American Express ranked highest among card issuers in
customer satisfaction, as overall satisfaction levels with credit cards rose
slightly from 2009 levels, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S.
Credit Card Satisfaction Study released Thursday.
American Express scored 769 on a scale of a 1,000 in the
survey, which asks users to rate cards by interaction, terms, billing and
payment process, benefits and services, rewards programs and problem
resolution. This is J.D. Power's fourth year to conduct the survey, and
American Express has rated highest every year.
Discover Card, which is predominantly focused on personal
cards, ranked second, and U.S. Bank, which has a significant corporate card
presence, ranked third. U.S. Bank earned its highest marks for its terms,
billing system, customer interaction and problem resolution.
Overall, the average satisfaction level was 714, up nine
points from 2009 levels. The study, however, indicated that cardholders are
more inclined to consider switching issuers than the previous year.
J.D. Power fielded the study in May and June and based the
results on more than 8,500 responses.