Mark Dolliver: Credit Where Due (or Overdue)

What factor most determines how satisfied consumers are with their credit cards? The chart below summarizes the overall findings of a J.D. Power and Associates poll on the matter. But the same study found that the relative weight of various factors depends on whether people are “transactors” (who generally pay the whole bill) or “revolvers” (who generally carry a balance). For transactors, the chief factor in satisfaction is rewards, cited by 65 percent. For revolvers, what matter most are interest rates (cited by 40 percent).