The economy may be in tatters, but new legislation is expected to save you and your fellow consumers about $10 billion a year in credit card fees. The legislation came into effect on Feb. 3, 2010, and the Pew Trust’s “Safe Credit Cards” project released that very positive prediction around that time.

Not everyone has reacted with joy to this news. Newly mandated billing practices under the new card act will make it harder for banks to maintain steady income from their credit card divisions. This is because irksome policies like retroactive interest rate increases will no longer be allowed.

Also, payments have to be registered by the date they are received, rather than by the hour. This means that payments received before the close of business on their due date must be accepted, so credit card companies cannot say payments are “late” when they arrive after a time as early as ten a.m.

Card issuers haven't taken this lying down. Last year, anticipating these new rules, Citi told some customers they'll be charged an annual fee of up to $90 unless they spend at least $2,400 a year on their card. Chase increased the cost of a balance transfer to 5% from 3% recently. American Express and Bank of America also have added annual fees to their existing cardholder accounts, and have introduced new cards that come with annual fees as high as $99.

So, despite new legal protections, borrowers must be even more careful with their monthly balances. As if that weren't enough, lenders are now profiting from things that used to be entirely free, like the printed statement, which in some cases now costs $1 a month.

In the final analysis, though, consumers still have a little power. It turns out that fewer people are carrying credit cards these days. Even those who never carried a balance in the past are finding the new profit attempts from their credit card issuers annoying, and are going back to good old cash. At least they don't have to pay the U.S. Mint $1 extra just for printing it!