MUST READ: "Maybe It's Time to Change Credit Cards" from the NYT

In her latest Conscious Bookkeeping newsletter, founder Bari Tessler-Linden pointed readers to a helpful New York Times article that offers insight about the new credit card legislation that started taking effect back in August. We think it's a great how-to guide for anyone who's looking to find a better credit card. Here's a preview:

If you're like most credit card customers, you've gotten notes from your bank in recent weeks.

Perhaps the card company told you that the interest rate was rising 4 percentage points. Or it cut your credit limit in half. Maybe an annual fee has appeared for a rewards program as part of an “enhancement,” or the travel points no longer yield quite what they used to.

Why is this happening? On Thursday, the first of a set of new rules went into effect resulting from the landmark credit card legislation earlier this year.

Banks must now provide written notice to customers 45 days before increasing the interest rate or changing the terms on a card. So banks raced to get out in front of that requirement, making a bunch of changes before Thursday, lest they have to give you a month and a half of warning.

Irritated by the changes? Inclined to take your business elsewhere now? This is exactly the right instinct, since plenty of people can still get a better deal from a different card. Fee-free balance transfers still exist. And banks have barely touched the most lucrative rewards programs — and wouldn’t dare fiddle too much given the revenue they generate.

Continue reading this article at www.nytimes.com, and share your thoughts about the new credit card legislation in our "Money - in Tough Times" forum at community.experiencelifemag.com.

To sign up for the Conscious Bookkeeping newsletter and to learn more about the Conscious Bookkeeping philosophy and founder Bari Tessler-Linden — who'll be appearing on our March 2010 cover — go to www.consciousbookkeeping.

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