Sears Credit Card Payment

Visa & Mastercard Come to Terms in Antitrust Action

     BROOKLYN, N.Y. (CN) - A federal judge entered a final judgment Wednesday that gives merchants the green light to offer customers discounts if they use credit or debit cards that are less expensive than Mastercard and Visa.
     Every time a consumer uses a credit or charge cards to buy merchandise, the retailer must pay a fee. The government says Mastercard, Visa, American Express and their affiliated banks collected more than $35 billion in such fees from U.S. merchants in 2009 alone.
     But retailers are usually forbidden from accepting cards that charge reduced merchant fees in their contracts with the major credit card companies.
     Seven states and the federal government sued the three credit giants in October 2010, claiming that their opposition amounted to antitrust violations.
     "Merchants cannot reward their customers based on the customer's card choice," the complaint said. "Merchants cannot even suggest that their customers use a less costly alternative card by posting a sign stating 'we prefer' another card or by disclosing a card's acceptance fee. In short, defendants' merchant restraints prohibit merchants from fostering competition among credit card networks at the point of sale."
     Mastercard and Visa entered into an immediate settlement, and the parties have spent the last several months negotiating the terms of the agreement with consumer advocacy groups.
     Under the terms the final judgment entered Wednesday, the companies will strike anticompetitive clauses from their contracts and replace them with terms more favorable to vendors.
     "The proposed final judgment removes this language from Visa's and MasterCard's merchant contracts and includes broad language allowing merchants to, among other things, offer the consumer an immediate discount for paying with an alternate credit card and inform consumers about Visa's and MasterCard's transaction fees," U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis wrote in an order .
     Court documents state that six consumer groups gave feedback on the new terms, and the reviews are "overwhelmingly positive if not enthusiastic.

Is the Sears Card Worth Getting? - Credit Card Blog at Smart ...

Like nearly all credit cards issued by retailers, the Sears card offers extremely limited benefits and zero convenience while charging obscenely high interest rates. While this card may be easier to get than traditional credit cards for consumers with a mediocre or limited credit profile, any consumer that can qualify for a general credit card offer will find better value, lower rates, and better rewards.

The Sears card is about as far from a low interest credit card as there is. All approved consumers are charged a 25.24% variable interest rate which can and will increase when the Prime Rate increases. This is 10 full percentage points above the current national average and more than twice what is charged by many major credit card companies.

The second issue with the Sears card is usability. While a Sears MasterCard is available, the basic store issued card can only be used at Sears or Kmart. This limitation is a major inconvenience and can be a costly one, as it adds another credit card bill to manage and could increase the chances of accidentally making a late payment.

The Sears card does come with some limited benefits, though these are vague. Online, they mention “special financing offers,” but not details are provided. This is very atypical and just not nearly as useful as the guaranteed low rates provided by a 0% APR credit card . Monthly coupons and the ability to make returns without a receipt are also listed towards the top of this card’s benefits. This is a far cry from the best credit card offers, many of which list 0% rates lasting for over a year, $100 sign up bonuses, or hundreds of dollars worth of free miles. With the Sears card, you get coupons and a vague offer of potential deals.

Given the lack of benefits and the absurd interest rate charged by the Sears card, most consumers would reap greater benefits from traditional credit card offers. Nevertheless, consumers with a mediocre credit profile or a limited credit history may find that getting approved for the Sears card is easier than getting approved for a typical credit card. This is truly the only benefit that would make the Sears card useful for anyone who wasn’t in desperate need of access to credit.

Federal securities law reporter, federal regulation of securities : laws, regulations, forms, rulings and decisions, currently supplemented and indexed

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