Bank Lowers Credit Card APRs for Some, but Adds Fee for Others

The cat and mouse game continues. Americans are beginning to reap more of the benefits of 2009's landmark credit card protection legislation, the CARD Act, even as some banks continue to add fees. The Act ordered banks to review credit card customers' files to determine if their interest rates should be lowered. According to this National Public Radio story, it's apparent that at least one of the "big four" banks -- Bank of America -- is cutting some high-value cardholders' interest rates by as much as half, even as it adds $59 annual fees to customers who are least likely to be able to get another card from a different issuer.

"The divide that's dividing the haves and have-nots has gotten even bigger," Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com, tells WalletPop. "As we come out of this credit crunch, my concern is it's almost like a disappearing middle class. That's a concern to me as a consumer advocate, because millions and millions of consumers fall into this category," he says.