Last year, Lisa Blystone enjoyed a jaunt to Niagara Falls with her husband, Scott, and daughters Emma, 12, and Margaret, 10. But the Marcellus, NY, research scientist was surprised when she received her credit card statement, which included an additional charge of $19.50, representing a 3 percent fee for her purchases in a foreign country. “I was so unhappy that I called to complain,” she says. “The customer service representative said I had agreed to the fee when I signed up for the card—no doubt in the fine print, in all that nonsense they send.” Credit cards are a part of life. The typical household carries $8,500 in credit card debt, but the companies now charge more fees than ever before. They took in $63 billion in fees alone last year, up from $39 billion five years ago, according to Robert Hammer of R.K. Hammer, a bank advisory firm. Ignoring the fine print can cost you. That’s why we asked our experts to identify the pesky credit card costs that are most likely to burn you—and to provide tips on avoiding them.

Late fees

These irksome charges have increased dramatically over the past decade. “In the nineties, a late fee was typically about $7,” says Bob Sullivan, author of Gotcha Capitalism: How Hidden Fees Rip You Off Every Day and What You Can Do About It. “Now it’s about $35. That’s a 500 percent increase.” Indeed, these fees go as high as $39, but typically, paying your credit card bill late will cost you a whole lot more than the fee. If the late fee puts you over your credit limit, for example, you’ll be charged an over-the-limit fee, usually $30 to $40 on top of the late fee. And even if you don’t go over your limit, most companies will hike your interest rate because you failed to pay on time. The penalty rate is usually 22 percent to 26 percent but can be as high as 32 percent. That’s why it’s important to understand the full effect of making a late payment, experts say. “It’s a cascading disaster,” says Sullivan, explaining that most people don’t realize that the interest rate increase is retroactive: If you’re late once, the interest rate on your entire balance goes up. “That purchase you made a year ago that you still haven’t paid off is also affected,” he says. “The punishment certainly doesn’t fit the crime.” You can elect to close the card and pay off your entire balance at the old rate, but that’s not an option if you don’t have the money. “If you use your card even once after the notice, you’ve agreed to the increase,” says Sullivan. “It’s wildly unfair.” Though consumers would ideally pay their credit card bills on time, that’s not always possible in a recession. To make matters worse, experts warn, companies are making it more difficult to be consistently on time with payments. That’s probably why one third of Americans paid a late fee in 2007, according to Sullivan, and credit card companies reaped about $17 billion in these fees alone. Many companies have shortened the payment-due-date cycle from 31 days after the statement to 20 to 25 days. And with some cards, if you don’t use the preprinted envelope, the credit card company may record the receipt date of your payment five days after it arrives. In addition, though most people know late fees are charged if you pay past the due date, they may not realize that times are attached to the date: If your payment isn’t received by 1:00 p.m. Central Time, for example, you could incur a late fee.

The solution

The best way to avoid late fees is to set up an automatic online payment system with your credit card company, so that at least your minimum payment is transferred from your checking account, advises Liz Pulliam Weston, author of Easy Money: How to Simplify Your Finances and Get What You Want out of Life. She also stresses how important it is to be aware of your credit limit, since over-the-limit fees are often triggered by late fees and other unforeseen charges (using up all your credit also hurts your credit score). Weston advises that you charge no more than 30 percent of your limit. You also want to know your bill payment style. “If you’re the type of person who’s likely to make a late payment twice a year, you’re probably better off getting a card without a high penalty if you don’t pay on time,” advises Peter Pham, CEO of BillShrink.com, a free online savings advisor.

Cash advances

Most consumers know that if you use a credit card to get cash from an ATM, the cash advance is treated as a loan. That means you’ll be charged a fee on a withdrawal (usually up to 3 percent), and you’ll begin to accrue interest immediately (from 8 percent to as high as 24 percent). “Credit cards now carry many different interest rates,” says Sullivan. “So you’ll have one interest rate on purchases, one on balance transfers and another one on cash advances.” Be aware that those “convenience” checks you get in the mail with your credit card bill are typically treated as cash advances. And if you use your credit card to buy a lottery ticket or a money order, that will also be considered a cash advance.

The solution

Learn what your credit card company treats as a cash advance, and do what you can to avoid any such transaction. “A cash advance on a credit card is definitely a last resort,” says Sullivan.

0 Percent transfer offers

Be aware that those “too good to be true” balance transfer offers are probably just that. “Balance transfer options are usually loaded down with hard-to-understand fees,” says Weston. And with the challenging economy, good offers are harder to find. Balance transfer fees of 3 percent to 4 percent are now commonplace. That means if you transfer a $5,000 balance from one credit card to another, you could be charged as much as $200. “Those fees used to be capped, but now most companies have removed the caps, so they substantially increase the true cost of borrowing,” Weston says. “If you’re considering a balance transfer offer, try to find one that caps fees at $75 or less. It may be worth paying a slightly higher interest rate, but you’ll have to do the math to compare the offers.”

The solution

Websites like Creditorweb.com can help you comparison shop for a credit card. Look out for the balance transfer fee, the length of time your APR will stay at 0 percent and the interest rate you’ll be charged after the grace period. Also, you might find out that if you’re late even once, the company might immediately raise your interest rate—to as high as 29 percent.

Miscellaneous fees

Fees for international travel are commonplace, as Lisa discovered after her family’s visit to Niagara Falls. Most credit cards charge some type of foreign currency exchange fee, usually 1 percent of the purchase, and the creditcard-issuing bank usually charges 2 percent on top of that. Call your credit card company before your trip and discuss the foreign trans action fee policy. There’s a whole host of other miscellaneous fees to watch out for, too. Make sure you keep a file with all your credit card statements, for example; a duplicate copy of a monthly bill can cost you as much as $13. Some credit cards charge as much as $15 if you don’t use them for six months. And if you try to avoid a late fee by making your payment by phone, most credit cards now charge from $12 to $15 for that service.

The solution

Since fees and rates and rules can change monthly, examine each bill carefully and study the terms of your card. If your interest rate goes up or you’re suddenly hit with an annual fee, consider transferring to another card. Just be careful with this option, since it’s not something you want to do every month—and be sure to read the fine print.

Tip

Turn to websites like Creditorweb.com to shop for the best credit card deals. Watch for balance transfer fees.