Credit card holders are seeing stabilized interest rates, the elimination of overlimit penalty charges, a reduction in late fees charged by banks and minimal changes in annual fees since the Credit CARD Act of 2009 took effect, according to research by the Pew Health Group’s Safe Credit Cards Project.

The median advertised interest rates for purchases on bank credit cards remained unchanged from 2010, according to the research. Bank cash advance and penalty rates stayed the same.

Pew’s research also revealed that the percentage of cards with annual fees held steady for credit unions, at 14 percent, and increased for banks, to 21 percent in 2011 from 14 percent in 2010. The amount charged for annual fees remained unchanged.

"Pew’s research shows that predictions that the legislation would spark new charges and long-term interest rate growth have not materialized," said Nick Bourke, director of Pew’s Safe Credit Cards Project. "Whatever increases in advertised interest rates we saw going into 2010 have not continued into 2011."

He added: "The Act created a new equilibrium where interest rates have flattened, penalty charges have declined and a number of practices deemed ‘unfair or deceptive’ have disappeared. Consumers are enjoying safer, more transparently priced credit cards – and banks and credit unions are able to compete on a more level playing field."