponding bank account.

Citigroup plans to launch a unique credit card on Monday that comes with no late fees or penalties. The card also boasts a single interest rate for purchases, balance transfers and cash advances, helping it stand out from its competition.

New Card Comes with Simple Terms

First Data Corp.’s Spend Trend report has revealed that consumers in the U.S. are increasing their use of credit cards to pay for gas and other basic necessities. The report found that inflation has created a significant jump in prices for food and fuel while income has failed to keep pace.

Credit-Based Purchases Increased 10.7 Percent

With thousands of credit card offers, it’s inevitable that some will be better than others. You needn’t worry too much if you have one of the “worst” cards on this list, however, because with this burden comes an easy opportunity for improvement. Simply get our recommended replacement, or a card like it, and your personal finance fortunes will be sure to turn around quickly.

Highest Annual Fee: Visa Black Card

A recent Senate vote all but confirmed that the Durbin Amendment would be implemented as planned. As the Federal Reserve scrambles to issue final regulations on interchange fees and debit card issuers scramble to comply, banks look for creative ways to make up for the loss of an estimated $14 billion in revenue.

Many banks have already adapted to less lucrative checking accounts and changed their fee structures accordingly. Still others are focusing on long-term reactions to interchange regulation, from court challenges to innovative revenue models. Here are five ways we’ve seen banks try to compensate for a 12-cent interchange fee limit:

Some businesses have decided to stop accepting credit cards due to high processing fees, according to a new report from The Los Angeles Times. In order to avoid pushing the higher fees on to customers by charging more in their stores, merchants have instead chosen to do away with plastic all together.

Credit Card Processing Fees at About 2 Percent

Tim Chen is the CEO of NerdWallet, a credit card website dedicated to finding the best rates from both banks and credit unions.

Not-for-profit health care providers want you to be healthy almost as much as you do. Public and private non-profit universities have higher graduation rates and better outcomes than most for-profit colleges. And not-for-profit financial institutions often offer lower interest rates, clearer terms and fewer penalties on their credit cards than do their revenue-maximizing counterparts.

This article was written by Michael, founder of CreditCardForum, a website for credit card reviews and deals.

The $4 price tag we’re seeing at the pump today feels like a throwback to summer 2008, when oil peaked at $147/barrel and the national average was $4.11 per gallon. What will summer 2011 look like? In this economy it’s hard to say, but if oil keeps creeping up, expect to see some big changes with your gas reward cards.