$50 Billion in New Credit Card Fees? Lenders React to CARD Act

Last year, a new law went into effect that's intended to improve the lives of everyone who uses credit cards. The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (the Credit CARD Act) limits the rate that credit card companies can charge you in fees and penalties, and restricts the ways in which they can raise interest rates. But the Act is having unintended -- if unsurprising -- consequences: According to The Wall Street Journal, it's driving those companies to find new fees to charge you to offset the $50 billion in revenues they'll lose due to the consumer-friendly restrictions.