A Consumer's Guide To The New Credit Card Rules

New York Times:

At first glance, the sweeping credit card legislation that passed the Senate on Tuesday looks like a huge victory for consumers. The bill (and similar legislation that has already passed the House) contains relief from penalty fees and instant interest rate spikes. It even limits expiration dates on gift cards.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[PwnedByJesus]

12:06 PM on 05/20/2009

They got to me first: two cards jacked me up 6% before the law passed. Thank you bankers. Enjoy your TARP funding.

[SimJack]

10:17 AM on 05/20/2009

All bun, no meat. Cash and barter looking better all the time.

[Helzapoppin]

07:35 AM on 05/20/2009

The entire premise of taking on this bill was to move up the effective date on many credit card industry regulations the Fed has already announced. A premise which the bill completely abandons. . . as well as abandoning any real reform.

This bill is, and always has been a complete sham. Nothing but window dressing so Congress can look like it's doing something when it really isn't.

No Caps, no real help to anyone.

[economics101]

07:23 AM on 05/20/2009

NEW OBAMA RULES.....If your resonsible you pay more,if your irresponsible you pay less,or get a break.

[mergina]

03:00 AM on 05/20/2009

If they are going to implement true reform, why let them rape and pillage before a certain date?

[trimom]

03:00 AM on 05/20/2009

That was quick. Just got home to a letter from a credit card company raising my rate from 4% to 24%. They must have had these things preprinted.

[marcp252]

02:23 AM on 05/20/2009

NEXT: Congress must pass consumer friendly legislation that targets the CELL PHONE companies

[trimom]

03:26 AM on 05/20/2009

Agreed. It isn't competition if they make it nearly impossible and very costly to change companies.

[motodude]

01:58 AM on 05/20/2009

Doesn't take effect for 9 months? What is that, congress? Oh here you go banks, 9 more months to chisel your customers because you crashed the stock market and need the rest of their money.

[iridium53]

01:03 AM on 05/20/2009

If the banks raise their interest rates on credit cards we can all thank the competence and leadership of Obama, Reid, Pelosi, Dodd and others.

Obama and Geithner have made a great effort to leave bank management untouched and have supported them at every step.

Yet, we can anticipate that IF the banks raise rates Geithner and Obama will, just as they did with AIG bonuses we now know they were aware of for months, they will plead that they are victims of the bank executives. It was BS then, it will be BS in the future.

[robeson]

12:44 AM on 05/20/2009

Without a cap on interest rates, the Senate law is toothless.

[FinallyFreeOfGeorgeIII]

12:28 AM on 05/20/2009

Gee, isn't this like telling a burglar that you are sending the cops in to stop them in three weeks?

[williamg]

11:30 PM on 05/19/2009

I guess HP is missing the war on the right:


"Li.mbaugh has turned out to be the biggest phony of all of them, all of them. Amongst all of them, he is the biggest fraud. Ru.sh Li.mbaugh is a fraud. When he was accused of the dr.ug usage, I supported him. But that man is a one-way street. It's all about him. He's in it for nobody but himself."

--Michael Savage


http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200905190022

[Golanbiais]

11:19 PM on 05/19/2009

The clients that pay their dues on time could go without using a credit card for sometime. I gave mine back fifteen years ago. It takes a little sacrifice and re-organizing at the beginning. It has many inconveniences; hotels reservations, car rental, being robbed or carjacked... etc.

[redisright]

11:28 PM on 05/19/2009

i am selling car jacking insurance, want some....

[hjfraser2002]

11:30 PM on 05/19/2009

Ok, that is your reply to a honest statement?

[Bernique]

11:06 PM on 05/19/2009

My method (of not using credit cards, below) would actually help the banks. We would have to go to them to get cash, and if they refused ... REVOLUTION.

[Bernique]

11:05 PM on 05/19/2009

What if they gave out plastic credit cards and nobody used them?

[hjfraser2002]

11:11 PM on 05/19/2009

We wake up and live within our means.