uStore-Branded Credit Cards Charge Upwards Of 29% Interestr

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  It can be so incredibly tempting: You’re at the cashier (or about to check out online) with a substantial purchase and you’re presented with the offer to save money now if you just apply for a store-branded credit card. But if you don’t pay off that balance right away, you could be looking at interest rates nearly double the national average.

  The folks at CreditCards.com have put together their annual survey of retailers’ credit cards, and found that most store-branded cards are probably not a good deal for anyone who needs to carry a balance.

  According to the survey, which looked at 64 cards issued by the nation’s top retailers, the average interest rate on a store-branded card is 23.43%, more than eight percentage points higher than the national average for all credit cards.

  Put in terms of actual dollars, a $1,000 balance on a 23.43% card will take 72 months to pay off and result in $833 in interest payments if you pay the minimum balance. Compare that to 54 payments and $370 in interest for someone who pays the minimum on a 15% card.

  Retail credit cards come primarily in two formats — store-only cards that can’t be used outside of the retailer that issues the line of credit; and co-branded cards that carry a retailer’s name but can be used to make purchases through a credit card network like Visa, MasterCard, or American Express.

  In general, the store-only cards carried higher interest rates than the co-branded cards, even at the same retailer.

  For example, the Amazon “store card” that can only be used on Amazon.com charges an APR of 25.99%, but Amazon’s co-branded Rewards Visa card offers interest rates ranging from 14.74% to 22.24%.

  But co-branded cards aren’t always less expensive. Both of Best Buy’s credit card offerings — its store-only line of credit and its co-branded Visa card — come with an APR of 25.24%.

  The card with the highest APR comes from jewelry chain Zales. Its store-only card leads the pack with a whopping 28.99% APR.

  Interestingly, Zales is part of the Signet Jewelers family, and other Signet companies have less-unfriendly credit offerings. Both Jared and Kay have store-only cards with interest rates that range from 17% to 24.99%. That’s still much higher than the national average, but lower than Zales.

  One store-only card that deviates from charging a high interest rate is the Army Air Force Exchange’s Military Star card. It can only be used at exchanges, but the interest rate is a lower-than-average 10.24%.

  There were other retail cards where cardholders could possibly end up with APRs below 16%, but only the Military Star card and Costco’s AmEx (which is soon to disappear) had fixed rates. The others all offered lines of credit with a wide range of APRs that all top out higher than 20%.

  For instance, Nordstrom has two cards with interest rates as low as 10.90%, but an applicant could end up with an interest rate as high as 22.90%.

  Similarly, both Apple and Ace Hardware have store-branded cards that start at 13.99%, but the Ace card could end up as high as 22.99% while Apple’s reaches a maximum of 26.99%.

  “If you regularly carry a balance, retail credit cards just aren’t for you,” said Matt Schulz, CreditCards.com’s senior industry analyst. “Even with potential rewards and discounts, the math just doesn’t work in your favor when interest rates are that high.”

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uIllinois Lottery Officials Halting Payouts Of More Than $600 While State Resolves Budget Issuesr

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  If you’re holding a winning Illinois lottery ticket, congratulations! But if your reward is more than $600, congratulations! You’ll still get that money, eventually, but first, the state has sort out some pesky budget issues.

  Illinois Lottery officials have halted payouts for all winnings over $600, as the lottery’s check writing account is expected to run out on Thursday, the Chicago Tribune reports. No one has the authority to fill it up again until a budget is passed. Those who’ve won $600 or less can still cash out at retail locations.

  In July, the lottery started handing out IOUs to prizewinners due more than $25,000 in winnings. Since then, two lottery winners who’ve had payments delayed have sued the state lottery and various officials, in an effort to force the lottery to release prizes over $25,000 with interest. The suit would also prevent the lottery from selling tickets for prizes over $25,000 until the money can be paid out with no wait time.

  So what’s the hold-up? The state legislature has to authorize the state comptroller to cut the checks for larger payouts, lottery officials have said. Despite the payout delay, the lottery is still selling tickets.

  Everyone will get their money once a budget is passed in the state legislature, officials say.

  “Once the budget situation is resolved, this will be resolved as well,” a lottery spokesman told the Tribune.

  Lottery to delay payouts to winners over $600 due to budget impasse [Chicago Tribune]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uBees Swarm American Airlines Plane, Delaying Flightr

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  Back in June, we learned that a small wasp’s nest had the power to divert a plane full of passengers. Today, we discovered that a swarm of bees outside the aircraft has the ability to delay a flight. 

  NBC News reports that about 1,000 bees swarmed under the wing of an American Airlines flight preparing to push back from a gate at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport yesterday.

  According to passengers on the flight, the incident started when a queen bee flew into the aircraft’s wing before departure.

  As a result, about 1,000 other bees followed.

  “Most passengers are up and watching – just ‘beemused,'” Karin McCay, a reporter who happened to be on the flight, told KFOR Channel 4 in Dallas. 

  Beekeepers, decked out in protective suits, were sent under the wing to sort out the commotion.

  Here come the Bee-Busters! Ready in a space suit to kill the swarm and save our luggage! #kcbd11 #beebrave! http://pic.twitter.com/EMoTHuERii

  — Karin McCay (@KarinMcCay11) October 14, 2015

  American Airlines did not reply to NBC News’ request for comment on the incident, but McCay says the flight took off just an hour behind schedule.

  1,000 Bees Delay American Airlines Flight in Dallas/Fort Worth [NBC News]
  Bees delay one journalist’s flight, interrupt another’s interview [KFOR Channel 4]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uFBI Investigating Business Model Of DraftKings, FanDuelr

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• Daily fantasy sports sites like DraftKings and FanDuel operate under a “games of skill” exemption to a federal law that prohibits banks from transferring money to most online gambling operations. But the Department of Justice is reportedly taking a closer look at how these companies actually work to see if their business models cross a legal line.

  This is according to the Wall Street Journal and its ever-helpful “people familiar with the matter,” who say FBI investigators have been contacting DraftKings users to get some insight into how the site operates.

  These sites and their defenders say these are legitimate games of skill — competitors pay an entry fee and then use their knowledge of professional sports and pro athletes to cobble together a team they believe will best the rest of the field. Detractors argue that at their core they aren’t very different from sports book operations found in Las Vegas casinos — the entry fees are little more than bets and, for all the knowledge one might have about pro athletes, a fantasy team’s fate is still in the hands of capricious elements like luck, injury, illness, and officiating.

  The Journal’s sources say the DOJ has not yet reached any conclusions about the legality of daily fantasy sites, which have been on a huge marketing push this NFL season thanks to substantial venture capital investments and partnerships with pro sports leagues and major broadcast networks.

  It hasn’t helped the burgeoning, unregulated industry that its employees have been making money competing on other sites.

  The most prominent case involves a mid-level DraftKings staffer who won $350,000 in one competition on FanDuel — the same weekend he accidentally Tweeted out a list containing player information for a DraftKings tournament that should have been kept secret until after that competition had been locked down for the week.

  Subsequent reports indicate that several other employees at both sites were benefiting from betting on competing sites.

  The New York state attorney general’s office has sent letters to both sites demanding information on its employees’ daily fantasy activities.

  In response to the Journal’s report of an FBI investigation, DraftKings says that, “It is entirely predictable that the government would follow up on the misleading reports about our industry,” but that it has no knowledge of the investigation. The site says it strongly disagrees with “any notion that our company has engaged in any illegal activities.”

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uWoman Shopping At Target With Her Kids Shocked To Hear Porn Playing Over Store PA Systemr

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  When you hear heavy breathing and moaning over the PA system at the store, either an employee is really excited to announce there’s a sale on dishwasher detergent or someone is playing porn for everyone to hear. One woman experienced the latter in a California Target on Wednesday, capturing the unmistakable sounds of professional coitus airing loud and clear over the store’s intercom.

  The woman posted a video of the experience on YouTube and Facebook [warning: language NSFW], writing that she was shopping with her young twin sons when she realized her ears were hearing something they shouldn’t — audio from a porn started playing.

  “What is going on at Target right now?” the woman asks in the video, as a female actress’ voice sighs “Oooh, yeah…” as well as what the shopper calls “very explicit foul language.”

  She writes that the noises went on for about five minutes, while the store’s workers generally freaked out.

  “The employees ran all around the store picking up and hanging up the stores phones,” she writes in the video’s description. That worked — for about two minutes, and then the noises started up again.

  She wasn’t the only shopper who noticed.

  “People threw their things down and walked out, others yelled at Target employees, some laughed, others were disgusted,” she says, adding that parents were offering to help her cover her twins’ ears for her while she rushed to check out.

  All told, the porn was playing for at least 15 minutes before she left, though as she was walking out she could still hear it.

  “I can never look at Target the same again,” she writes.

  A Target spokeswoman tells Consumerist the company is looking into the incident.

  “We are actively reviewing the situation with the team to better understand what happened and to help ensure this doesn’t happen again,” she said. “Because this is an active investigation, I’m unable to share additional details, but we want our guests to know that we take this very seriously.”

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uFederal Trade Commission Opens Probe Into Volkswagen’s “Clean Diesel” Advertisingr

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• The list of state and federal agencies probing Volkswagen’s recent emissions scandal grew by one Wednesday: The Federal Trade Commission announced it has opened an investigation into the company’s advertisements that touted “clean diesel” vehicles, despite the fact the cars contained “defeat devices,” which are designed to cheat emissions tests.

  FTC spokesperson Justin Cole confirmed that the regulator was coordinating its investigation with that of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice, Bloomberg reports.

  The FTC Act prohibits companies from “unfair or deceptive acts or practices,” and is frequently used by the agency to bring civil complaints against businesses that mislead consumers about their products.

  VW regularly advertised its “clean diesel” branded vehicles with slogans like “this ain’t your daddy’s diesel,” likely in an attempt to target consumers in the market for a vehicle with cleaner emissions.

  Additionally, the company’s website prominently touted its vehicles as better for the environment than alternatives.

  “Stinky, smoky, and sluggish. Those old diesel realities no longer apply,” the VW website stated. “Enter TDI Clean Diesel. Ultra-low-sulfur fuel, direct injection technology, and extreme efficiency. We’ve ushered in a new era of diesel.”

  However, as the EPA announced on Sept. 18, and VW confirmed days later, the carmaker rigged the emissions control systems of more than 500,000 cars in the U.S. — and around 11 million worldwide — with a device that cheats emissions tests.

  A spokesperson for VW tells Bloomberg that the company is cooperating with all agencies that have approached them, but declined to comment on any specific investigation.

  While it’s unclear if the FTC’s probe will lead to action against the carmaker, a spokesperson for the agency previously told Consumerist that consumers affected by this recall could file a complaint with the agency if they feel that they were misled into making the purchase.

  Those interested in filing a complaint related to the Volkswagen recall and potential deceptive advertising issue can do so by visiting ftc.gov/complaint or by calling 1-877-382-4357.

  Volkswagen’s Advertising of Rigged Diesels Probed by FTC [Bloomberg]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uLucky Charms Makes 10 Mythical All-Marshmallow Boxesr

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• I recently learned that chocolate Lucky Charms exist. To be clear, that’s chocolate-flavored cereal with marshmallows in it. That shouldn’t really be an actual breakfast food, yet there it is on the shelf. The only thing wackier would be if there were a version containing nothing but marshmallows. Except that does exist, even outside of your dreams: General Mills is creating and giving away ten boxes in a promotion.

  The marketing behind this campaign is something like the TV ads and social media marketing for McDonald’s all day breakfast: the company shows us tweets–at least some of which were probably posted while the marshmallow-wanter was under the influence–wondering why all-marshmallow Lucky Charms boxes don’t exist. Then they partially solve the problem with this sweepstakes.

  Naturally, it’s all online, since that is where people go to express their unrequited desire for marshmallow-stuffed cereal boxes. For some reason, Biz Markie is involved. He explains the simple rules: post a public photo of yourself online, showing the empty space in your life where a box of dehydrated marshmallows could be. Add the hashtag #Lucky10Sweepstakes.

  Or you could take eleven bucks of the money that you earn as a real live grown-up and just buy a pound of dehydrated marshmallows.

  “Lucky Charms is one of the most Instagrammed cereals and these platforms are the right place to ignite and connect to the passion we hear about,” the marketing manager for the brand, Amanda Hill, is quoted saying in the sweepstakes announcement.

  You have to be 13 to have an Instagram or Facebook account, though, so at least we know that this isn’t a product that will be marketed as “part of a complete breakfast” for elementary school-aged children. The chocolate version is, of course, but the all-marshmallow boxes are a more refined treat that you have to be older to appreciate. Maybe.

  Win a box of Marshmallow Only Lucky Charms [General Mills]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist