On August 22, 2010, the new credit card and gift card rules went into effect. These new rules will prohibit so-called inactivity fees and help cardholders reduce the excessive credit card fees. Do you know what have been changed in the new rules?

Here are the highlights of the new credit card & gift card consumer protection rules:

For Credit card:

Credit card issuers will no longer be allowed to charge you a late payment fee that is larger than your minimum payment.

You cannot be charged more than one penalty fee for a single violation of your credit card agreement.

Card issuers will no longer be allowed to charge you a fee for failing to use your account enough or for terminating your account.

The credit card issuers must notify you of the reason they are imposing a rate hike, such as market conditions or a reduced credit score.

For gift card:

An inactivity fee cannot be charged until the card has not been used for 12 months.

Gift cards cannot expire for at least 5 years.

No more than one fee (of any kind) can be charged to the cardholder in a single month.

A one-time fee can be charged when you buy the card.

Learn more from Federalreserve.gov: What You Need to Know: New Credit Card Rules Effective Aug. 22 and New Rules for Gift Cards.