This guest blog is by Susan Ladika, a freelance writer who has lived in both the United States and Europe, and now calls Tampa, Fla., home. Her articles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal-Europe, CreditCards.com and scores of other publications.

I’ve traveled from Bosnia to Bali to Boston, and many points in between, and this month’s trip to Egypt was the first time I’ve ever had my bank card eaten by an automated teller machine.

It was a stifling hot night in Luxor, and all I wanted to do was grab some cash at the ATM across the street, run back to the coolness of the hotel, and pick up some souvenirs in the gift shop.

I inserted my ATM card and watched it disappear into the bowels of the machine — very different from the quick swipe and remove that I do with my SunTrust card at home.

Read full article…

PORTER, Ind. (AP) — The owner of a northwest Indiana water park says Splash Down Dunes is closed for the summer and most likely for good.

Owner Paul Childress says he’s standing by his decision not to reopen his 16-year-old water park. Childress had argued with town of Porter officials over code violations.

Childress says he plans to sell the property in pieces, and that it probably won’t be a water park anymore. He says the chances of Splash Down Dunes reopening are not very high.

Staying on time for credit card payments was easier for some consumers during the first quarter.

Following trends seen throughout the economic downturn, consumers continued to concentrate on remaining current on their credit card debt, according to figures released recently from TransUnion.

According to the company, which specializes in providing financial information, the number of card accounts in the country that were more than 90 days late on payment fell 8.3 percent from the fourth quarter of last year to the first quarter of 2010. Read full article…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government says unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles may have been involved in the deaths of 89 people over the past decade.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that from 2000 to mid-May, it had received more than 6,200 complaints involving sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles.

The reports involve 89 deaths and 57 injuries over the same period. Previously, 52 deaths were blamed on the problem.

Toyota Motor Corp. has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide since last fall because of problems with gas pedals, floor mats and brakes.

The government typically receives an increase in complaints following a recall. N

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All of the UK’s major credit card providers treat any form of gambling activity on a credit card as a cash withdrawal, new research has revealed.

According to moneysupermarket.com, the price comparison website, this means that when using their card for gambling, credit card users may face higher APRs than they may have anticipated.

Indeed, Britons may find themselves charged around 11 per cent higher than their advertised APR when using their credit card as cash.

Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com, explained that credit card users have to be careful “how and where they use their card”.

He added: “The vast majority of consumers are aware that withdrawing cash on a credit card can be a costly exercise and should be avoided. Read full article…