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The unfair credit card rate hikes was just one of the factors why the new credit card law was formed and implemented.  Although advocates for consumer rights are still seeking for much more protective set of laws and say that the new law is insufficient or might even set off more burden to people who seek to obtain credit cards or those who are already credit card holders.

Currently, credit card customers who suffer the most are those considered “risky” due to the high interest rates and fees being slapped on them.  Some of the reasons lenders give is that customers who are risky are the ones who are prone to be unable to pay their obligations and raising fees and interest rates are ways to accumulate revenue from these types of customers just in case default take place.  The new law will provide restrictions that will somehow reduce this sort of practice but there are also some new, yet not so new regulations that could be taken advantage.

Ten years ago, annual fees on credit cards were removed but it’s now making its way back to people’s credit card statements.  Although a significant percentage of lenders in the US have added annual fees to their borrowers bills even before the new law took effect, all credit card holders will now have to deal with annual fees. 

Ways to create added revenue were also created by some credit companies.  One of which is known as inactivity fee which can amount up to $20 usually given to those who had stopped using their credit card for six months.  Another one is known as processing fee where for every paper statement processed, $1 is charged to the consumer.

Balance transfer fee, which has been around for a long time, were also raised.  From 3 percent to 5 percent, one particular financial institution, JPMorgan Chase, will now charge customers who wants to lower their rates by transferring their current balance from another bank or financial institution.  Customers who want to do balance transfers have no choice but to pay since balance transfers can only be done by their current credit card provider.

The interest rate last year was just 10.7 percent but the new interest rate was increased to 13.6 percent.  The increase in base rates is also expected to rise later on and this would allow lenders to raise variable interest rates.

Credit card holders may also have a hard time to obtain and maintain their credit cards.  Nowadays, lenders granting credit cards has become more stricter and are doing all sorts of measure to reduce risks.  Because of the economic slump, not only did banks tighten the way they grant credit, but they also devised plenty of schemes to drive their credit card revenues up.

Credit limits were also cut for millions of people.  An estimated available credit amounting to $1 trillion is said to have been eliminated by doing this.  California and Florida are two states that were the most subjected to credit limit cuts due to the mortgage crisis and high unemployment rate. 

People should also not be surprised if they are not receiving credit card solicitation in their mail anymore.  Compared to year 2000 up to 2008 which had an average of 2.3 billion solicitations, only a quarter of this figure have been recorded in 2009.

A few restrictions have been added to the new credit card law as well and a good number banks will definitely discover several ways to get around it.  This is an additional factor why banks will be more reluctant to issue credit cards especially to those who have low credit ratings and low FICO scores.  Credit card offerings will be more likely targeted to people who have a good credit score or have other banking activities such as savings accounts.