Thursday, August 26, 2010

Report ranks best credit card issuers for 2010

Overall customer satisfaction with credit cards has improved slightly from a three-year low in 2009 while consumer loyalty continued to decline, according to a 2010 report recently released by J.D. Power and Associates.

The 2010 average is 714 on a 1,000-point satisfaction scale which is nine points higher compared to the 705 average in 2009.

Michael Beird, director of banking services at J.D. Power and Associates, says that confidence is on the upswing, but consumers continue to perceive card issuers as customer driven.

“Despite massive efforts by the credit card industry during the past year to educate customers about credit card terms as a part of the CARD Act, customers’ grasp of those terms continues to be elusive,” Baird says.

“Sixteen percent of card customers report that they did not receive CARD Act disclosures. Among those who did, only two-thirds state that the disclosures improved their understanding of how the act affects their individual circumstances. Furthermore, only one-third of cardholders say they ‘completely’ understand their credit card terms.”

American Express ranked No. 1 for the fourth consecutive year and continues to perform well on all six factors surveyed.

Here's the top 10 list from the J.D. Powers and Associates report:
  • American Express
  • Discover
  • U.S. Bank
  • Wells Fargo
  • Chase
  • Barclaycard
  • Bank of America
  • Capital One
  • Citi Cards
  • HSBC
Click here for the lowdown from J.D. Power and Associates.