Credit Card Interest Increases-Should You Opt out? Saugerties NY

Over the past year, credit card companies have aggressively hiked interest rates and raised penalty fees in an effort to cope with the economic crisis and record defaults by cardholders. Many consumers have seen interest rates more than double on their credit cards, a trend that is likely to accelerate with stricter rules for retroactive interest rate increases looming on the horizon.

Credit card companies will most probably make as many changes they can before August 2010 when the new rules for interest hikes step into effect. So going forward, be sure to carefully read every document that you receive from your credit card company to avoid being caught unaware of changes to your terms.

If your credit card APR does get increased or other terms are changed in ways you don’t like, you do have the option to opt out of the changes within a specified time period. Unfortunately, opting out can be a losing proposition for cardholders. Typically, when you opt out, you will be able to pay off any outstanding credit card balance under the existing terms, but your credit card will be closed and you will no longer be able to use it for new charges.

When a credit card account gets closed, it could hurt your credit score by changing the debt-to-credit limit ratio on your credit report. With a lower credit limit, it may appear that you’re using up more of your available credit, and that lowers the credit score. ...

Click here to read the full credit card article from CreditCard Guide.