Debts : Credit Cards : Your 90-second guide to the new credit card rules : Bundle

New rules for your credit card take effect in two weeks. Who benefits, and how

Last summer, Congress passed the Credit Card Accountability and Disclosure Act -- Credit CARD Act, get it? Who's funnier than Congress? -- a new law designed to prevent some of the sneakier and more damaging pricing practices of the credit card companies. Now those rules are finally going into effect. If you have a credit card, you probably got a four-page, fine-print letter in the mail explaining these changes. Did you chuck it? Don't feel bad: in a recent informal query of Federal Reserve officials, lenders, and credit industry attorneys, only about 3 percent said they regularly read their credit card mail. So for you, and for them, here are the highlights, both good and bad:

Less funny business with your bill. Banks now have to mail your bill three weeks before the due date, to make sure you have enough time to make a payment on time. And every payment is due by 5pm, local time, where it's received, so no more early morning deadlines or "Eastern time" garbage for West Coast customers. Also, if your due date falls on a Sunday or a holiday, and your payment doesn't get there 'til the next day, you won't be charged a late fee.

Your statement will be simpler. And scarier. Making the minimum payment never got anyone out of debt. And now your bill will say so. Every bill will now include a simple breakdown of how long it will take you to pay off your balance if you only pay the minimum, and how much you'd need to pay each month to pay it off in three years. The first number is terrifying. The second is less so. In this example from the Federal Reserve, it would take a customer 11 years to pay off a $3,000 balance (at 14.4%) if he only made the minimum $90 payment. But paying it off in three years would only require another $13 per month -- and it would save him $1,033 in interest payments.

You'll get notice before the bank raises your rates. That's nice, right? Banks now have to give 45 days' notice before they raise your rates. They can only punish you with a rate hike if you're more than 60 days late with a payment, and if the rate does go up, it only applies to new charges. It's slightly amazing that these are new rules, but better late than never.

The biggest winners? College students. Okay, they may not think so. But undergrads have historically been fish in a barrel for credit card companies -- 84% have at least one credit card, more than half have four or more, and the average balance is higher than ever, at $3,173, according to Sallie Mae (PDF). (These aren't seniors, either: 85 percent of freshman carry a balance, with the average close to $1,000.) The new rules now prevent anyone under 21 from getting a credit card without a cosigner, or proof of income. Additional rules prevent credit card companies from tabling within 1,000 feet of a university campus, and from giving away promos to people who fill out applications. College students are resourceful, and I'm sure if they want a credit card, they'll find a way to get one. But if the new rules help them head into the work world with less high-interest debt, everyone wins.

Sound good? Most experts agree the new rules are generally good for consumers. But even so: Expect new fees and higher rates. Banks are still going to get paid. They'll just find new ways to add charges for customers. Already consumer advocates say they're seeing more annual fees, higher interest rates on new accounts, stingier rewards programs, higher foreign transaction fees, minimum finance charges, inactivity fees and new charges for paper statements. And, no doubt, more fees no one's even thought of yet. Which brings us back where we started: start reading your credit card mail.