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Is Credit Card Clarity an Oxymoron?

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Can your credit card company KISS? (That's an acronym for "Keep it simple, stupid" -- nothing to do with the band or romance.) In advance of federal reforms, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) this week started sending out simplified policy explanations.

The Associated Press notes: "One important item the letters don't spell out is how long it will take to pay off outstanding balances if only minimum payments are made. After February, that critical information is required to appear on monthly statements, and will likely shock many consumers."

Who's going to best comply with the letter and spirit of credit card reforms? How will card providers like JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) , American Express (NYSE: AXP  ) , Discover Financial (NYSE: DFS  ) , Capital One (NYSE: COF  ) , and Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) do?

If you had only Twitter's 140 characters, what would you tell credit card users? Scroll down and let us know in the comments box.

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Kris Eddy owns no shares of any stocks mentioned in this article. American Express and Discover Financial are recommendations of the Motley Fool Inside Value newsletter. Try any of our investing newsletters free for 30 days. The Fool has a disclosure policy.


Comments from our Foolish Readers

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  • Report this Comment On December 01, 2009, at 6:00 PM, mythshakr wrote:

    Maybe, if you have every single card there is and you max out every single one and you all of a sudden tell them you can't make the payments on any of them you will be considered too big to fail and can qualify for a bailout. After all, it worked for them.

  • Report this Comment On December 01, 2009, at 8:03 PM, blesto wrote:

    When people get those cards they easily forget that it's

    NOT YOUR MONEY.

    Please excuse my yelling.

    Thankyou.

  • Report this Comment On December 01, 2009, at 9:41 PM, Catherine105 wrote:

    The banks have made having a credit card or debit card almost impossible to get by without.Everyone is encouraged to use them for everything.

    Should be courses in high school on how to handle them. (as little as possible)

  • Report this Comment On December 02, 2009, at 9:56 AM, Matt015 wrote:

    I use my credit card for nearly all of my purchases. Not because I over-spend, but because I get anywhere from 1%-5% cashback. I budget and spend within that budget, I just use my card to do it. After a while the cashback adds up.

  • Report this Comment On December 02, 2009, at 10:33 AM, BMFPitt wrote:

    Do people actually look at their paper credit card bills? I just verify online that no transactions throw up a red flag and autopay the balance in full.

  • Report this Comment On December 02, 2009, at 10:34 AM, zgriner wrote:

    SAVE NOW - BUY LATER

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