Citibank credit card defaults rise sharply in November, rate of late payments edges higher

NEW YORK — Citibank on Thursday reported a significant jump in the rate its customers defaulted on credit cards in November and said late payments also rose.

The rates for both measures for the credit card division of New York-based Citigroup Inc. remain well below where they were a year ago.

DEFAULT: Citibank wrote off 6.36 percent of balances on an annualized basis in November. That was up from 5.66 percent of balances in October. The rate remains much lower than the 9. 4 percent charge-off rate of November last year, however.

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Swipely Expands Credit Card-Based Loyalty Service

Small businesses are looking at an increasing number of digital loyalty programs, which replace the traditional paper punch card and help merchants reward their repeat customers.

Swipely, which has been testing its credit card based loyalty service in Rhode Island, is expanding into Boston, launching with 150 local merchants there.

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Rewards Credit Cards That Give Back The Most

If credit cards are used conservatively, they can be a great tool for holiday shopping. When you use them, the goal is not to create additional debt for yourself, but to have a strategy that involves using the credit cards to collect points and cash back while paying off the balances before they accrue interest. If you neglect the part of the strategy devoted to paying off the debt to prevent interest charges, then your interest will offset any rewards you earn making the strategy not very strategic.


Not every rewards credit card is created the same, so pay attention to the value of the rewards. Some of the most popular rewards cards choices include

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