One of the sometimes-overlooked aspects of picking out a credit card is the quality of the issuer’s customer service. The best companies will go above and beyond to keep their customers happy and provide swift solutions to problems. However, not everyone has the same experience with customer service, according to a new nationally-representative survey conducted by WalletHub. For example, men have twice the success rate of women when it comes to getting annual fees waived.
The global marketing information services company J.D. Power ranks issuers for customer satisfaction on a yearly basis, and Discover and American Express have consistently earned the top two spots. WalletHub’s survey focuses less on individual companies and more on Americans’ experiences with and attitudes toward credit card customer service departments as a whole. Below are some more highlights from WalletHub’s 2019 Credit Card Customer Service Survey, along with additional insight from a panel of experts.
Key Stats
- Calling customer service is a pain. Nearly 1 in 2 Americans would rather call their in-laws than their credit card company.
- The elderly are trusted with more credit. Millennials are three times as likely as baby boomers to be denied a credit limit increase.
- Picking up the phone is a good idea. 3 in 4 consumers agree that calling customer service is worth it.
- Anger is unfortunately common. Nearly 1 in 5 people have yelled at a customer service representative.
Ask the Experts
Calling customer service is a daunting experience for many people, but can be very beneficial both for customers who need problems resolved and people who want to secured better credit card terms. For more insight into this topic, WalletHub turned to a panel of experts. You can click on the experts below to read their bios and see their responses to the following key questions:
- WalletHub’s survey found that men are twice as likely as women to get an annual fee waived - why do you think that is?
- Similarly, why do you think millennials are three times as likely as baby boomers to be denied a credit limit increase?
- What advice do you have for the 1 in 4 people who say calling credit card customer service is not worth it? What about the nearly 1 in 2 who would rather call their in-laws?
Ask the Experts
Ph.D., CPA – Executive Director, Center for Financial Reporting & Management (CFRM), Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
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Senior Lecturer, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
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James l. Frank Professor of Marketing, Private Enterprise and Management and Director of the Yale China India insights (CIIP) program, Yale School of Management
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Ph.D. – Professor and Associate Dean (I), College of Business, Eastern Michigan University
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M.S. Accountancy, CPA, Instructor of Accounting, Department of Accounting and Business Law, School of Business, College of Charleston
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Assistant Professor of Finance, University of Miami Business School
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Full Details Overall
| Which types of fees have you asked a credit card company to waive before? | |
|---|---|
| Late payment fee | 46% |
| None | 35% |
| Annual fee | 26% |
| Balance transfer fee | 10% |
| Foreign transaction fee | 5% |
| Which fees were you successful in getting waived? | |
| None | 42% |
| Late payment fee | 41% |
| Annual fee | 17% |
| Balance transfer fee | 7% |
| Foreign transaction fee | 5% |
| Which types of APRs have you asked a credit card company to lower before? | |
| None | 59% |
| Regular purchase APR | 31% |
| Balance transfer APR | 10% |
| Penalty APR | 5% |
| Which types of APRs were you successful in getting lowered? | |
| None | 71% |
| Regular purchase APR | 18% |
| Balance transfer APR | 9% |
| Penalty APR | 5% |
| Have you ever asked a credit card company to improve your account’s terms in order to keep you as a customer? | |
| No | 63% |
| Yes | 37% |
| Were you successful in getting your credit card company to improve your account’s terms in order to keep you as a customer? | |
| Yes | 77% |
| No | 23% |
| Have you ever asked a credit card company to increase your credit limit? | |
| Yes | 57% |
| No | 43% |
| Were you successful in getting your credit card company to increase your credit limit? | |
| Yes | 88% |
| No | 12% |
| Have you ever yelled at a credit card customer service rep? | |
| No | 81% |
| Yes | 19% |
| Have you ever cursed at a credit card customer service rep? | |
| No | 90% |
| Yes | 10% |
| Which is the best approach if you want to get something from a credit card company? | |
| Politeness | 61% |
| Persistence | 21% |
| Escalating to manager | 12% |
| Complain on social media | 3% |
| Anger | 2% |
| Threaten to sue | 1% |
| Is calling credit card customer service worth the time? | |
| Yes | 74% |
| No | 26% |
| Are you generally satisfied after contacting your credit card company’s customer service department? | |
| Yes | 74% |
| No | 26% |
| Would you rather call customer service or get information from a chat bot online? | |
| Call customer service | 75% |
| Chat bot | 25% |
| Who would you rather call? | |
| Mother-in-law | 37% |
| Credit card company | 26% |
| Boss | 23% |
| Cable company | 9% |
| Government office | 4% |
Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.
