Published: 7/14/2010
Barclaycard is acknowledged as being the most powerful credit card brand in the UK according to an independent study of the market.
The survey, carried out by the ACG, looked at the number of people having a card, how often it was used, customer thoughts on quality and how the brand is perceived. Having taken all these factors into consideration Barclaycard came out on top, thanks to it being the best known credit card in the country and also the second most used.
A spokesman for ACG, commenting on the results, said that Barclaycard would stand out strongly in the current economic climate since consumers look to the best known names in times of difficulty, feeling that there is less to worry about with a credit card brand they know and trust.
The worldwide credit squeeze is beginning to affect UK borrowers now, with holders of MBNA credit cards seeing interest rates climbing. It seems that MBNA are trying to recover their losses in other markets by really pressing credit card clients, in some instances simply doubling the interest rate payable and then levying additional payments when accounts have got into difficulties. The bottom line is that banks like MBNA can do whatever they choose with interest rates when they are classed as variable, which all credit cards are. Right now it looks like the UK borrowers are paying for the difficulties in the USA, literally. A typical example is of a lady who had never missed a payment and was what would be categorised as an excellent credit risk. Her rate went up within a couple of months from just under 16 percent to almost 28 percent. Knowing someone has the means to manage their credit and will pay the extra cost is no justification for doing so.
A new Saga Insurance credit card, called the Platinum Visa Card, has just been launched which is set to offer a fair deal to Saga customers. One of the biggest factors with the new Saga Insurance card is that transactions are ordered so that the most expensive to repay amounts are cleared first, something few other card providers offer. Furthermore there will be no currency charges for any transactions made in what is called Visa Europe. This includes the EU plus some others. There is also the usual credit card offer included by Saga Insurance, namely 0 percent on balance transfers and purchases for 6 months. All in all this new credit card can save customers a great deal of money and is sure to be a resounding success.
American Express has just announced quarterly profits significantly lower than originally expected, leading to a fall in the share price. The company saw profits down by a massive 38 percent and, accompanied by a warning for the future that earnings per share would be on the decline, shares traded 11 percent lower. Even though American Express is more closely aligned to wealthier clients they have still seen defaults climb as the United States mortgage problems have hit people at all levels. An American Express spokesman explained that the organisation, though performing very well relative to other players in the market, is behind where it expects itself to be and this is a situation that could continue for some time.
