Credit Card Companies Add New Fees

It isn't just the annual fees and late charges anymore. Credit cards are stealthily slipping in new fees on your monthly bill in an effort to bolster income in this new economy.

Since Congress passed its credit card bill, which takes effect in February 2010, aimed at restricting rate increases and marketing to college students, card companies have been devising new ways to make up for the losses they expect to be hit with before the bill kicks in.

USA Today reports that in June, Fifth Third Bank began charging a $19 fee if credit card holders haven't used their card in the last 12 months. Discover hits consumers with a 2 percent fee for any purchases made outside of the country and Chase has added a $30 annual fee on its Freedom credit card for certain holders.

Companies are "hoping to slip in fees where they're least likely to be noticed," Adam Jusko, founder of card comparison site IndexCreditCards.com, told USA Today.

To get consumers to spend more, Gene Truono, managing director at BDO Seidman LLP's BDO Consulting, tells the Wall Street Journal that companies are dangling more loyalty offers while sending fewer mailings soliciting new customers.

The same banks implementing fees on their credit cards are also adding fees to bank accounts. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that if you overdraw your account using your debit card at Bank of America, you could get slapped with a $35 penalty. Debit cards used to notify consumers if they were overdrawing their account, but these are new times.

Experts suggest consumers read their credit card bills and notices more carefully to protect themselves.

The credit card bill passed by Congress is aimed at protecting consumers by requiring companies to provide 45 days' notice before changing any significant terms on a card and provide information on how to get debt counseling. But critics have argued that companies will only find alternative ways of levying fees on consumers .

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