According to a recent study, American Express, is the credit card company customers like the best. The study was conducted by J.D. Power and Associates and the result were released earlier this month. This is the fourth year the study has been in place and it measures the overall customer satisfaction with credit cards. This is done by focusing on six different credit card factors: interaction; credit card terms; billing and payment process; benefits and services; rewards; and problem resolution. The 2010 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study is based on responses from more than 8,500 credit card customers. The study was fielded in May and June 2010.
American Express has taken the title for the fourth year in a row. Amex scored 769 out of 1000 points and performed well in all six areas of focus. Discover made it to the number two spot with 757 points with high performance in the interaction category. U.S. Bank ranked third with with 727 points. All the top ranking companies received high marks for offering above average rewards, excellent online and phone experiences, and the ability to solve customer problems quickly.
“American Express continues to do well within the context of the study partly because their customers have a greater awareness of the benefits, rewards and services that they get having an American Express card,” said Michael Beird, director of banking services at J.D. Power and Associates. Beird also noted that American Express does well when it comes to its communication to customers which has helped their success. They communicate through channels such as direct mail and television to keep their customer in the loop.
Since 2009 the over all customer satisfaction with their credit card company has increased by 9 points. In 2009 the overall credit card score was 705 and in 2010 the score has gone up to 714. The increase in overall satisfaction from 2009 is driven primarily by improvements in satisfaction with credit card terms and billing and payment process. This is good news for the credit card industry and shows improvement on their end. Mr. Beird stated this could be contributed to the changes that were required by the Credit Card Act.
The study also reveals customer loyalty may be on a decline. In the 2010 study the number of customers who say they will not switch primary cards over the next 12 months was at 22 percent, which is a decline from lasts years results of 25 percent and 30 percent in 2008. While customers perceive card issuers as “financially stable” and even “reliable,” they are apparently significantly less likely to view them as “customer driven.”