Like it or not, credit cards are a major part of all western households. During the past several laws have governed the Credit card transactions, PCI being the most predominant.

Beginning Feb. 23 financial institutions will be prohibited from several billing practices that have long annoyed the cardholders. Among the most important are:

All payments must go to the highest balances first. That means that if Bank of America charges you 30% for cash advances and 15% for all other balances, the money you send should help you erase the most problematic debt first.

Banks are no longer be able to say that payments are due on the morning of the first working day. Instead accept all payments until the close of business on the due date.

Financial Institutions can no longer raise a customer's interest rate on a fixed-rate card and cannot make significant changes without 45 days' written notice.

Financial Institutions must also disclose on every bill on how making only the minimum payments will keep them in debt and later disclose how long it will take a cardholder to pay off his entire balance if he sends in only the minimum.

The new regulations probably will reduce the extra revenue from interest and other charges and will be replaced by fixed fees. E.g. some cards are adding a $1 fee to send you a printed statement every month. On the other hand the new fees could discipline cardholders who pay off their balances in full every month.

What will the Credit Card holders? The best approach is to use cash as much as possible and only rely on credit cards for emergencies. But that is easier said than done.