In each case, the fee structures appear to mimic those in place for much of the contemporary noncredit union credit card industry. Each of them has a tiered schedule for late fees, the higher the balance a member carries the higher a fee they will face for a late payment, capping out at $39. Each card program had reduced the grace period for payments (MBNA: 20 days, InfiCorp: 25 days) and each had adopted significantly higher rates for cash advances.

Because neither credit union returned calls for comment on their card programs, their names have been withheld.

Significantly, Irving pointed out the problem goes beyond the fee schedules and into whether credit unions which sell their portfolios do their members a disservice by selling the portfolios to firms which could, essentially, turn them into high interest rate traps.

Both of the CU card programs offered low introductory and balance transfer interest rates, Ondine pointed out, but these were only temporary and there was evidence that members would not be able to jump out of the cards as easily as they might have jumped in.

"I have concerns about the quality of product offered to the member," Irving said. "Programs like these offered by MBNA and Inficorp typically appeal to the transactors, [those that pay their bills in full each month and reap the rewards]. However, this represents only about 40% of a typical card portfolio. So what happens to the other 60% of cardholders?"

She said although the member would find the introductory rate attractive, if they are the sort of credit card user which carries a balance they will be up a creek in a poor rate environment once the introductory period ends, she pointed out.

"The members will be typically left with a higher rate than offered by most credit unions as well as shorter grace periods, higher late and overlimit fees based on balance, and numerous miscellaneous fees," she said. "And this is not the sort of financial deal a credit union member should receive from their credit union."

The reason these members may be stuck in these cards rests with research conducted by the Federal Reserve in July of 2005. This research indicated that once a credit union member has transferred a balance into one of these programs, a combination of risk-based pricing and other factors may make it very difficult to transfer yet again.

The research found that because consumer credit scores typically experience a decline after a balance is transferred (due to additional inquiries, new account opening), thus they could make it more difficult for the member to obtain a competitive rate in the future when the member may want to transfer the balance, Irving maintained.

Although neither InfiCorp nor MBNA returned calls to comment on their fee schedule, neither company's fees appeared to be out of line for the sorts of fees that are contemporary among larger credit card issuers.

Willie Koo, CEO of Asset Exchange, noted that fees usually provide between 3% and 5% of credit union card portfolio income and suggested that some credit unions that sell their card portfolios may bring these higher fees on their members by demanding a high premium for the sale.

"Credit unions' portfolios have been bringing high premiums and I think some of the credit unions making these sales need to think about where some of these companies are going to make that money back," Koo said. "These are for-profit firms and credit card portfolios generally are not high margin investments."

Irving argues that credit unions thinking of making these sales simply need to rethink the proposition.

"If a credit union wants to make this sale to obtain capital that they need for some other purpose, that's one thing," Irving said, "but if they are doing it because they are afraid of not being able to compete or because of fear of loss in the portfolio, they need to reexamine the portfolio."

She contended that even as the national average of credit union card portfolios is running at 4-5% of total assets nationwide, surprisingly many of the small and midsize credit unions have ratios in the double digits. Although she admitted that a successful program takes work, she believes the work is often small compared to the worth of the reward.

"But people often overestimate the cost and time such work requires," she said. "A rewards program is not always necessary to make the program profitable or appealing to the member. Smaller credit unions have had success by offering a choice of a variable rate program or a fixed rate program. A platinum program combined with risk-based pricing can perform miracles for a card portfolio in terms of both growth and risk management. Even a simple redesign of the card itself can do wonders."