Have you ever gone over the limit on your credit card? Whether by accident or on purpose many Americans have at one time or another charged more than the allotted amount given to them by their credit card company. While in the past when one would go over their limit there was a fee involved; today, things are much different when one commits such an act. Although you may not be charged a fee exactly, according to an article entitled “New Penalties for Credit Card Over-the-Limit Charges” many of the major national credit card issuers have publicly stated how they will handle the situation when the cardholder goes over their limit.

As for why there are other penalties besides a monetary fee for going over one’s limit, this was one rule that was included in the implementation of the Credit CARD Act. Under this regulation issuers are still able to charge a fee but cardholders must first opt-in to over-the-limit protection. For those that don’t opt-in the penalties vary by issuer, and while some are more costly to the consumers others could potentially cause embarrassment. When it comes to the worst penalty described in the article it without a doubt belongs to Citi Bank whom has the option of raising the interest rate on your plastic to as high as 29.99%. While other issuers like American Express and Discover may not actual cost you more money, they may still can cause embarrassment as your transaction will not be approved when you are at the counter trying to pay for your goods or services.

Because of this new rule, credit card issuers have had to find other ways to make up for lost revenue that was previously earned by assessing a fee. While there will probably be other things to take the place of the fees for going over-the-limit the best thing to do in order to avoid embarrassment at the counter or increased interest rates is to know what your limit is and refrain from using your plastic if at all possible if you are ever close to that limit or in doubt.

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