Credit cards - 10 new ways to increase fees and rates!
April 2007
It's now a year since the OFT stepped in and capped credit card late payment fees at £12, however, since then, credit card companies have been sneakily introducing new credit card fees and increases to rates on a whole host of things to recoup this lost revenue.
Credit card companies have been busy making lots of changes to their credit card terms and conditions and Moneyfacts.co.uk has spotted at least
11 tactics to be aware of
- Increasing purchase interest rates
- Increasing cash withdrawal interest rates
- Raising balance transfer fees
- Raising cash withdrawal fees
- Raising foreign usage fees
- Introducing duplicate statement fees
- Introducing low usage charges
- Introducing monthly fees
- Introducing address tracking charges
- Decreasing the number of interest free days
- Amending the order of repayments
American Express is one of the worst offenders;
- Credit card purchase interest rates up 3% to 15.9%
- Credit card cash rates up 5.345% to 25.9%
- Credit card cash withdrawal fees up 0.5% to 3.0% (min charge £3)
MBNA and Morgan Stanley are also fairly close behind
- MBNA's credit card balance transfer fee is up by 0.5% to 3.0%
- MBNA's credit card cash rates are up 3% to 27.9%
- Morgan Stanley's credit card cash withdrawal fees are up 1% to 3%
- Morgan Stanely's duplicate statement charge is now £5
With credit card companies increasing rates and fees faster than you can shake a stick at, it’s even more important that you review your credit card regularly to make sure you're getting the best deal. When your provider sends through revised terms and conditions, however tiresome it may be, take the time to read the changes being made, as there is a good chance that it could result in your credit card costing you more!
What to do next:
- Check out our credit card best buys
