Posted on January - 15 - 2012
Card Issuers Are Jumping Their Fees Up
The February 2010 deadline is looming for credit card issuers to implement consumer friendly procedures contained in the Obama administration’s new law. In these final months leading up to the implementation, banks are squeezing out their creative juices to design new fees to help make up for projected shortfalls in revenue caused by the new law. Many consumers that have seen their credit card company add one or more of these fees are beginning to shop around. Smart consumers can quickly compare cards that meet their needs by using some of the services that have recently come online.
Examples of new fees introduced by major creditors like Fifth Third Bank, Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America are:
Inactivity Fees, if a card is unused for a specified amount of time like 12 months;
Out of Country Purchase Fees,considering traveling to Canada or cruising the Bahamas? Check for new fees before your trip.
Reinstatement Fees, late payments may trigger a loss of accumulated card rewards like cash back. When you bring the account current you may reclaim your rewards with this new fee.
New Annual Fees, no fee cards are harder and harder to find. Watch your mail for announcements from your bank about new annual fees for your credit card.
Credit card customers should pay extra attention to the mail that comes from their credit card companies. New fee disclosures are being sent as inserts in regular statements or in separate mailings. Smart consumers make it easy to filter out cards that do not interest you. If you are looking for a new rewards card or a card with the lowest interest, or a card designed for bad credit, you can use a matching service to quickly narrow down to some options and save money on fees.
One of President Obama’s goals as President is to bring reform to the financial services industry. One step toward his goal involves credit cards. There are hundreds of different credit card programs and it is important to narrow down what cards best fit your needs.
Effective in February 2010, card issuers are no longer allowed to:
raise interest rates on current balances unless the timing and amount of the change are disclosed when the account is first opened;
compute balances using two-cycle billing, a method in which finance charges are imposed on balances associated with previous billing cycles.
send unsolicited credit card offers to consumers under age 21 or issue cards to members of this age group without either an adult co-signer or proof of independent means of payment
The Obama Administration has also passed new credit card rules including:
Once an account is open for 12 months, the rate on new transactions may go up only with 45 days advance notice.
Rates on existing balances may only go up when a customer is more than 60 days late paying their bill.
Statements must be mailed 21 days before the bill is due which is a change from the current 14 day standard.
Different credit card products are designed for different consumer needs including:
balance transfer cards
student cards
cash back cards
bad credit cards
no credit cards
low rate cards
rewards/points cards
prepaid cards
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