New credit card rules

googler@evpl — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:15:00 GMT

Back in May, President Barack Obama signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure, or Credit CARD, Act of 2009 into law. The legislation will help out consumers in a number of ways (but does not cap interest rates and fees). Most of this law's provisions go into effect very soon, on Feb. 22, 2010.

One of my favorite consumer credit and money websites, BankRate, has a good rundown of the law's most notable benefits to consumers. These benefits include no more retroactive rate increases; more advance notices of rate increases; the end of "double-cycle billing" (the practice of charging interest on debt already paid off); and at least 21 days instead of 14 between the issue of a statement and payment due date. (While you're there, check out their credit card section.)

MSNMoney has a good article too, in which they note that while credit cards will become easier to understand and more transparent, they can also become more costly over all and harder to get.

And last, the personal finance blog Get Rich Slowly has a post that explains the pros and cons. This author, too, feels that the law will make credit cards harder to get: "Today, and at least for the next year or so, I believe consumers will have difficulty obtaining new credit cards, especially consumers with average credit or worse. This is bad news for those stuck in a high-rate situation."

Other posts in Get Rich Slowly, by the way, might be able to help you become less dependent on credit cards.

Research Blog : personal finance, money, debt

New credit card rules