Credit card reputation 'important'

Credit card customers tend to make their decisions based on branding and reputation instead of offers on zero per cent balance transfer fees and long balance-transfer periods, claims financial website Fool.co.uk.

In a survey of its online visitors, the website found that eight out of ten credit card users said that brand and reputation were important.

But it seems that if customers follow those factors, they are not guaranteed satisfaction, with the survey showing less than half of the website’s readers claiming to be happy with their current credit card providers.

However, some credit card providers have managed to keep their customers happy.

Fool.co.uk claims that among similar credit cards, financial factors become more relevant, with eight out of ten users saying APR is more important that initial zero per cent offers.

Egg, Barclaycard, MBNA and Halifax, providers whom the finance website considers to offer similar credit cards all have similar satisfaction ratings, through Barclaycard, with nine out of ten satisfied clients, just pips the others.

This narrow lead, it is claimed is courtesy of slightly cheaper borrowing costs.