| 1. |
Cardholders Deserve Protections against Arbitrary Interest Rate Increases. |
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- Requires card companies give cardholders 45 days notice of any interest rate increases.
- Gives cardholders the right to cancel their card and pay off their existing balance at the existing interest rate and
repayment schedule if they get hit with an interest rate hike; gives cardholders 3 billing cycles after the rate
increase to say no to these new terms.
- Prevents card companies from retroactively increasing interest rates on the existing balance of a cardholder in
good standing for reasons unrelated to the cardholder's behavior with that card (the so-called "universal default"
rate increase).
- Prohibits card companies from arbitrarily changing the terms of their contract with a cardholder, banning the so-called
practice of "any-time, any-reason repricing."
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| 2. |
Cardholders Who Pay on Time Should Not Be Penalized. |
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- Prohibits card companies from charging interest on debt that is paid on time during a grace period. This prevents
the so-called "double-cycle billing" practice.
- Prohibits card companies from slapping fees on the remaining interest-only balance of a cardholder who has paid his/her bill on time.
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| 3. |
Cardholders Should Be Protected from Due Date Gimmicks. |
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- Gives cardholder time to pay their bills by requiring card companies to mail billing statements 25 calendar days
- before the due date (14 days is the current minimum).
- Requires that payments made before 5 p.m. EST on the due date are considered timely.
- Directs card companies to provide on every statement, a phone and internet address that a cardholder can access
for payoff balances.
- Prohibits card companies from charging late fees when a cardholder presents proof of mailing his/her bill within 7
days of the due date.
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| 4. |
Cardholders Should Be Protected from Misleading Terms. |
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- Prevents card companies from using terms such as "fixed rate" and "prime rate" in a misleading or deceptive
manner by establishing single, set definitions of those terms.
- Gives cardholders who get pre-approved for a card the right to reject that card up until the moment they activate it
without having their credit adversely impacted.
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| 5. |
Cardholders Deserve the Right to Set Limits on Their Credit. |
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- Requires card companies to offer consumers the option of having a fixed credit limit that cannot be exceeded.
- Prevents card companies from charging over-the-limit fees on a cardholder with a fixed credit limit.
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| 6. |
Card Companies Should Fairly Credit and Allocate Payments. |
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- Directs card companies to fairly allocate payments on balances at different interest rates. Many card companies
currently require cardholders to pay off a lower interest rate balance first.
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| 7. |
Card Companies Should Not Impose Excessive Fees on Cardholders |
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- Limits the amount of "over-the-limit" fees card companies are allowed to charge to 3. Some card companies
currently charge limitless fees for going over credit limits.
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| 8. |
Card Companies Should Not Give Subprime Credit Cards to People Who Can't Afford Them. |
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- Requires that all fees for subprime cards, whose total fixed fees over a year exceed 25 percent of the credit limit,
be paid up front before the card is issued.
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| 9. |
Congress Should Provide Better Oversight of the Credit Card Industry. |
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- Improves existing data collection on industry profits, as well as card fees and rates; requires this information to be
presented to Congress every year.
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