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Yahoo.com recently had a great article on the new changes many credit card companies are making.  The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, known as the Card Act was suppose to help the consumer against unfair credit card fees.  Since this Act could lose the credit card companies $390 million in revenue, they have come up with some ways to get that money back.  Here are just some of the tricky ways they are trying to do it:

1. Increasing Rates- Per the new Act the credit card companies are not allowed to increase your rate on your current balance until you are 60 days late.  One way the Credit Card Companies are trying to get around this is by calling the cards "rebate cards".  These "Rebate Cards" waive or refund some of the finance charges when you pay on time, but if you don't pay on time they can increase the rate.  These "rebate Cards" are not covered in the new Act.  They can also shorten your billing cycle, from 30 days to 21 days
2. Balance Transfer fees- When you transfer the whole balance of one card to another you are charged for this.  Many companies are increasing this fee since they believe many customers become a higher risk by doing this.
3. Finance charges- One area that they are trying to increase their revenue is be increasing the finance charge.  That difference might not seem like a lot, but it adds up: Borrowers pay $430 million a year in minimum-finance charges alone, according to the Center for Responsible Lending.
4. Foreign Transaction fees- These fees for shopping out of the US are to increase also.  Per the article "Some card holders are finding they don't even need to leave their living room to get hit with a foreign-transaction fee. Ruth Ann Sando, a small-business owner in Washington, says she has been burned repeatedly on her Visa card issued by Pentagon Federal Credit Union, the third-largest credit union in the U.S..  Ms. Sando used to do a lot of business with AbeBooks, an online retailer. But she found that she was getting hit with foreign-transaction fees even though her purchases were in dollars. That is because while the seller and shipper were based in the U.S., Abe, headquartered in Canada, provides the forum for book sellers and collects a portion of the proceeds from all sales."

If you believe you were wrongly charged, contact your credit card company immediately.  On a personal note I contact my credit card company to reduce my yearly interest rate and they did.  I have also had friends do this.  If you pay on time, they should be willing to reduce it at least a little.  And as we all know any savings right now is helpful.  For the full Article:  Credit Card Fees