According to data from Mintel, credit card companies are scaling back on the number of direct mail credit card offers they send out to American consumers.
In 2008, these firms sent 5.4 billion offers to people, which Mintel says is the lowest total it has recorded since 2000.
The fourth quarter of the year saw the most significant decline, with 33 percent fewer offers mailed, compared with the previous quarter.
“With reduced funds available for lending and increased loan losses, credit card issuers had no choice but to drastically cut direct marketing for new cards during 2008,” commented Mintel’s vice president of financial services Stephen Clifford.
However, the data reveals that one class of consumers continued to be as popular as ever with credit card providers: the wealthy.
American households with salaries of more than $100,000 per year saw only a 1 percent drop in direct mail volume, as credit card firms continued to seek lower-risk, high-earning customers.
The reduction in marketing offers reflects many of the difficulties that credit card companies have faced over the past year.
According to data from the Fitch Rating Credit Card Index, late payments on credit cards rose to a record high in January, while credit card charge-offs increased by 40 percent compared to the same period in 2008.
To try and compensate for their losses, financial institutions have been taking a number of steps to minimize risk – some of which are not exactly friendly to borrowers.
Some customers have seen their credit limits reduced or interest rates hiked, while others have had unused accounts unexpectedly cancelled.
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