CreditCards.com
 | |
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Credit Cards, Personal Finance |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas |
Key people |
Christopher J. Speltz (Chief Executive Officer) Jeff Whitmire (Vice President, Operations) Cesar A. Gonzalez (Vice President, Development) Jody Farmer (Vice President, Strategic Marketing) |
| Products | Rich Internet Application |
Number of employees | 110 |
| Parent | Bankrate |
| Website |
www |
CreditCards.com is a credit card comparison and information website founded in 2004 and based in Austin, Texas. The site lets consumers compare credit cards by category or by issuer, and refers consumers to their selected card's issuers, where they apply for a card.
It also employs an independent editorial team of journalists who research and publish original consumer credit card news that is published on the site and syndicated to national news outlets.
CreditCards.com's mission is to provide consumers with the largest variety of credit card offers online, and to enable smart selection and use of cards by offering news, advice, features and tools.
CreditCards.com also operates websites in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the UK.
History
CreditCards.com was founded in 2004 by Dan Smith, former CEO of ClickSuccess. Smith purchased the CreditCards.com domain name for $2.75 million,[1] which at the time was one of the largest sums paid for a domain name. Smith served as CEO from 2004-2006. In 2006, CreditCards.com was acquired by a group led by Austin Venture Capital,[2] which appointed Elisabeth DeMarse as head of the company. In 2010, Bankrate, Inc. acquired CreditCards.com for $143.1 million.[3] Chris Speltz has served as CEO of CreditCards.com since 2010.
Product and Services
In addition to publishing proprietary industry research to consumers, CreditCards.com also provides a credit card catalog to more than 600 websites through its affiliate program.
WalletUp is a free mobile app powered by Wallaby that helps cardholders maximize card rewards program points and miles debuted in early 2014.
CardMatch is another helpful tool for consumers, which matches participant credit profiles with card partners' products to narrow the search for a credit card for which the participant would be more likely to qualify for.
Prior to searching for a card, CreditCards.com also provides a Credit Score Estimator that helps visitors determine, through a series of questions, and estimate their credit score.
Research and Studies
CreditCards.com regularly conducts research and commissions scientific polls on issues relating to credit and debt.
- Poll: More Americans expect to be in debt forever.[4] A Princeton Survey conducted in December 2014 polled more than 1,000 consumers about their long-term outlook on being able to pay off their debt loads.
- Credit Card Tuition Payment Survey 2014.[5] CreditCards.com reviewed the credit card payment policies at 300 public, private and community colleges across the country.
- 2014 CreditCards.com Penalty Rate Survey: The Price of Being Late. A CreditCards.com research team analyzed penalty interest rates of 100 major U.S. credit cards.[6]
- Poll: Nearly half of cardholders like to avoid stories hit by data breaches.[7] A Princeton Survey conducted in October 2014 polled 865 American adults who have debit or credit cards to find out whether recent data breaches would make them more reluctant to return to stores that have been hacked.
- Credit Card Statistics, Debt Statistics, Industry Facts.[8] Updated annually, this compendium of facts and data serves consumers, journalists and researchers U.S. credit and debt figures.
- Statutes of limitation for credit card debt collection in 50 states.[9] This interactive map shows the state laws as they apply to credit card debt collection.
- Credit card rate survey and tables.[10] Weekly survey of 100 credit card database to evaluate issuer changes to card APRs, producing a weekly APR national average as well as an APR average in nine card category types.
- Poll: Card debt the No. 1 taboo subject.[11] Americans are more comfortable talking about politics, religion and age than how much debt they carry on their credit cards, according to a CreditCards.com poll conducted by GfK Roper of more than 1,000 consumers.
Recognition
- CreditCards.com won two "Best in Business" journalism awards from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in 2011 for its stories on credit cards' lack of readability and on how debt frustrates jail inmates' efforts to re-enter society.[12] It won another "Best in Business" award in 2010 from SABEW for its "Comprehensive Guide to the Credit CARD Act.[13]"
- White House Town Hall. Upon invitation from the White House after its thorough coverage of the Credit CARD Act of 2009, CreditCards.com hosted a live video chat between consumers and the former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Austan Goolsbee on January 22, 2010.[14]
- Personal Finance Online Summit at the White House. CreditCards.com Editor Dan Ray was invited to attend two personal finance summits for journalists and editors in 2011[15] and 2012[16] hosted by the White House.
- Named "Best Money Site" by Ask Liz Weston[17]
External links
References
- ↑ Sullivan, Bob. "Domain name sells for $2.75 million". NBCnews.com. NBCnews.
- ↑ "American Capital invests in support of the acquisition of CreditCards.com". americancapital.com. Press Release. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ↑ "SEC Filing". http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1518222/000119312511223234/R13.htm. External link in
|website=(help); - ↑ Marte, Jonnelle. "More Americans feel like they will never get out of debt". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ↑ Wasik, John. "Why College Tuition Payments Don't Belong on a Credit Card". Forbes.com. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ↑ Kristof, Kathy. "The price of late credit payments: $700 per year". CBS MoneyWatch. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ↑ Gusafson, Krystina. "Most holiday shoppers undeterred by breaches". USA Today. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ↑ Tamara E. Holmes and Yasmin Ghahremani. "Credit card debt statistics". CreditCards.com. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ↑ Connie Prater and Fred O. Williams. "State statutes of limitation for credit card debt". CreditCards.com. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ↑ "Weekly Rate Report". CreditCards.com. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ↑ Linn, Allison. "To Politics and Religion, Add a Taboo on Credit Card Debt". NBC News. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ↑ Tsetsi, Eric. "202 winners announced for SABEW's annual Best in Business contest". sabew.org. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ↑ Shotwell, Cody. "SABEW announces winners in 15th annual competition". sabew.org. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ Lee, Jesse. "Watch, Engage, Discuss -- Monday at 2:00: Credit Card Reform Kicks In". whitehouse.gov. The White House Blog. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ↑ Bernard, Sarah. "Connecting with Personal Finance Sites". whitehouse.gov. The White House Blog. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ↑ Schulman, Kori. "President Obama Drops by Personal Finance Online Summit". whitehouse.gov. The White House Blog. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ↑ Weston, Liz. "The 102 Best Money Websites". asklizweston.com. Retrieved 10 December 2014.