For most consumers, being able to get a balance transfer card that offers a 0 percent, 1 percent or 2 percent interest rate on a transferred balance for much more than a year will become a thing of the past.

“Teaser rates aren’t going to go away, but they’re probably not going to be as lucrative for the consumer as they were — you’re going to see a higher rate and a shorter introductory term,” says Jerry Straessle, president and CEO of JLS Associates, a consulting firm specializing in the credit and debit card industry.

Even before the act’s passage, card issuers, especially those issuing 0 apr balance transfer credit cards, were retreating from one-year introductory periods and toward the minimum of six months mandated by the CARD Act. Expect introductory rates of 7 percent to 9 percent or higher, Straessle predicts.

“The CARD Act is going to have upward pressure on rates simply because the ability to adjust rates on outstanding balances is severely limited now,” Straessle says. Issuers “can’t do anything about accounts that have protected balances, so they will book new accounts at higher rates of interest to make up for lost revenue from penalty fees and penalty interest.”

However, there will always be issuers bucking the latest trend that make it worth shopping around. Citi, for example, just extended one of its 0 percent balance transfer card offers from a maximum of 12 months to a maxiumum of 15 months.