WASHINGTON – The fees charged on many credit cards can cost a pretty penny in the long run. Balance transfer fees, foreign transaction fees, late fees — some cards still charge an annual fee.

“There was a credit card act 15 years ago that cut a lot of these fees, but there’s still a bunch of fees that really cost people money,” says Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Lippman in an interview with WSJ’s Hank Weisbecker.

Lippman says consumers can negotiate with credit card companies to reduce or even remove some fees if they stay on top of it. He suggests asking, “Why should I be hit with these fees when I’ve been a good customer?”

Lippman also suggests going to creditcards.com to look up the fees on certain credit cards and be prepared to avoid them.

More advice: Pay balances off every month or at least the minimum amount. Also, do your homework before getting a new card.

WTOP’s Alan Etter contributed to this report.