CARD Act 2009 Phase 2
Disclosure and term changes effective February 22, 2010
Beginning February 22, 2010, all financial institutions must follow provisions that affect credit card disclosures, credit limit increases, billing cycles and age requirements. Here’s a summary of what’s changing.
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Beginning February 22, 2010 |
What we're doing |
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Disclosures |
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Credit card agreement
Creditors must post their credit card agreement online.
Credit card statement disclosures
Credit card statements must disclose:
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Fees
Total amounts of fees and interest charged during the statement period and year-to-date. |
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Due date and late penalties
The statement’s first page must state the due date and any late fees or penalty rates if your payment is late. |
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Repayment
An estimate of how long it would take to repay your balance if you paid only the minimum payment required. If paying only the minimum payment would take more than 3 years to pay off, creditors must also provide a cost estimate for a 36-month repayment schedule. |
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Credit card agreement
We’re updating our agreement. Once it’s ready, we’ll add it to our Credit Card page so you can always find it. Our Change in Terms summary also provides an overview of the changes. |
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Credit limit increases |
| Before increasing your credit limit, creditors must consider your ability to make minimum payments if you were to use your full credit limit. |
Currently, we pull your credit report when you request a credit limit increase. Beginning in January 2010, we’ll also verify your income. |
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No more double-cycle billing |
| Eliminates double-cycle billing where instead of billing you for the previous 30 days, the creditor bills you for the previous 60 days, then divides that number in half to calculate the interest owed. |
We currently bill you for the prior billing cycle only. We’ll continue this practice. |
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Age requirement |
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Creditors may not issue a credit card to consumers under age 21 unless they submit an application that includes:
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A co-signer above age 21 who has the means to repay any balance or |
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Information indicating the consumer has the financial means and ability to make required payments. | |
Beginning January 31, 2010, we’ll discontinue our Student Visa product. Members under age 21 who have a co-signer or information showing they have financial means to make payments are welcome to apply for our Classic or Platinum Visa. |
Learn more about other February 22, 2010, provisions affecting rates and fees and payment requirements.
If you have any questions, please give us a call at 800.637.0852.
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