Stephanie Fierman Ponders Platinum
J.D. Power’s 2008 Credit Card Satisfaction Study declares American Express as rating the highest in customer satisfaction. That’s two years in a row.
The study assesses customer sat using 5 metrics: interaction (the hip new name for “customer service”?), billing and payment processes, fees and rates, reward programs and benefits and services.
What’s interesting is that Discover rates #2 - and of course the two cards could not be more different from one another. What’s important, however, is that they are best-loved because they both have very specific value propositions and so their accountholders “self select” based on their lifestyle and payment needs.
American Express appeals to higher-income transactors (vs. revolvers) looking for benefits and reward programs, and their accountholder is typically willing to pay more for the additional value. What’s interesting is that 25% of cardholders say they don’t know if their card offers additional benefits and 33% say they have not used any of their card’s added benefits in the past twelve months.
That’s a serious communications problem and opportunity to which I was personally exposed when I went hunting for an AmEx myself recently. The process was messy.
I was confident I could select the right card on my own but was quickly humbled by the Rubik’s Cube that is AmEx’s Flash-based online tool intended to help a consumer figure out which of their many cards is the best fit. When I broke down and called Customer Service, a rep told me that the least expensive way to get Membership Rewards was to take the Clear card with no annual fee and just pay for Membership Rewards separately. Unfortunately, Membership Rewards isn’t actually available with the Clear card: a fact I only discovered when I had the card in my hand. Anyway, I ended up with a Gold Card, but even Gold has multiple flavors that a rep had to explain 2 or 3 times.
In the process, I was also exposed to the Platinum Card which sounds expensive at $450, but - given that the Card gets the accountholder free unlimited access to nearly all the airlines’ airport clubs - is a pretty good deal for the heavy traveler. Too bad I just happened to hear this from a friend and not American Express.
The opportunity borne of just my experience alone is enormous. I’ve been without an AmEx for 4-5 years, I’m a great target and - with the first year free - might have taken a Platinum Card years ago. And J.D. Power says that it’s likely AmEx and I would have been happy with my choice: satisfaction among accountholders who utilize their cards benefits is 35% higher than for those who do not.
So even for the #1 player, there’s always room to take the initiative. I just happened to be in a taxi last night and saw this new ad with Martin Scorcese and Tina Fey that does a nice job communicating the Platinum Card’s airport club benefit. Enjoy.
American Express J.D. Power credit card satisfaction credit cards
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