Press Release
J.D. Power Reports Consumer Satisfaction with GM and AT&T Credit Cards
08/29/96
J.D. Power and Associates Reports Highest Satisfaction for GM and AT&T Universal Credit Cards HILLS, Calif., Aug. 27 -- Results of the J.D. Power and Associates 1996 Second Annual Comprehensive Credit Cardholder Satisfaction Study(SM) were announced today. The study reports the future of the credit card industry rests in the quality of service provided to cardholders. In the rewards category -- defined as cards offering benefits for frequent cardholder use as the distinguishing card feature -- General Motors' GM Card ranks highest. The Basic and Gold card ranking is headed by AT&T's Universal Card. Basic and Gold cards can provide reward features but are primarily distinguished by special interest rates and credit limits as well as added benefits offered to Gold Card members. The Comprehensive Credit Cardholder Satisfaction Study analyzes and ranks customer satisfaction performance on 47 individual credit cards across 21 issuers. A total 10,170 consumer credit cardholders were surveyed in this independently funded J.D. Power and Associates report. "The future of the players in the credit card industry depends on their ability to provide the highest quality of service to their customers," commented Andrew March, Group Director-Financial Services. "Although price is, and will be, an important part of customer satisfaction, credit cardholders are demanding more in the way of quality of service. Credit card issuers and processors must respond to consumer's quality-of-service expectation to compete in the marketplace." General Motors Corporation, GM Card, offers discounts on vehicle purchase based on card usage. This feature helps GM lead the Discover Card in the Rewards category. Other rewards cards ranked in the study were: Bank of America Sunoco Card, Citibank AAdvantage Card, Citibank Ford Card, GE Rewards Card, Shell Chemical Card, and United Mileage Plus First Card. The major factors driving customer satisfaction among those rewards cardholders are: Billing and payment (37%), interest rate (29%), rewards features (16%), point of sale processing (10%), issuer reputation (5%), and annual fee (3%). AT&T Universal Card heads the basic and gold card ranking, followed by Wachovia Bank, American Express (Optima True Grace), Bank of New York, Citibank, Household Bank, First Chicago/First Card. A total of 39 basic and gold cards were evaluated in this important segment. The same factors drive customer satisfaction in this segment, however, the following areas have greater importance to their users: Billing and payment (40%), interest rate (23%), issuer reputation (13%), credit/cash advance limit (10%), point of sale processing (6%), rewards features (5%), and annual fee (3%). Overall, both the GM and AT&T Universal cards were differentiated from their competition due to achievement of superior levels of customer satisfaction in the billing and payment factors. This includes such features as the organization of the billing document, clarity of information provided on the bill, accuracy and speed of posting payments, and the amount of time before interest is charged on new purchases. These factors are critical according to Mr. March because, "all credit cards ultimately compete against each other in the user's wallet." This means that "quality of service provided" must also include a focused attention on the contact users have with credit card customer service. The study found that thirty percent of all cardholders contact customer service at least once in a six-month period. Furthermore, the customer service provided accounts for one third of overall satisfaction among cardholders contacting customer service -- up from 25 percent in 1995. J.D. Power and Associates is an international marketing information firm with headquarters in Agoura Hills, California and offices in Detroit, Michigan; Westport, Connecticut; Torrance, California; Toronto, Canada; London, England; Tokyo, Japan, and Seoul, Korea. J.D. Power and Associates is best known for marketing information, consulting and measurement expertise in the areas of consumer opinion and customer satisfaction. J.D. Power and Associates can be accessed through the World Wide Web at http://www.jdpower.com. Email: info@jdpower.com. No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release or J.D. Power and Associates survey results without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates. J.D. Power and Associates 1996 Comprehensive Credit Cardholder Satisfaction Study(SM) Basic/Gold Card Performance Rewards Card Performance --------------------------- ------------------------ AT&T Universal 108 GM Card 110 Wachovia Bank 101 Discover Card 105 Optima 100 INDUSTRY AVERAGE 105 Bank of New York 99 AAdvantage Card 103 Citibank 99 Sunoco Card 103 First Chicago 99 Citibank Ford 102 Household Bank 99 GE Rewards Card 102 INDUSTRY AVERAGE 98 United Mileage Plus 102 First Union National 98 Shell Chemical Card 100 NationsBank 98 First USA 96 Banc One 94 Colonial National 94 MBNA America 94 Bank of America 93 Chase Manhattan 93 Wells Fargo 92 Chemical Bank 91 GE Capital 89 Capital One 84 Associates National 83