Clearly, the credit crisis has done a number to the credit card industry, making the competition become a little tougher among credit card companies. In the past, credit card holders could earn substantial rewards with the kind of programs available through companies like Visa, MasterCard, Discover Card and Citibank. Back then, you could receive significant savings from online purchases when you register your reward credit card to earn points or from a cash back credit card that credits you a cash bonus on a regular basis.

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Some stuff are just better when served cold.  Ice cream. Sushi. Revenge.

There was a joke somewhere in there, linking cold stuff to freezing credit reports, but if you’re reading up on credit freeze because of identity theft problems, the last thing you’d probably want is a lame joke from an online financial nerd.

Fair enough. Here’s a complete breakdown on credit freeze, links to the major credit reporting agency (credit bureau) so you can request a freeze, and links to the fees for freezing your credit reports.

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Ever since Experian and Fair Isaac stopped offering an Experian based FICO score to consumers, I’ve had a large, unfulfilled hole in my life. The woe and despair that I felt was equivalent to having my dinner stolen from me after spending a good hour preparing and making omurice.

Thankfully, the good folks at Quizzle.com came to the rescue, pulling me from the depths of depression, providing me hope and courage to make another Japanese dish for dinner.

Quizzle.com is a free web service from Quicken Loans (formerly Rock Financial Corporation) that provides you with a free credit report, score, home value and budgeting tools.  I’ve wrote a review on Quizzle.com about 7 months ago, and in that review, I went over most aspect of the service.  If you’re interested, check the review out.

What I neglected to mention in the review was that Quizzle provides you with a free credit report and score every six months and that the credit report and credit score is based on your Experian report.  So for those of us that are looking for a free source to get an Experian-based credit score, Quizzle.com is the perfect place to visit.

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In a lovely Valentine’s gift to consumers, Experian has decided to pull out of its agreement with Fair Isaac and will no long allow Fair Issac to sell FICO scores based on Experian’s data to consumers.

This is actually a fairly big deal, as lenders will continue to be able to get FICO score based on Experian reports through Fair Isaac, but consumers won’t be able to do the same.   It puts us, the consumers, at a fairly big disadvantage — especially when we apply for credit from a lender that uses Experian’s data to determine credit worthiness.  Want to check your FICO score based on Experian before you apply for credit?  Not gonna happen.

The decision by Experian will come into full effect on Feburary 14, 2009.  So if you need your Experian FICO score for whatever reason, you should check your Experian FICO score now before it’s too late. (Discount code for 20% off is embedded in the link, appears at checkout).

You may recall that just about a month ago, I applied for a Schwab 2% cash back Visa card.

Every time I apply for a financial product that requires credit approval, a little bit of anxiety builds up.  Will I be approved? Will I get rejected?  The horrendous waiting-for-an-answer just like when I tried to ask this one girl to the co-ed dance back in high school… maybe if I had shown her my credit report, she would have said yes…

After weeks of waiting and the occasional checking of the application status, I received an approval message from the online application query tool:

A few days later, I received the card and account related literature in the mail:

A credit line of $5,000 was enough to get me the Visa Signature benefits, which is nothing too special as a Signature card has its pro and cons — but I was a bit surprised by the semi-low credit limit granted to me.  Though I rarely spend more than $5,000 per month, there are occasions where I may need to spend over that amount (e.g., buying plane tickets for group of family or friends for a trip).

Hopefully FIA will find it in their grace to increase my credit limit in the future, or I’ll be testing out the no pre-set spending limit “feature” of a Visa Signature card.

All in all, the process was just like applying at any major credit card issuers. FIA Card Service (formerly MBNA) made the process fairly seamless, and integrated their system for the Schwab brand well enough.

After receiving the Schwab Invest First Visa, I promptly opened a Schwab One brokerage account (another inquiry to the credit history), and soon enough linked the Schwab One account to the Invest First Visa card, for future cash-back accumulation (you can do this in the credit card’s online account access).

Because the Invest First Visa card is issued and administered by FIA Card Service, some people may get slightly confused as they’re required to use a different website (schwabbankcreditcard.com) to access their card’s online account services.

Look for a possible full review on the Schwab Invest First Visa in the future where I’ll go over all the nooks and crannies of this cash back credit card.

If you have any question about this particular credit card, feel free to ask. Great wise Cap will steal other people’s answer and copy/paste it in for you.

As the recession chugs along, credit card companies have been scaling back on rewards and cash-back card offerings.  There has also been a lot of behind-the-scene movement for the credit card industry, with companies ending promotion/advertising programs on certain flagship cards and products.

I was just about to write a post titled “Death of the Cash back/Rewards Credit Card,” but along came the new Schwab 2% cash back credit card.

Despite my frequent proclaim of love for credit cards (the cash back parts of it, anyway), I’m not a credit loving fiend who opens multiple account and juggles multiple reward credit cards.  It’s simply too much hassle, and too beyond my small brain capacity to handle.

So it was with some minor reluctance that I applied for the Schwab Bank Invest First Visa Card.  Here are some features that immediately attracted me to this credit card:

• Unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases, right into Schwab One brokerage account.
• Cash back is automatically deposited into brokerage account at end of each month.
• No foreign exchange transaction fees (a rare feat indeed amongst credit cards).

The application process was straight forward enough, with usual information being requested.  If you already have a Schwab One brokerage account, things will move along slightly faster.

Although the card is branded as a Charles Schwab Bank credit card, you should be aware that the card is issued and administered by FIA Card Services (formerly MBNA, now a part of Bank of America).  Thus, any future customer service and card related issues will have to be dealt with at FIA Card Services.

After chugging through and submitting my application, I was unfortunately unable to get an instant decision on approval  (apparently being super cool isn’t good enough anymore).  An online application status check a day or two later still yielded the same result, so it looks like I’ll have to wait this out a bit.

Note: Discussion threads online mentioned that you can always call-in after applying online to get an instant decision from a representative, but you may be subjected to the act of some credit line swapping and/or closure if you have cards issued by Bank of America or MBNA/FIA.

Tidbits & Notes If You’re Also Considering This Card:

• Current BoA, MBNA, FIA cardholders won’t be able to convert an existing card to the Schwab Bank Invest First Visa Card, after all, the point is for Schwab to acquire a possible new customer.
• The Schwab One brokerage account has a $1,000 minimum balance requirement to avoid monthly fee, but this is waived when the account is linked to your Schwab Bank Invest First Visa Card.
• Although you don’t have to immediately open a Schwab One brokerage account, you will eventually have to open one if you wish to claim your accumulated cash back and withdrawal the cash back to an external, non-Schwab account.
• Opening a Schwab One brokerage account will get you another hard credit pull, as it is a separate and different financial product.
• If you qualify for a credit line of $5,000 or more (and most people should if they qualify for this card), you will receive a Visa Signature card, which means you have no preset spending limit, which means the credit limit on the new card will not be reported to the credit reporting agencies.

As you can see, there are a few quirks involved if you want to apply for this card.  But at the end, you are getting 2% cash back.  When combined with another card that gives higher cash back percentage for specific categories such as gas and grocery — you’re sure to be in cash back bliss!

Of course, all of the cash back is a moot point if you don’t pay your card in full.  I’ll update the post if my application is approved, follow by an eventual future post reviewing the card.

Update: My application was approved and I’ve received the Schwab Invest First Visa card.

A few weeks ago I requested and promptly received a $250 cash-back check from my Chase Freedom rewards card.  Being a forgetful tool bag, I quickly deposited the check in my checking account — least it slips my mind for 120 days and voids itself.

Although it was nice to receive the cash-back check in time for Christmas to buy myself a gift (being an ass, you have to resort to your mom and yourself for gifts), it was slightly bittersweet as this is most likely the last check I’ll claim from my Chase Freedom rewards credit card.

Truthfully, I hate juggling credit cards and try to limit the amount of cards I carry or accounts I open, but unfortunately the Chase Freedom card just didn’t cut it anymore.

To make a long story short, with my current spending pattern, I’ll be able to maximize cash-back better by a combination of using Blue Cash from American Express along with the new Charles Schwab 2% cash-back Visa card (more on this later).

The two versions of Chase Freedom cards I have opened have served me well, and I’ve wrote a fairly positive Chase Freedom rewards card review just a couple of months ago — but I can’t recommend the current version of the Freedom Rewards card that Chase is offering.  Chase has since stopped the 3% cash-back on top spending categories reward program, and the current version of the Freedom card doesn’t appear to have any compelling card reward program.

Hopefully Chase will continue to keep the old Chase Freedom cash-back program active for old cardholders.  Although I’ll be switching to different primary credit cards soon, I’m sure many people are still a fan of the Chase Freedom card.

In case you missed the news, federal regulators voted today to adopt sweeping new rules for the credit card companies, protecting us from some of the shadiest practices the credit card industry has conjured up through the decades.

These new rules will take effect by July 2010, and they are by far the most major smack down in terms of regulation for the industry in decades. Here are some of the new rules in our favor:

1. Double-cycle billing got axed, cajun style.
2. Payment allocation will now be to highest interest balance first or proportionately to all balances (so it won’t you longer to pay off balances).
3. Card holders will now have reasonable time to make payment (21 days).
4. Notification for change in terms has been changed from a minimum of 15 days notice to 45 days notice.

There’s a few more new rules on the table, and you can read about them via the resources below. So far, the Office of Thrift Supervision has voted on the new rules, and its expected that the Federal Reserve and National Credit Union Administration will vote on the new rules later in the day.

Although I’ve mentioned often that I love using credit cards and never really felt that card companies forced me into my prior debt, I have no illusion that many credit card companies policies and practices can make financial life of a cardholder living hell.

Hopefully these new rules will tilt the favor for future cardholders.  Despite the upcoming added protections, credit cards are still a financial tool that requires due diligence and care by consumers. You should always read all the terms and condition associated with a card carefully.