Although Bank of America recently vowed that it would refrain from raising interest rates in advance of the looming credit CARD act, it just announced its intentions of testing the introduction of new annual fees to a random group of customers as a new way to grow revenue. A spokesperson said 1 percent of accounts globally are being tested based on “risk and profitability,” with annual fees ranging from $29 to $99 starting next year.

B of A’s plan is to collect feedback from customers and then decide what to do going forward. Translation: if not enough people complain or close their accounts as a result of this move, there is a good chance that annual fees will be rolled out on a wider basis. Customers can opt-out of the fee, but that requires closing their accounts. Impacted customers must decide whether to opt out by December 16, 2009.