CREDIT CARDS » Credit Card Rates

Linking your credit card to your bank account can help save you lots of time and money. By linking the accounts it will enable you to pay your credit card bills automatically every pay cycle. This is especially helpful for people who are forgetful and end up having miss payments and late charges - which ultimately is bad for your credit score.

In order to link your credit card to your bank account, you need to have an online credit card account. If you have a credit card but don't have the online account set up yet - you can set up a new online credit card account by going to the credit card company's web page and set up the account there . Once you've logged on to your online credit card account, you should find a link that asks for your banking information. Generally, you will find this on the make a payment option - where there will be a list of payment options. One of which will include automatic payment. When you click on this option you should be brought to a page that asks you for your banking information and a confirmation that you authorize the credit card to automatically withdraw money from your bank account every billing cycle. Make sure you follow the specific instructions that the form asks. When you are done with the form and submit - you should receive a confirmation email stating that your submission was successful. If you don't receive the confirmation letter and have difficulty setting up this type of payment, you can also call the CSR to help you. After you've set up the automatic payment, you don't have to worry about miss payments anymore - just be sure there are enough funds in your bank account to cover the credit card bill. And never forget to check in on your account now and again to make sure everything is going accordingly.

Now that you know how easy it is to set up automatic payment for your credit card - what are you waiting for? Do it!

For years regulations on credit card companies have been quite loose and there have been much controversy among consumers who complained about hidden credit card fees and charges that had caused many consumers a lump sum of money. After 30 years of being able to go about business in whatever manner the credit card companies pleased, which oftentimes took advantage of unsuspecting credit card consumers by raising interest rates and the like, now Federal Regulators have moved to implement new credit card restrictions on credit card companies which will take into affect next year in July of 2010. This will help to protect consumers from getting the short end of the credit card stick.

In more detail the laws are being implemented to protect consumers from unsavory practices by the credit card companies and to ensure that theFederal Trade Commission Act is being adhered to. TheFederal Trade Commission Act is responsible for protecting consumers from "unfair and deceptive trade practices."

The new rules will prevent the credit card companies from:

• Allowing deceptive offers of credit
• Unjustly adding fees for issuing credit or making it available
• Placing inequitable time constraints on payments
• Charging too-high fees for exceeding the credit limit because of holds on the account
• Partaking in double-cycle billing practices

However, not everyone will benefit from the changes being implemented by the credit card company. Some exceptions to the rule are business credit cards, as they will continue to operate on a different set of guidelines and the new laws only apply to consumers. Additionally, the terms for the new rules do not specify those returning home from military duty to be a reason for not raising rates (although this exception is currently under review).

Check out the complete story on about new credit card laws.

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