Americans will carry about $1 trillion in credit card debt by the end of Christmas.
Congress has just passed The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008, known as H.R. 5244.

Some of the reforms:

- give account holders 45 days notice of any increases in interest rates.

- Monthly bills mailed at least 25 days before the due date, up from 14 days,

- fees could not be charged on the remaining interest-only balance of a customer who has paid a bill on time.

80 percent of all U.S. credit cards are issued by:

Bank of America Corp.
Citigroup Inc.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and
Capital One Financial Corp.
Discover Financial Services LLC.

6,000 other institutions issue credit cards according to the American Bankers Association.

Edward Yingling, president of the American Bankers Association warned that H.R. 5244 "would have unintended consequences such as more expensive and less accessible credit".

Sounds like spin.
It is more likely to result in lower interest rates and fees.

Truth in lending.
For a start consumers will be agreeing to a known rate and if they stick to the payment schedule they'll likely keep that rate. It will lessen the practice of offering honeymoon rates and putting them up later for no reason other than increased profits or making up on the honeymoon rate.

Consumers are less likely to use credit if they are more aware of the actual amount they'll be paying. Few would agree to buy on credit if the advertised rate was accompanied by the default rate.

Credit providers will have to use their professional knowledge to predict rates and set them when the credit is extended.  No more asleep at the wheel and just kick up the rate if you've made a mistake.

That could sort the men from the boys, but technology will enable a revolution in the consumer credit industry that will see the card companies left behind if they don't reform and improve like the rest of us.

H.R. 5244 will not inhibit the consumer credit revolution.

We've seen some pretty dodgy behaviour in the credit card industry and it looks like some of it may be reduced if this law gets through the last hoop.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) pointed out that  -"A credit card agreement is supposed to be a contract, but what good is a contract when only one party has the power to make decisions?"

She has a point there.

As for letting the bail-out interfere with the passing of the law, - negotiate from a position of strength - hit 'em while they're down.

It won't matter in the long run. Times are changing faster than the card companies and there will be better alternatives for consumers and maybe even for banks soon. The current structures are very vulnerable because of their high fees.

It's probably going to be pretty easy to pluck the best customers from existing shaky players once this rubble has finished falling/cleared. Out with the old and in with the new.

I may see my prediction about how many or more precisely - how few 'big global' banks there would be within 5 years, come true in less than one.