SPRINGFIELD, Ore. - Build up a good credit score and pay your credit card balance in full each month -- follow those rules and keep your interest rate low, right?  Many of us have followed that financial advice - or at least tried to - since we first opened a credit card.

Now many Lane County residents are finding that is no longer the case.

"The interest rate, almost everybody, has gone up two to four percent for myself," says Nancy Deyho, who says she has a good history with her credit card companies.  "There was no reason. There was fine print on a little piece of paper and no rationale behind it."

Cathy Sunbury also saw her interest rate leap.  "One in particular has gone up to like 29 percent."

"I'm a little disgusted, a little disgusted with it," she added.

New credit card laws take place in February, regulating when companies can hike interest rates and charge things like overdraft fees.  In the meantime, many banks are changing interest fees and some are even adding annual fees to cards before the regulations take effect.

This time they're targeting responsible card holders.

"There is a big segment of their population that they have never made money on, which is people who pay their bills on time each month," explained Ben Woolsey, an analyst with CreditCards.com

Credit experts say you have a couple of options.

If you do have good credit and pay your balance in full, you can call your company to ask for a lower rate.  They should negotiate with you.

Another option is paying off the card and closing it, although canceling the card can lower your credit score.