Credit Card High Interest Rates May Soon Drop

A recent bill that is expected to pass through the approval of President Obama may help consumers who have been struggling to keep up with paying their credit card bill. The measure is meant to lower the high interest rates card holders have been paying due to late or missed bill payments. Each time a card holder pays a late bill or misses it entirely, they have seen their interest rates jump up as high as 30% in one month. Some consumers have even been hit with penalties for paying other bills late. As many consumers continue to struggle under the weight of credit card debt, senators are pushing for a reform to end the unfair interest raises.

The new reform proposes that all credit card companies can not increase the interest rates on credit card accounts unless card holders are 60 days or more past due. Additionally, consumers who continue to pay their bills on time each month for six months, would be able to regain lower interest rates. Lenders would also be required to review the terms and conditions for card holders every six months.

It is estimated that more than 10 million card holders across the nation have been affected by the recent rise in interest rates in the past few months. Many of those card holders found their interest rates on the credit cards increased for seemingly no reason at all. The new legislation would require all credit card promotional rate offers remain in effect for at least a six month time period and will prevent any interest rate increase during the first year the credit card account has been opened. There would also be a restriction on over the limit fees that credit card companies charge unless it is the card holder that chooses to be able to exceed their credit limit.

As many people are now unable to even meet their monthly credit card payments due to the penalties, fees, and high interest charges, this new legislation if passed can significantly help individuals pay down their credit card balances and find some relief from debt. It also encourages consumers to focus on making on-time payments each month to get back their lower credit card interest rates, which in turn will improve their financial status and credit score. By paying on time for at least six months, a consumers interest rate could be lowered but it should pave the way for better spending and money management habits among consumers.

Related Posts:

• Good Customers Can Reverse High Interest Rates - There are many good reasons that you might want to work hard to keep good credit.  Maintaining a good credit history can give...
• Reversing the High Interest Rate for Good Customers - It may have been quite a big surprise for many credit card account holders to discover how devastating one late payment could...
• Falling Interest Rates Don’t Include Credit Cards - Despite the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate cuts made to help jump start the faltering economy and fend off a recession, those...
• Quick Tips for Lowering your Interest Rates - Everyone knows that the quickest way to start paying down your debt is to lower the interest rate on the existing debt....

This entry was posted on Monday, May 11th, 2009 at 7:54 am and is filed under Credit Card News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.