Effects Of New Credit Card Rules Beginning To Show
Over the years, credit card holders have been seeing their credit card agreements getting more and more complicated, to the point that deciphering them would need some serious commitment from a financial expert. Along with these complicated agreements came some very oppressive – at least from the point of view of credit card holders – policies which ultimately brought on the uproar that resulted in the quick passage of the Credit CARD (Card Accountability, Responsibility and Discolosure) Act of 2009.
Earlier this year, Congress drafted new regulations for the credit card industry. The draft passed through Congress in record time and was signed into law by President Barack Obama this May. The Credit CARD Act is poised (it will be going live on February of next year) to completely change the current state of the credit card industry. The sweeping changes that the Credit CARD Act promises were predictably received poorly by the credit card companies. They complained that the Credit CARD Act is too limiting and warned that, ultimately, they will have to increase the price of their products to compensate.
As the full activation of the Credit CARD bill nears, are getting busier adapting to the changes that the legislation will bring. Some of these changes have not been very well received by credit card holders. These included increased interest rates, higher fees, the introduction of more fees, credit limits being cut down and other changes. A new set of changes are, however being released by credit card companies which are more welcome among credit card holders.
Some credit card companies recently released new, updated credit cards which seem to be a complete turn around of what credit cards used to be before. These credit cards are focusing more on making themselves less complicated and easier to understand for credit card holders. A few days ago, credit card company Chase, introduced the Blueprint credit card. This new credit card is specifically designed to assist credit card holders in paying off their balances faster. With this, credit card holders can set which credit card purchases they will pay in full every month, even as they accrue interests in other purchases. They can also set a target date for paying off purchases not paid off completely for the month. This will be used by Chase to calculate the necessary monthly payments to be made to achieve that goal.
Bank of America also recently announced their new BankAmericard Basic Visa card. This new credit card offers a basic rate applicable to all transaction types, from basic purchases to balance transfers to cash advances. The rate is tied to the prime rate plus 14%. The credit card will also carry no over limit fees and will only have a charge a $39 flat fee for late payments.
