Topic: Credit Card Fees and Penalties

Bye-bye free checking. Hello fee checking.

Free checking is disappearing as banks scramble to make up lost revenue. Will the government's new finance watchdog step in and regulate bank's new checking fees?

The rise in bank fees is over

Bank fees typically go up before new regulations. Now that the rules are in place, the most troublesome fee hikes are disappearing and competition will keep them from coming back.

Debit cards: Chase, Wells Fargo dropping fees

Debit cards' fees so unpopular in pilot programs that Chase, Wells Fargo will eliminate them. Bank of America likely to offer ways to avoid fees on its debit cards.

Take your money and run

Bank of America's $5 per month debit card fee is just the tip of the iceberg. Big banks are starting to charge fees for what used to be basic services. In protest, switch to a community bank or credit union. It's more convenient than camping out with the Occupy Wall Street protesters.

Bank of America's debit card fees

If you are a Bank of America customer and use your debit card to make purchases, should you jump ship?

Debit card fees: Why Bank of America will charge $5 for debit card use

Debit card fees on the rise: Bank of America to charge $5 for debit card usage. Other banks may follow suit.

First credit card? Five key tips for college students.

If getting a credit card is a rite of passage for college students, choosing the right plastic and learning how to use it responsibly is a matter of life and debt. Young people age 18 to 24, carry an average credit card debt of $2,002, according to CreditKarma.com. Before you end up as a debt statistic, learn to pick the right card and manage your credit before getting your hands on plastic. Here are five things every new credit cardholder should know:

Debit card fees: You can still avoid them. For now.

Debit card fees are on the rise as banks look for ways to make up for lost revenue. But Citibank, Capital One still offer no-fee cards.

Top 5 credit cards for world travel

Is world travel on your horizon this year? Bringing the right credit card is as fundamental as packing the right wardrobe. While there are great benefits to using plastic abroad – such as travel assistance and fraud protection – the cards’ foreign transaction fees can eat into your travel budget. And traditional magnetic strip credit cards aren't universally accepted overseas anymore. Picking the right card for a foreign trip depends on the perks you’re looking for, the fees you’re willing to pay, and the kind of credit you have. Here are Credit Karma’s Top 5 credit cards for world travel:

College grads: Top 5 financial mistakes – and how to avoid them

Experimenting with money – spending and managing it – is a college freedom that can quickly get out of hand. I should know; I graduated recently and my college financial habits over those four years had me drowning in debt after graduation. With unemployment high and an average debt load of more than $29,000, the Class of 2011 needs to be especially savvy about money as it moves into the working world. Here are five big financial mistakes 20-somethings often make – and how to avoid them.

Debit card fees: Senate discusses limiting swipe costs to stores

Debit card fees are the topic of debate in the Senate on Wednesday. Some lawmakers oppose a proposal from the Federal Reserve to lower the debit card fees that stores must pay when a card is swiped.

Credit-card swipe fees: US firms pay too much – and it hurts consumers

Credit-card swipe fees are high and unfair in the United States. Congress should get them changed.

Debit-card rewards: beginning of the end?

Debit-card rewards are being trimmed as banks contemplate loss of revenue from new federal legislation. Will debit-card rewards disappear completely?

Credit cards: Beware that balance transfer

Credit cards can sink you financially. Here are answers to balance transfer, credit card, and other financial questions from the reader mailbag.

Checking account fees tested by Bank of America

Checking account fees will come in tiers that customers can choose from in a three-state pilot program.

Bank accounts: Free checking fading fast

Bank accounts with no fees attached are becoming a thing of the past at large US banks, which are starved for revenue.

Credit card fees: Would capping them really help consumers?

Credit card fees and rewards programs help the rich and hurt the poor, according to a recent report. But experts disagree whether a cap on fees would solve the disparity.

Credit card fees make the rich richer, study finds

Credit card fees and rewards programs exacerbate income inequality by acting as a transfer of wealth from poor to rich, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Boston study released Monday.

BP boycott: BP tells local gas station owners help is on the way

BP boycott has hurt local gas station owners across the US. Now, BP says it will give financial support to those boycotted retailers.

Credit-card deals become harder to find

Recent reforms make credit-card deals more difficult to negotiate with card companies. Here's how Americans are coping.

Financial reform bill 101: What it might mean for your debit card

The financial reform bill passed Thursday in the Senate could reduce costs to retailers. That might allow them to offer you discounts for using cash or certain cards.

Debit card fees: Senate votes for limits, seeking to aid consumers

Retailers are the ones paying debit card fees, but the idea is that if the costs were lowered, retailers might then pass some of the savings along to consumers.

New credit card rules: a punishment for responsible borrowers

The Credit CARD Act will mean higher fees, higher interest rates, and lower bonus points.

New credit card laws 2010 still have 'gotchas.' Here are five steps to avoid them.

The most sweeping reforms of President Obama's new credit card laws went into effect Monday. But consumers must take these steps to avoid the 'gotchas.'

Credit-card firms already trimming rewards