Chase pulled the plug last month on its popular 50,000 bonus point Southwest Premier card offer. However, As of Monday August 8th 2011, its replacement hit the market—the 25,000 point Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus credit card. This is a pretty standard offer from Southwest, so I wouldn't say it's anything to get too excited about. If you don't need the card right away so you can redeem the 25,000 points, you may want to try waiting for a better promotion to hit the market in the coming months. It could very well happen towards the end of the year or in early 2012.

Fees. It’s a word that no one ever wants to hear, but it’s especially shocking to long-time debit card users. Unfortunately for them, it’s also a word they’re hearing more and more often these days, with a budding trend within the banking industry that looks to add monthly fees for debit cards. Wells Fargo has recently joined a growing list of banks that now charge monthly fees for debit card users. And while the fees are usually only between $3-$5 per month, many consumers are outraged at the prospect of paying for their ATM cards.

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The CFPB is off to a rough start.  Still without a Director and lacking the day-to-day guidance of its mastermind Elizabeth Warren, I can't say this comes as a huge surprise.

The bureau did manage to get its much-anticipated credit card complaint system up and running by the time doors officially opened for business in late July.  Unfortunately, it wasn't running well.  Complaints logged by consumers weren't even getting forwarded to credit card companies for investigation due to technical glitches in the CFPB's system. Oops!

Going through a bankruptcy can be painful, but the bankruptcy itself usually isn't what causes all the ulcers and sleepless nights. Those often arrive in full force after the bankruptcy is finalized and you're trying to repair your damaged credit.  The process can be infuriating! Fortunately, the mantra "time heals all wounds" directly applies to rebuilding your credit as well.  Of course, that doesn't mean you should just sit back and do nothing to improve your financial situation, so let's discuss a few of the practical methods you can use to rebuild your credit after bankruptcy.