A little-known credit card service can smooth out travel hazards

You hit a travel snafu, big or small. Maybe you need advice on which shoes to wear for a tour of Athens. Your luggage gets lost in Lithuania. Or you get attacked by a shark in Zanzibar. If you have a credit card with emergency travel assistance, you can summon help with a phone call.

Overview: About Credit Cards MasterCard

The Interbank Card Association was formed by a group of banks, and they initially selected the card name as "Master Charge" in 1966.

The National Retail Federation released its yearly predictions for Halloween spending

Each year, I begin fall with thrifty intentions: My Halloween costume will be creative and home-made. I will not buy candy because no trick-or-treaters come to my apartment anyway.

Credit card use continues to stabilize and posted a 1.88 percent gain from the previous year.

A pair of studies from a leading credit reporting agency shows that credit card use continues to stabilize, especially in parts of the country hit hardest by the recession. Equifax's recent National Consumer Credit Trends Report measured increases in auto loans, student loans, and new credit cards. Meanwhile,

Mortgage Rates Unchanged

Mortgage rates were steady to very slightly higher in most cases on Monday, though some lenders were in slightly better territory than on Friday.