U.S. customers are less satisfied with their credit cards than
they were a year ago, mostly because of displeasure over fees and
rates, according to marketing-data company J.D. Power and
Associates.
As financial companies sought profit wherever they could find
it, many raised interest rates on their credit cards, prompting
U.S. President Barack Obama's administration to push for controls
over their practices.
Overall, satisfaction in the 2009 survey was 703 on a
1,000-point scale, the lowest rating since the survey began two
years ago.
American Express Co. (AXP) was ranked highest in customer
satisfaction, topping the list each year of its life. Its grade was
762, followed by Discover Financial Services (DFS) and National
City Corp., which is now owned by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.
(PNC). First Premier Bank and Credit One Financial Inc. (COFI) were
rated the two worst.
Of the six factors examined to determine customer satisfaction,
the metric on fees and rates had the lowest score, a major
contributor to the overall drop. J.D. Power said 20% of credit-card
users saw their interest rate increase, while a year earlier only
10% did. Late-payment fees were also more frequent. People who
carry a balance from month to month were the least satisfied with
fees and rates.
Credit-card issuers best weapon against deteriorating
satisfaction is to clearly communicate any changes to customers
ahead of time, J.D. Power said.
The study was based on responses from more than 9,000 credit
card users in May and June.
-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291;
joan.solsman@dowjones.com