There are many new USA credit card rules that have been put into place by the United States Federal Reserve to prevent fraud and protect consumers from exploitation by their banks. Credit cards companies are now required to notify consumers of many problems.

The first issue that credit card companies must tell consumers about is any plan to increase rates or fees of any kind. They are also mandated by law to inform consumers of any changes to the terms of the card.

Based on USA Credit Card Rules, they must notify you a minimum of 45 days before the changes can take effect. This gives you a chance to cancel the card should you disagree with the new policy changes.

There are some situations where the credit card company is not required to give a 45 day advance notice. This includes the following scenarios:

  • Indexed variable interest rates
  • Shift from introductory to revert-to interest rate
  • Failing to make payments

Under the new USA Credit Card Rules your lending institution must tell you how long it will take to pay off the balance making only the minimum payments on the card, as well as how much your monthly payment will be to pay it off in three years.

The new legislation also bans credit card companies from raising your interest rates in the first year you have your card. There are several exceptions:

  • Variable interest rates
  • Introductory rates making the switch to revert-to rates
  • Overly late payments

The legislation also specifies that the new rate only applies to new charges. Your old interest rates will still apply on your past charges. This is so that your credit card company cannot make your past charges different from what you expected it to be. There are also restrictions on how old you have to be to take out a card.

You also must be 21 with a sufficient credit history to prove your ability to pay; otherwise you will need a co-signer to help protect you against getting charged unfairly by your lenders. You cannot be assessed a fee for going over your credit limit unless you opt in to a program that allows your lender to process transactions that put you over the limit. Additionally they can only charge one fee for going over the limit.

The credit card company must give you your bill with at least three weeks to make the payments, and the payment date must be consistent from month to month. Also, when you do make more than the minimum payment on your card, the payment must be applied to the debt with the highest interest rate.