Are You Smarter Than Your
Credit Card Company?
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BY WALECIA KONRAD
ou’ve probably heard the good news—the Credit Card Reform Act signed into law in
May will finally stop all those tricks credit card companies have been using to separate
you from your hard-earned money. True, the landmark legislation eliminates fluctuating
interest rates and puts a huge dent in other unfair practices—you know it has teeth because of how much banks and card issuers hate it—but consumers still have to be sharp.
“Good as the legislation is, there are loopholes left, and you can bet companies will find each
and every one,” says Adam Levin, chairman and cofounder of the consumer education website
Credit.com. What’s more, most of the reforms won’t go into effect until early next year, and credit
card companies are making the most of the time they have left. “We’ve already seen a rush to increase interest rates on existing cards before the law kicks in,” says Lauren Saunders, managing
attorney at the National Consumer Law Center.
We’ll walk you through the most egregious tactics and surcharges, and explain what the
new law does—and doesn’t—accomplish. Most important, we’ll tell you how to keep
