The number of credit cards in circulation and the number of people using them are crucial metrics when it comes to understanding both the payments landscape and consumer preferences. Not only do these figures speak to the overall availability of credit, but they also reveal market share by card network and indicate whether most consumers are using a single credit card for all expenses or a few cards targeted to different types of transactions. Furthermore, these statistics speak to the overall popularity of credit as a spending vehicle.

What Is a Secured Credit Card?

A secured credit card is a type of credit card that requires you to place a refundable security deposit. The amount of this security deposit will serve as the secured card’s credit limit, preventing you from overspending and ensuring the card’s issuer gets paid back for charges. Any balance remaining on your account when you close it will be deducted from your security deposit, and only the difference will be returned to you.

Secured credit cards are the easiest type of credit card to get approved for, given the deposit requirement. They are best for people with bad credit or limited credit history. Here are some notable examples of secured credit card offers:

The Verdict: The TRIO® Credit Card from Fifth Third Bank is best for relatively light spenders with good or excellent who want to earn bonus rewards at restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores and drug stores. The TRIO Card offers 2% to 3% “cash” back in those purchase categories, you see, but only on first $1,500 that you spend each quarter. So you can earn a maximum of $45 in bonus rewards every three months, or $180 per year. All other purchases – including those in bonus categories once you’ve crossed the quarterly spending threshold – yield just 1% back. And that’s just the market average for a rewards card.

Credit card debt levels offer valuable insights into the state of the economy as well as financial literacy and consumer habits. Year-over-year changes in the total debt load, for example, illustrate the economy’s trajectory, lend context to current events, and reveal potential problem areas for regulators. Similarly, average household balances and default rates enable consumers to determine if their situation is within the norm, while giving retailers and economists a sense of whether or not spending levels are sustainable.

In considering credit card debt statistics, one must not overlook the importance of charged-off debt. Pundits often ignore this old debt, which consumers have defaulted on and banks have written off their books. However, the statute of limitations for credit card debt can be up to 15 years, which means consumers will still owe the money and collectors will try to recoup it long after it’s charged-off. What’s more, failing to include charged-off debt among total amounts owed leads to a very misleading picture of consumer payment habits.

You can’t get an accurate sense of the consumer debt situation without considering credit card delinquency and charge-off rates. These metrics speak to the sustainability of consumer spending habits, indicating the ability of credit card users to stay current on their bills. For example, high delinquency rates may foreshadow a rash of defaults as well as the potential for a downturn in the economy, while a downward trend in default rates could indicate economic or habitual improvement.

Furthermore, consumers continue to owe charged-off debt for years, which means ignoring such sums will paint a misleading picture of the debt landscape.

The Verdict: The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express wouldn’t be our first choice for an everyday credit card, but it offers 0% intro rate on purchases for the first 15 months your account is open. So if you have a big-ticket purchase coming up and the good or excellent credit needed for approval, you should definitely consider Amex EveryDay.