Credit Card Mergers Do Not Affect Card Usage, Says Cardbeat

WESTBURY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In the past few years, the credit card industry has witnessed landmark
mergers between issuers such as Bank of America and MBNA, JPMorgan Chase
and Bank One, and Barclays and Juniper Bank, among numerous others.
Two-thirds of cardholders whose issuers have been a part of a merger
have not changed the ways they use their credit cards post-merger,
according to research recently published in Cardbeat®,
the syndicated market research report by Auriemma Consulting Group (ACG).

“These consumers were pleased with the
customer service, card pricing and rewards of their credit cards, and
chose to continue using them because the products and features did not
change after the merger,” says Megan
Bramlette, managing editor of Cardbeat.

Overall, consumers are neutral on bank mergers, with 68% expecting
little change to their opinion of their credit card company if their
card issuer was bought or sold.

“Consumers care less about the bank that
issues their card and monthly statements than the benefits they receive
from that relationship,” Bramlette says.
Falloff in activity occurs when card rewards are not as rich post-merger
as they were before, or when interest rates and account fees on the
portfolio rise.

“Merging banks need to consider how consumers
will react to their products post-merger,” she
continues. “Our research shows that most
consumers are confident about the ongoing independence of their current
credit card issuers and have made it clear that they will remain loyal,
even after a merger, as long as cardholder benefits and service levels
remain the same.”

The information in this release includes data from 401 credit card users
surveyed in February 2007. The findings were originally published in the
February 2007 issue of Cardbeat.

ACG is a management consulting firm in the payments and lending
industry. Cardbeat is a syndicated market research study from ACG that
provides insight into how consumer perceptions impact credit card
acquisition and usage.

CreditCards.com: Weekly Credit Card Rate Report

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Average rates for instant approval credit cards edged higher this week,
potentially in response to increased default risk associated with
instant credit decisions. Rates on other popular credit card categories
tracked by CreditCards.com remained unchanged from the previous week and
are listed below:




 


 




Credit Card Rate Averages


 




 




Low Interest


11.59%




Balance Transfer


11.41%




Instant Approval


14.18%




Reward


13.72%




Cash Back


13.13%




Airline


15.07%




Business


13.95%




Student


17.88%




Bad Credit


12.81%




 




 


 

Source:







Updated: 05-03-07


 

Several major credit card companies offer instant online decisions for
their cards as a method for differentiating their products. Issuers are
able to access certain credit bureau facts in near real-time in order to
make rapid credit decisions, usually within 60 seconds. When
insufficient data is available to make an instant online decision,
issuers reserve the right to take a greater amount of time in which to
grant approval or denial of an application involving offline review.

The CreditCards.com national weekly credit card rate survey is conducted
each week using data from the leading credit card issuers in the United
States.

Introductory offer periods and actual regular interest rates can vary
depending on individual applicants’ credit
quality and issuer risk-based pricing policies.

About CreditCards.com

CreditCards.com ()
is an Internet publisher and marketing organization that operates the
leading and fastest growing online destination for consumers to search,
compare, and apply for credit cards. The company matches millions of
consumers each year with the credit card offers that best meet their
financial needs. CreditCards.com is based in Austin, Texas and was
founded in 2003.

NOTE TO EDITORS: The information contained in this release is available
for print or broadcast with attribution to CreditCards.com.