I turned nine shades of red
Tips and Tricks
Get Card Smart Cardtrak.com Compare cards with this site's search engine.
Bankrate.com To decipher credit card contracts. Its online calculator can figure how long it will take to pay off balances.
National Foundation for Credit Counseling (www.nfcc.org, 800-388-2227) To find a reputable credit counselor near you.
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (www.occ.treas.gov, 800-613-6743) This U.S. Treasury Dept. unit fields complaints against national banks.
How to Beat Card Sharks
If you're considering a credit card offer, carefully examine the terms of the contract. If you don't understand something, call the issuer's customer service department. If you're not satisfied with the response, don't sign up.
Remember that the due date on your card statement is just that. A postmark date is not the same thing. Because many card issuers impose ultra-specific cutoff times (American Express, for example, won't process some payments received after 12 noon in a customer's time zone until the following day), try to make your payment, by mail or online, well in advance.
One way to avoid going over your limit (and facing extra fees as a result): Go to the card company's website. Most will alert you via e-mail when you creep close to your cap.
If you've historically been a good customer, it can't hurt to ask the customer service department to waive over-limit or other fees.
Similarly, if your interest rate goes up, it's worth asking to have it lowered. A study by the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group found that when cardholders requested a reduction, almost six in ten got their rate reduced by at least a third with just one five-minute call. New Rules to Curb High Rates & Fees?
Federal legislation introduced in May could eliminate or at least limit some of the harshest card fees and penalties, including:
• Retroactive interest hikes applied to existing balances.
• Duplicate over-limit fees.
• Billing plans that add interest to bills paid on time but not in full.
• Fees for paying bills online or via phone, which some card companies now charge.
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