This past week brought some good news, some bad news and some interesting news. The good news is that credit card delinquency rates are down. Actually, I think that qualifies as fantastic news! The bad news involves skimming at gas pumps and an unintended negative consequence of the Credit CARD Act of 2009.

The interesting news is that there are three new travel credit cards on the market. Let’s start with that.

New credit cards reflect consumer push-back

This is an interesting take on three new consumer credit cards: The Bank Of America Travel Rewards card, the BankAmericard Privileges credit card with Travel Rewards, and the Fairmont Visa Signature Card from JPMorgan Chase. The reporter notes that these new cards have some good features, though none are terribly comprehensive. If you like travel cards, read this and see what you think about the new kids on the block. @ChicagoTribune

Prepaid Debit Cards: Here a Fee, There a Fee

I’m a faithful reader of the New York Times Bucks Blog because it always has some thoughtful analysis of personal finance topics. Last week in my news roundup I included the Bankrate study that looked at prepaid cards. Here, Ann Carns does a good job explaining why you should read all the fine print before getting a prepaid card. @NYTimes

How scammers can steal your credit card information at the gas pump

Gas prices are going down and that’s cause for celebration. But the bad news is that you still need to be careful when you pay at the pump. Thieves use skimmers to steal your information from your bank card. Consumers aren’t the only ones who can lose money. A CBS news correspondent says that skimming costs the financial industry more than $350,000 a day. @sharylattkisson @CBSNews

TransUnion: National Credit Card Delinquency Rate Ticks Down, Reversing Two-Quarter Trend

It’s good to hear that the national credit card delinquency rate (the rate of borrowers 90 or more days past due) has dropped a little from the end of 2011 to the end of 2012. Also, the average credit card debt per borrower in the fourth quarter of 2011 decreased by $242 and is down to $4,962 per borrower. @MarketWatch @TransUnion

Stay-at-home mom fights new credit card rule

I think we all knew this issue would become a major problem for stay-at-home parents. When the Credit CARD Act passed in 2009, there was a clause that required card issuers to start considering individual income, not household income, when someone applies for a card. This part of the CARD Act became effective last October. This article gives a thorough and revealing look at what happens when this practice is put into place. @CNNMoney @BlakeEllis

Image: 401k, via Flickr

Consumers are now handling their credit card accounts more responsibly after going half a year with more troubling statistics coming out about their spending and repayment habits.

Instances of consumer credit card delinquency — defined as accounts that have gone 90 days or more without a payment — declined between the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first of 2012, according to the latest consumer credit statistics from  credit monitoring bureau TransUnion. Now, that rate stands at 0.73 percent of all accounts, down from 0.78 percent a quarter earlier.

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And at the same time, the amount of money being borrowed on those accounts also declined, the report said. At the end of the first quarter, the amount owed by consumers was $4,962 per person on average, down $242 from the total seen in the fourth quarter. Both the amount owed by the average consumer and the delinquency rate on these accounts had been rising since for the previous six months.

“After two consecutive quarters of increases in both the delinquency rate and average debt, it is encouraging to see a return to declines in delinquency,” said Ezra Becker, vice president of research and consulting in TransUnion’s financial services business unit. “This contributed positively to a general trend since the bottom of the recession, which saw delinquency rates remain at near-record lows. Trends in average debt year over year suggest that little more than the usual seasonal influence is behind these changes.”

These improvements were seen even as credit card issuers continue to expand their efforts to lend to borrowers with subprime credit scores, the report said. The amount of new credit cards issued nationwide rose 20 percent in 2011 compared with 2010, driven by a 24.2 percent increase in lending to subprime borrowers, up from only 21.8 percent of all accounts given to these consumers the year before. That trend continued into the first quarter of this year, when subprime accounts made up 24.1 percent of new account origination.

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Consumers with subprime credit scores likely saw their ratings take a significant hit during the recent recession, but the improving economy has buoyed credit quality nationwide and helped to repair many consumers’ personal finances as well. Lenders, recognizing this trend, have once again broadened credit standards for new accounts.

Image: shawnzrossi, via Flickr

These days, there are significant consumer protections in place for Americans, but at least one segment of the population might have a little trouble as a result of the increased safeguards against predatory or misleading lending practices.

One of the provisions of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act required lenders to consider individuals’ income when they apply for a credit card so as to ensure they can afford their payments, but this has been problematic for many stay-at-home parents, according to a report from CNNMoney. Stay-at-home parents who rely on their partner’s income to cover their expenses might have need of a credit card in their own name, but will be denied unless they can prove to lenders that they have their own source of income.

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Experts have noted that one way around this problem is for stay-at-home parents to open a card with their partner’s name on it as well, but this can be concerning for a different reason. For instance, if the couple were to separate or divorce, having both partners being co-signers on the same account can create friction and even financial problems, regardless of the intentions with which they entered into the agreement.

Further, for those who stay at home to raise their kids, not having a credit card in their own name can be problematic because it might adversely affect their credit standing.

As a result of these problems, there has been some amount of pushback from stay-at-home parents, who are now campaigning and petitioning federal agencies to change the rules so that those who do not have their own income might, under special circumstances, be able to get credit cards in their own name, the report said. Already, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which oversees the lending industry and is in charge of enforcing the Credit CARD Act, says it is examining the way the current rules affect stay-at-home parents.

“We recognize that stay-at-home spouses have significant financial responsibilities and play an important role in the U.S. economy,” CFPB spokeswoman Jen Howard told the news agency.

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Overall, these federal protections have been a boon to consumers, but the CFPB has proposed a number of changes and new rules that will better serve Americans in how they deal with their finances going forward.

Image: Leonid Mamchenkov, via Flickr

When it gained full regulatory power over the financial services industry last year, the federal agency tasked with protecting consumers from predatory or misleading lending practices has as its primary goal the creation of simpler lending agreements that were easier to understand.

However, in the intervening months, there has been little in the way of action toward that goal. Now, though, one of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s top officials says that the need for a uniform, simplified lending disclosure for credit card agreements is still very much on the agency’s mind, according to a report from Dow Jones Newswires.

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Speaking at a conference for the payments industry, Marla Blow, assistant director of card markets for the CFPB, stated that it’s her belief that consumers should be able to easily read and understand the terms of any lending agreement into which they enter, and that a document should be created by the agency to make that possible, the report said. The goal for such a document is that it would be more legible and understandable, while still providing legal protections and making sure the issuing industry’s concerns for disclosure forms are addressed.

Already, there has been some worry voiced by lenders that the CFPB’s trial document — currently being tested for credit card applications to the Pentagon Federal Credit Union — does not include crucial legal language that spells out the legal responsibilities between lender and consumer, the report said. The concern is that this could lead to a larger number of lawsuits over balance disputes. Currently, these complaints are the most frequently lodged by consumers with the federal agency.

However, the CFPB says that these billing disputes are largely the result of consumers not having a full understanding of their lending agreement, and that simplified disclosure forms will help them to avoid these issues in the future, the report said. Consumers also frequently complain about the interest rates on the cards they acquire, and this, too, would be included and explained in the CFPB’s ideal disclosure document.

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The CFPB has had full regulatory power since last July, but only gained its top executive earlier this year. Since that point, however, it has been far more aggressive in rolling out consumer protections for a number of financial accounts.

Millions of Americans are still struggling financially, but likely do not want to pass the kind of money problems and related stresses they feel onto their kids. One of the best ways to help youngsters avoid these problems in the future is by taking the time to instill good, basic advice about money while they’re young.

Even if consumers have had trouble sticking to what they know to be good credit practices in the past, it can still be extremely helpful to kids to learn the basics of smart account management at a relatively young age, according to a report from Tulsa, Oklahoma, television station KJRH. Taking the time to sit down with kids, whether it’s regularly or just once or twice, and explain the best ways to handle a credit card account when they’re grown up so that they don’t wind up with large amounts of high-interest debt can have a significant positive impact on their financial lives.

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One of the most important things for kids to learn about credit card use is the importance of keeping their balance low, the report said. As a consequence, it might be a good idea for parents to teach them that it’s vital to keep spending so low that the balance on their card can be paid off in full every month. This is important because it won’t lead to interest charges that end up costing them more money, but will still grant them significant financial flexibility.

Further, parents should educate their kids on the importance of making sure all bills are paid on time and in full, the report said. While credit card users should always try to make more than the minimum payment on their account as a means of more quickly reducing their balance, sometimes it’s not always possible. However, this should never be the reason that cardholders miss a due date or don’t meet the minimum payment required, because this will likely lead to costly penalty fees and interest rates being applied to their balance.

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Finally, it might be a good idea for parents to talk to their kids about the importance of shopping around for credit cards instead of taking the first one offered to them. This will help them identify the best possible accounts available to them and put them in a good position to borrow responsibly.