News came in today about changes to Bank of America credit card policies. Starting in June, cardholders who carry balances month over month and have rates below 10% are going to see those interest rates increase. From the article:

 A company spokeswoman declined to provide an exact number, saying the changes would affect less than 10% of the bank’s card customers in the U.S. The bank has 70 million card customers world-wide, but doesn’t break out the number of customers who are in the U.S. “It impacts a small portion of our cardholders,” said Betty Reiss, the spokeswoman.

So what can you do if you find yourself in the position of carrying a low interest balance? Opt out. You can call Bank of America and tell them that you do not accept the changes to the cardholder’s policy. This will keep your current interest rate but with a major *. If you use that card on new purchases, that transaction will signify an acceptance of the policy and therefore kick up your interest rate. If you are being good and not contributing more to your debt, this change should have very little impact to you.

If you are using your credit card to live your day to day life, it’s going to be harder to find a card that doesn’t punish you. My suggestion is to find a way to get off the debt carousel – quickly.