• Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary advises reader to pay off a $11,000 IRS bill before focusing on the $12,000 credit card debt. She says IRS interest compounds on a daily basis and makes you owe more quicker. -Washington Post
• Credit card companies raise fees and rates to help offset credit card delinquencies and defaults, which continue to rise. -CardRatings.com
• CreditKarma.com raises $2.5 million dollars to continue providing free credit scores to consumers. Visit CreditKarma.com to get a free copy of your (TransUnion) credit score. There's no credit card required and you score is always free. -Reuters
• Small businesses work to get small business credit cards included in the new credit card legislation, but their chances at getting protection look slim. -New York Times' You're the Boss
• If you're getting attractive credit card offers now, take advantage of them because the best credit card deals could be disappearing soon. -Wall Street Journal
• Last week's credit card news.

In the past few months, all my credit card issuers have sent notices that my fixed interest rate is being converted to a (higher) variable interest rate. My most recent notice says "The economic environment has required that we make changes to your account." If you've received these notices recently, you may have wondered why is the rates are changing?

You probably know that new credit card regulations go into effect next February. These new regulations only allow credit card issuers to raise fixed interest rates under certain circumstances and require them to give you a 45-day advance notice of rate increases. The rules aren't the same for variable interest rates, though.

Variable interest rates can change whenever the underlying interest rate changes. Not only that, your credit card issuer doesn't have to send an advance notice before your variable interest rate changes. Your credit card issuer won't have to worry about adjusting your interest rate when the economy changes, because your variable rate will be tied to another interest rate that already changes with the economy.

Variable interest rates are better for credit card issuers. With so many credit card issuers moving to variable rates, the new credit card laws for interest rate increases may not help cardholders.

Related articles:

• Variable Interest Rate Explanation
• When Can Banks Increase Interest Rates
• 5 Ways to Respond to an Interest Rate Increase

It's more important than ever to read anything and everything you get from your credit card issuer. There are only a few months left before the bulk of the new credit card rules go into effect and credit card issuers will use mail to notify you of any changes to your credit card.

New rules already require credit card issuers to notify you 45 days in advance of an interest rate increase. That notification also includes important details about rejecting the rate increase if you'd rather pay your bill at your current, lower interest rate. Your credit card issuer will also notify you in advance of any other major changes to your credit card, like a new fee.

You may receive generic looking envelopes that appear to be junk mail, but confirm that it's junk mail before you trash it. It could be an important letter from your credit card issuer.

Related Reading:

• 10 Key Changes of the New Credit Card Rules
• When Card Issuers Raise Your Interest Rate
• How to Stop Credit Card Junk Mail

More Reading:
When To Check Your Report | Credit Report Dispute | How To Read Your Report