Bank Cards With Low Interest And No Transfer Balance Fee

Credit where credit is due

One year after new regulations on credit card companies took effect, consumers are paying less in late fees and facing fewer interest rate hikes, according to an Associated Press report.

The findings were released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which will oversee the regulations when it is finally up and running this summer.

But new credit card customers may find their accounts carry annual fees and higher rates, the industry’s response to its power being lessened under the regulations.

The American Bankers Association also notes that potential credit card customers with less-than-stellar credit — and thus presenting a higher risk to companies — aren’t finding it so easy to get an application approved. That really makes no sense to us from the standpoint of credit card companies’ past emphasis on, in a sense, wanting customers to exhibit poor credit habits and pay late, generating more revenue for the company.

But that’s one of the revenue streams the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act has slowed.

And to his credit, the industry has in many cases have responded to the new legislation with enthusiasm and even went beyond the law in dealing with consumers, according to AP.

Under the new rules, the penalty charges for late payments are capped at $ 25, unless a second offense occurs within six months. Although cardholders paid $ 901 million in late fees a month before the new law came into force, this amount was down to 427 million by November.

While it’s unfortunate that too many people still look at credit as not “real money” and only something to worry about when the bill comes due, the new regulations do limit issuers’ ability to make financial mountains out of molehill fees. Card issuers can no longer approve a transaction that would send the cardholder over his or her limit. In the past, that was a common practice that became a lucrative one, with issuers imposing fees for the “service.” Of the nine largest card issuers, two-thirds no longer charge over-the-limit fees, according to CreditCards.com.

But consumers aren’t necessarily better at handling credit card debt, just because they’re paying less in late fees. A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in January 2010 notes that U.S. consumers have almost 610 million credit cards. Of the households with credit card debt, the average family owes almost $15,000.

Best Credit Union Balance Transfer Credit Card | Bank Vibe

Generally speaking – credit union credit cards provide better terms for their members than those issued by the big banks – however this may not be true across the board depending on the category of card you’re after.

A post-bank-collapse-survey was conducted by Pew Research a few years ago that suggested that credit cards issued by credit unions provide lower rates and less fees but may not provide quite the same reward structure. The study noted that big banks will tend to make it more difficult for their customers to sniff out hidden fees and potential rate hikes associated with their cards while credit unions tend to keep their card applications, terms and conditions, simple and candid.

By nature credit unions are designed to be more consumer friendly primarily because their “consumers” are their “members” who are essentially their “owners.” And they are not-for-profit institutions who pass along their profits back to their customers in the form of lower loan rates (and credit card APRs).

Exceptional Balance Transfer Credit Card offer by Consumers Credit Union:

A great example of a credit union credit card with consumer friendly terms is the Consumers Credit Union Balance Transfer Credit Card which was forwarded to us this week by BankVibe.com reader Jake.