Protecting consumers was the main focus on creating and implementing the new credit card law.  Consumer advocates, however, are still seeking for much more protective set of laws and say that the new law is ether not adequate or will bring about more difficulties to individuals who seek to get credit cards or people who are already credit card holders.

At present, ”risky” borrowers gets the most burden because of the high interest rates and fees being slapped on them.  Lenders reasons for doing this is that customers who are risky are the ones who are likely to be at risk of loan default and raising their interest rates and fees are their method to get the most out of their customer.  Some restrictions against this type of practice are also incorporated in the new law but there are also some new, yet not so new regulations which banks can “modify” to their 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.  Even if a considerable percentage of lenders in the US have added annual fees to their borrowers bills even before the new law took effect, this is now something that all credit card consumers will have to deal with from now on. 

Some issuers of credit cards have also cooked-up other means to rake in additional revenues.  Inactivity fee is one 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.

Existing fees were also raised and one of them is the balance transfer fee.  From 3 percent to 5 percent, one particular financial institution, JPMorgan Chase, now charges customers who opt to do balance transfers to another provider in an effort to lower their credit card debt.  Customers who want to do balance transfers would have to pay for it since balance transfers can only be done by their current credit card provider.

Last year’s interest rate amounted to 10.7 percent.  Now, interest rate for new credit cards is at 13.6 percent.  Base rates is also expected to be increased soon and this would allow lenders to raise variable interest rates.

The ability to get and keep credit cards is also harder nowadays.  A more cautious approach is being done by lenders when it comes to granting credit cards and are doing all sorts of measure to reduce risks.  Due to the economic crisis, not only did banks tighten the way they grant credit, but they also devised a lot of schemes to get more revenue from their credit cards.

Millions of people have also experienced cuts on their credit limits.  An estimated $1 trillion amount of available credit 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 high unemployment rate and housing crisis. 

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.

The new law has provided a few restrictions too and getting around these restrictions will be the strategy for lots of lenders.  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.  Individuals who have good credit records and have other dealings with banks are the more targeted market for granting credit cards.