Some new fees to look out for in the wake of CARD Act

In the aftermath of the CARD Act, credit card issuers are looking for ways to increase their revenue, as many of their old methods are no longer permitted. Instead of abrupt jumps in interest, many banks and other issuers are resorting to new types of fees, as well as bringing back old fees, in order to legally earn more money.

One of the most commonly seen fees is a rewards redemption fee. Most rewards from rewards cards aren't totally free, and if you cash in your points for free airfare, you might find yourself hit with a $20 to $50 charge. You may be able to avoid these fees, however, by purchasing your plane tickets online, instead of over the phone. Alternately, if you have plenty of frequent flyer miles with a given airline, you may qualify for a fee waiver.

Another fee seen with American Express rewards cards only comes to light if you make a late payment. This fee is a rewards recovery fee, and will cost you $29 in order to be able to use your accumulated rewards points. In worst-case scenarios, the card issuer will simply void the rewards points you have earned up until the late payment. Make sure that you read the fine print when applying for a rewards card to see what the policies are regarding late payments.

Paper statement fees are charged by some store cards and banks for sending you your monthly statement. These are usually only around $1, but in the case of Bank of America, may run as high as $9 per month. To avoid these fees, simply request that you only receive online statements.

If any of your credit card transactions involve foreign banks, even if the transaction is entirely in dollars, you will likely be subject to a foreign transaction fee, equal to one - three percent of the total charge. There isn't really a way to avoid this fee, and to make matters worse, your bank might add on an extra fee in addition to what Visa or Mastercard charges you.