What, More Plastic? - increase in number of credit card offers expected - Brief Article

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, July, 2001 by Melynda Dovel Wilcox

Look for an increase in the number of credit card offers being stuffed in your mailbox this summer. Issuers will be targeting customers who may need a credit extension to get them through a financial rough patch.

Even though response rates are at an all-time low-only six out of every 1,000 people reply-credit card companies still find two-thirds of their new cardholders via mail solicitations. A typical household receives more than three credit card offers each month.

You'll be getting more pitches for gold cards and smart cards with embedded chips, says Andrew Davidson of BAIGlobal, a market-research firm. One-fourth of all credit card offers come with interest rates of 19% or higher, so it pays to be choosy.