While the Credit Card Act of 2009 may not be perfect, it will put an end to some of the more egregious practices that have plagued the credit card industry for decades. Among the major changes the law will enact, double-cycle billing is one that consumer activists are especially excited to bid goodbye.
This sneaky method of billing is one of the most costly ways to calculate a consumer's finance charges because the creditor uses the average daily balance for both the current and previous billing cycles. In many cases, this practice has even allowed credit issuers to charge interest on debt already paid off the previous month.
The end of double-cycle billing is set to go into effect February 22, 2010. So in the meantime, read the "Finance Charges" section of your credit card statement to determine if your creditor uses this method. If so, you may wish to pay off any existing balance and refrain from using the card until the new rules take effect.
