Before a new law of reforms becomes effective in February of 2010, Credit card companies are raising interest rates, penalties and fees. As of July, interest rates spiked an average of 20% across the board from December 2008 with some issuers raising the interest rates 30 and even 50 percent. When the Pew Health Group examined credit cards offered by the twelve largest banks, they found :

99.7 percent of bank cards allowed the issuer to raise interest rates on outstanding balances by changing the account agreement unilaterally – up from 93 percent in December 2008.

95 percent of bank cards allowed issuers to apply payments in a manner that the Federal Reserve found likely to cause substantial monetary injury to consumers.

90 percent of bank cards had penalty interest rates that could be triggered by late payments or overlimit transactions. All but 10 percent of these cards had penalty repricing terms that would qualify as “hair trigger” under Federal Reserve guidelines – triggers of one or two late payments in 12 months

99 percent of bank cards included a late fee – median $39.

80 percent of bank cards included an overlimit fee – median $39.

The median bank penalty interest rate was 28.99 percent. Most – 90 percent – penalty rate increases could continue indefinitely even if the cardholder resumes.