Avoid Sneaky Credit Card Fees

Posted by Brian Redhead

Fed up with your hard-earned money going to big corporations while you're struggling to get by? Want to do something about it?

You're not as powerless as you think.

It's not just tax dollars that get funneled to big companies. Consumers spend billions each year on fees and add-on charges, many of which are unnecessary, and often because they're just not paying attention.

Take credit cards. MasterCard, Visa and other bank card customers paid $14.6 billion in 2008 just in penalties -- such as late payments and over credit limit fees -- according to Brian Riley, research director for Bank Cards at TowerGroup, a financial services advisory firm near Boston.

And that's just the beginning. Fees and surcharges are added to household bills, travel costs, banking, phone bills and more.

Some of these line items cover things like taxes that companies must pay. But often, those add-ons produce extra profit. Like the $2.50 "restocking fee" some hotels charge on top of the exorbitant prices for beverages in a mini-bar. Click here to read more.