Recently, J.D. Powers released the results of their 2012 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. The results compared responses from more than 13,726 credit card customers. The report examined customer satisfaction and ranked the card companies according to these six areas: credit card terms, rewards, benefits, billing and payment, customer interaction, and problem resolution.
For the sixth year in a row, American Express scored the highest in five of six categories. They were rated “among the best” in five categories and rated a “better than most” score in the problem resolution category.
On a scale of 1,000, the issuers’ overall scores were as follows:
Should You Switch To Amex?
After a report like this you can’t help but wonder if you should only use American Express cards. Keep this in mind. The survey doesn’t rank specific cards and this doesn’t do much good, especially when it comes to earning rewards. The study looks specifically at customer service and problem resolution, which is important, but doesn’t do anything for rewards.
Rewards are more card specific and have less to do with who issues the card. Card companies offer a variety of cards, so a single rating for rewards doesn’t really capture much. According to the study, American Express was the only issuer to receive a 5 out of 5 for credit card rewards. Discover and Chase both received a score of 4, with a score of 3 or lower for the others. This ranking system actually resulted in some of the best cards out there being ranked lowest. Here’s some of my favorite cards that received lower scores:
Chase Freedom® Visa – $100 Bonus Cash Back Offer
- Earn $100 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
- 0% Intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers
- 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent between Jan 1 and Mar 31, 2013 at gas stations, drugstores and Starbucks® stores
- You'll enjoy new 5% categories every 3 months like gas stations, restaurants and Amazon.com. It's free and easy to activate your bonus each quarter!
- Unlimited 1% Cash Back on all other purchases
- No annual fee and rewards never expire
Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Visa® Card
- $100 cash back after $500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers and Purchases for 12 months. After that, the APR will be 12.99%-22.99% variable based on your creditworthiness*
- Earn 5% cash back from Citi at Home Depot, Home furnishing stores and home and garden stores between 4/1/13 and 6/30/13, with enrollment
- Enroll at no additional cost each quarter for new categories that earn additional cash back
- Full 1% cash back on all other purchases and eligible cash advances.
- No Annual Fee*
Discover® More® Card
- 0% intro APR on purchases for 6 months, then the variable standard purchase APR of 10.99% - 20.99%*
- 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months, then the variable standard purchase APR of 10.99% - 20.99%*
- Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in purchases at Department Stores and everywhere you shop online through December. It's free and easy to sign up.
- 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change throughout the year like gas, restaurants, and department stores up to the quarterly maximum. Signing up each time is free and easy.*
- 24/7 access to a U.S.-based Account Manager within 60 seconds
- $0 Fraud Liability, you're never responsible for unauthorized charges on your Discover card account, plus automatic mobile and email fraud alert options
- Great rewards with no annual fee, no rewards redemption fee, and no additional card fee
- *Click apply to view rates, fees, rewards, limitations and other important information
Photo Credit: via Flickr Andrew Rueda
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