We've warned our friends, family and colleagues of the pitfalls of the credit card fine print. It seems Fed Chief Ben Bernanke may have been listening. The Federal Reserve recently announced a plan to crack down on this and other "unfair" features of credit cards. According to Bernanke, this plan is "intended to establish a new baseline for fairness in how credit card plans operate." Here are some highlights of his plan that is currently open for public comment, and what it could mean to you as a customer. The plan aims to eliminate the following:

· Universal default clause: One credit card company cannot raise interest rates on you simply because you are having trouble paying another credit card account.

· Diverting funds: Lenders can no longer allocate payments to lower balances while you rack up interest on higher balances. This is a common practice currently for cash advances, which often have higher rates than your normal APR.

· Unfair time constraints on payments: Under Bernanke's plan, you must be given a reasonable amount of time before a payment is deemed late, such as 21 days.

· Retroactive rate increases: Lenders can no longer increase rates on existing balances under this plan.

· Double-cycle billing: This feature has allowed lenders to calculate your interest based on the average daily balance of two months. Under this billing method, you essentially end up paying interest on a balance you already paid off. Under the proposed Fed plan, this will no longer be permitted.

· "Security deposits" and other fees: Lenders will no longer be allowed to tack on fees simply for issuing credit or increasing available credit.

· Deceptive credit offers: The language on this section is not clearly defined yet, but it's good to know that this area is being addressed – especially if you have college-aged children, who are a big target for misleading credit offers.

It's important to note that this plan, or any part of it, has yet to be implemented. Even if it gets approved as-is, without any changes, it might not take effect until 2009 or beyond. Although these changes may not take effect for some time, it's imperative to be an educated consumer of credit. During economic slowdowns, with increases in the costs of gas, food, healthcare, and education, it's more important than ever to stay on top of credit card use.

Another concern we have is that, if and when this plan is implemented, the credit card companies will try and spin the new rules in their favor, to make it seem as if this action was their creation to offer better, safer credit options that, again, lure you into utilizing expensive credit options that could bury you in credit card debt. Don't let this happen.