Wednesday, June 3
Posted 11 a.m.
Bankrate reporter Leslie McFadden contributed this entry.
Over the weekend, the Plastic Rap inbox received some interesting reactions to Friday's post on fee-based credit card offers. Solicitations for cards with annual fees increased in volume to 27 percent during the first quarter of 2009, up 9 percent from last year, according to Mail Monitor, the direct mail tracking service from market research firm Synovate.
Andrew Davidson, who oversaw the research, told me that if more issuers charge annual fees, consumers may carry fewer cards. People may hold just one or two cards, he says.
I asked readers to tell me if they would dump cards that imposed annual fees. Here are some excerpts from their e-mails:
"I started this year with 11 credit cards. I am now down to 4. Another one goes away this month and another in July. I plan to enter 2010 using cash only.
"In short, I don't care what they do with their annual fees. Pretty soon, all they will have as their customer base is morons who can't manage their money."
--Craig
"I am currently very happy with my Chase Master(Card) and Choice (Privileges) Visa; however, if either wants to charge a fee, they will be looking at my tail lights."
--Winston
"I will do all I can to avoid a membership fee for a card. I currently have 6 cards (I migrated between rewards programs over the past 10 years), and I'll get rid of any as soon as they start charging, or if I figure out that it costs more than I'm getting back in rewards. I have no problem going back to using my debit card."
--Christopher
If these early reactions are any indication, Davidson's prediction could be right on the money. Those whose wallets brim with plastic may find it too expensive to hold so many cards.With the average annual fee on bank card offers currently at $74, according to Mail Monitor, yearly charges would add up fast.
I'd like to hear some other thoughts on the matter. If some of your issuers instituted an annual fee, would you keep any of those cards? What would you consider a reasonable charge? E-mail Plastic_Rap@Bankrate.com.