These days, I am always thinking which credit card company is the best from our customers’ eyes. This morning I was trying to find out the answer by using Google. It seems I have luck with me. Yesterday, JD Power and Associates just released the “2007 Credit Card Satisfaction Study”. And the final winner is American Express!

I’m not surprised about the fact. Honestly speaking, American Express provides the best customer services compared to other companies. You can always find an American customer service representative even in the late night. I was very surprised to talk to a balance transfer specialist at 10:30 pm when a general customer service representative couldn’t solve my problem about balance transfer, although I was held for about 15 min. If I call Citi in the late night, I should be prepared to hear Indian English and accept the fact that I can’t get what I want. I don’t know the operation system in a bank but I would say Citi is not so good. For example, they claim that they are offering $200 sign-up bonus for a new checking account. However, when you read carefully, there are some fine prints say the offer expires on 08/31/2007. Then the problem is they still put it online. I called them up and ask them for reasons. They couldn’t find the answer until now. I dare not to open a new account with Citi. At the same time, I should mention that the “Financial Review” process is also a problem for American Express. They should try to fix the drawback in the future. From what I know, the business card may be the major source of a “Financial Review”. If they couldn’t confirm your business, they will be worried that you can’t afford the expense. Not to mention that there are always no pre-set spending limits for business cards. Another point is not carrying high balance. Generally, lower than 70% of credit limit is acceptable.

Ok. Here is the story about Credit Card Satisfaction Study.
Customer Satisfaction Score>—Customer satisfaction, based on 1,000-point scale
American Express 735
Discover 728
Citi Cards 652
Chase 651
US Bank 646
Washington Mutual 638
Wells Fargo 636
Capital One 617
Bank of America 607
HSBC 571
Based on online survey of 7,812 credit card customers in June and July.

(Click to see large image)
American Express and Discover showed the highest satisfaction levels in the J.D. Power and Associates study, reflecting that an estimated 90 percent of their customers aren’t charged interest because they pay off balances in full every month. Conversely, the companies with the lowest satisfaction ratings, including HSBC and Bank of America, tended to be those with higher percentages of customers who carry balances.
Power divided card customers into “transactors” - those who, like most credit card holders, pay off balances and use the products as charge cards - and “revolvers” - those who don’t pay their balances in full and must pay finance charges. Transactors had an average satisfaction rating of 681 on a 1,000 point scale, compared with 613 for revolvers.
A credit card issuer’s “percentage of transactors pretty much drives the rankings,” said Jeff Taylor, senior director for banking at Power.
Similarly, among card networks, American Express and Discover outscored MasterCard and Visa. That was because banks that issue MasterCard and Visa had greater proportions of customers with outstanding balances.
The lower satisfaction of those who carried balances stemmed from customer unhappiness with interest rates, as well as other financial factors such as low credit limits. (HSBC has the problem. I’m complaining here!)
HSBC, the issuer that scored lowest in the survey, said it had not seen the report.
For those who don’t carry balances, card benefits, features and rewards, such as airline miles, were most important. American Express and Discover scored well in part because almost all their customers are enrolled in rewards programs. (Personally, I don’t think the rewards programs from Discover is very good. HSBC 2% cash back card is really good!)
Customers reported wide differences in problems with their card issuers. On the high end, 11 percent of Bank of America and Citi Cards customers said they had experienced a problem such as a billing mistake in the past 12 months. Only 5 percent of Washington Mutual and Discover customers said they had had a problem.
In part adapted from San Francisco Chronicle by the author Sam.