Councilman Eric Gioia, Chair of the Oversight and Investigations Committee, has released a report highlighting the dangers of credit card use for New Yorkers and identifying the best and worst cards on the market for New Yorkers.
The report comes on the heels of the 2005 holiday shopping season in which consumers spent, on average, $763 on gifts and charged about $120 billion in retail purchases on credit cards, an increase of 5.4% from last year.
With U.S. households carrying more than $800 billion in credit card debt, and new, tougher bankruptcy laws making it more difficult to recover from financially crippling events, the right credit card can mean the difference between a lingering drain on a household’s finances or a manageable consumer debt.
“Consumers beware: Not all credit cards are created equal,” Gioia said. “Our investigation reveals that a consumer who shops around can save literally thousands of dollars in fees and interest paying off credit card debt.”
Council investigators examined 387 credit cards offered to New Yorkers; the resulting report shows mountains of debt disproportionately affect low-income households, senior citizens and young adults.
The main findings of the report also show:
Based on its findings the Council is making the following recommendations:
– Shop around when choosing credit cards;
– Periodically check their credit score; and
– Always pay more than the minimum payment on their credit cards.
