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How to pick the best credit card as a young adult As a young adult, choosing the best credit card starts with figuring out which cards you can qualify for. There are a lot of credit cards out there, but the ones you can get depends on your credit score. Your credit score is essentially a measure of how likely you are to repay money you borrow. Credit card companies check this score when you apply for a card with them. Most young adults are new to credit, so their card options are more limited. If you've never had a credit card or loan before, or you've had one for less than a year, here are the types of starter credit cards to look at: Secured credit cards: Secured credit cards require a refundable security deposit to open. The deposit is often equal to the credit limit, or the maximum amount you can spend on the secured card. Because cardholders pay a deposit, the card issuer's not at risk if someone doesn't pay their bill, meaning it can be more flexible about who it...

Finastra provides software used in areas such as mortgage lending, payments, and retail banking. LCVA/Dreamstime.com Barry Rodrigues, a former senior payments executive at Barclays and Citigroup , is joining Finastra, a fintech backed by Vista Equity Partners, two people familiar with the situation said.  Finastra has hired Rodrigues to run its payments business, one of the people said. Rodrigues is the former CEO of Barclays Cards & Payments. He i...

When some bacteria manage to escape being killed by a virus, the microbes end up hamstringing themselves. And that could be useful in the fight to treat infections. The bacterium Shigella flexneri — one cause of the infectious disease shigellosis — can spread within cells that line the gut by propelling itself through the cells' barriers. That causes tissue damage that can lead to symptoms like bloody diarrhea. But when S. flexneri in lab dishes evolved to elude a type of bacteria-killing virus, the bacteria couldn't spread cell to cell anymore, making it less virulent, researchers report November 17 in Applied and Environmental Microbiology . The research is a hopeful sign for what's known as phage therapy ( SN: 11/20/02 ). With antibiotic-resistant microbes on the rise, some researchers see viruses that infect and kill only bacteria, known as bacteriophages or just phages, as a potential option to treat antibiotic-resistant infections ( SN: 11/13/19 ). W...

Google is now officially allowing hotels to use Google Posts, but only in a limited manner. Hotels can use Google Posts to give customers notifications about the hotel, but not for offers or promotional purposes. New policies. Google has updated the business profile post policy document to add a section for "hotel posts." The new policy says: Hotel businesses can create  local posts to provide relevant, timely info to customers. Examples of helpful posts include COVID-19 protocols, updates to amenities or renovations, and events that take place on the property. Hotels can't create  "offer" posts, or any post that suggests the existence of or that links out to deals, promotions, special offers, or discounts. This ensures that customers don't get confused about where to navigate on the hotel placesheet to find organic and ad prices from partners. Not for promotional purposes. Clearly...

The new travel insurance plans can be included at the time of booking flights or Porter Escape vacation packages. Available plans may also be purchased after booking, through the Porter website or the Allianz call centre. "We're thrilled to partner with Porter Airlines and offer their customers additional peace of mind before and after take-off," said Lisa Callaghan , chief product & underwriting officer, Allianz Global Assistance. "We're here to help Porter customers secure the right protection, through the right products, for their individual needs." The new partnership offers three categories of products: Trip Cancellation Insurance, Emergency Travel Medical Insurance and All-Inclusive Insurance. Porter customers have access to Allianz emergency assistance, claims expertise and inquiry support through their pre-trip planning.  The new products are accessible to customers online at www.flyporter.com  a...

National Australia Bank Ltd., or NAB, will become the second-biggest issuer of credit cards in Australia after its proposed acquisition of Citigroup Inc.'s consumer business in the country. The A$1.2 billion deal to acquire Citi's Australian consumer business underscores NAB's bet that credit card usage will return to growth after the pandemic recedes. If the acquisition succeeds, the size of NAB's credit card portfolio, based on current outstanding balances, will rise closer to market leader Commonwealth Bank of Australia. It currently ranks fourth, behind Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. and Westpac Banking Corp., according to Australian Prudential Regulation Authority data. "NAB was always in the box seat as their credit card portfolio was the smallest ... the Citi portfolio beefs up its scale," Grant Halverson, chief executive of McLean Roche, a banking and payments consulting firm, told S&P Global Market Intelligence. The...

Simon Potter/Getty Images We're knee-deep in the holiday shopping season, after wading through nearly a month-long event of Black Friday deals. With supply chain shortages, inflation and the new  omicron coronavirus variant , shopping for gifts may look a little different this year. And how we're paying for those gifts may have also changed. When choosing a payment method for your purchases, you should consider factors like security, cash on hand, convenience and budget. According to an Apple survey from November, 69% of Americans were calculating how they wanted to pay based on which method provided the best rewards. In a recent CNET survey, the majority of respondents (54%) said they planned t...