Spring clean your finances in 6 steps

It's not just the rugs and windows that attention. Spring is also the perfect time to organize and refresh your finances. These six steps will help you get started

Tanisha Warner: Can a never-activated card still hurt your credit?

If you get buyer's remorse after applying for a new credit card, don't panic. Canceling the card before you activate may impact your credit, but not much and not for long

Spring clean your finances in 6 steps

It's not just the rugs and windows that attention. Spring is also the perfect time to organize and refresh your finances. These six steps will help you get started

Sally Herigstad: Laid off, but still liable for ex-employer's card debt

An employee opened an AmEx business card in her name for her company, got laid off, and is now being held liable for the debt

More issuers cutting credit card foreign transaction fees

As competition for more affluent consumers heats up among card issuers, more are reducing or even dropping their foreign transaction fee charges

Erica Sandberg: Do debt management plans hurt your credit score?

With $35,000 in debt, a couple decided to get help by entering into a debt management plan. But they worry how a DMP will impact their credit scores and future purchasing power

How to donate unused rewards miles, points

Are your miles about to expire? Don't rush out and spend them on something you don't need just to get rid of them. Donate them to charity instead -- you get the same result, minus the useless merchandise cluttering your house

Cathleen McCarthy: How to maximize the value of your rewards card

Can't decide on which rewards card to get? The most important thing to do, our expert says, is make sure the card is a good match for your spending habits

Airline and hotel rewards donation chart

Most major hotel chains and airlines -- Southwest and JetBlue being two notable exceptions -- allow you to donate unused rewards points or miles. This chart provides links to donation information pages for more than a dozen different airlines or hotels

Mobile payments now widely accepted among retailers

Mobile payments are now as widely accepted as online payments among the nation's top 10 retailers, according to a survey (free registration required) released in February 2012 by First Annapolis Consulting.

All of the nation's 10 biggest retailers accept both online and mobile payments, the survey said. The large majority of these top retailers also accept gift card payments online (nine of 10 retailers) and via mobile (seven of 10 retailers).