Just How Big is the Market for Premium Credit Cards?

Credit card lending is still on fire. There have never been so many consumer choices for premium cards. They have exclusive names like The Royal Card, the Lux Card or the Chairman’s Circle Card.  Let’s look at just how big the consumer market is for premium credit cards – and explore new options to reach affluent consumers.

A Deep Pool of Affluent Consumers

Based on Equifax statistics for affluence1, there are more than 60 million mass affluent/affluent consumers that may qualify for premium card offers.  That’s a lot of well-heeled consumers! Overall, the credit active population is huge:

• There are approximately 220 million credit active consumers
• Approximately 30% of all households are defined as Mass Affluent and Affluent
• About 70% of the market is considered to be Mass Market

So there are plenty of folks to go after – whether the focus is on premium or general cards.

Card is King

About 64 million bank cards and 39 million private label credit cards were issued last year, according to an Equifax Credit Trends report. That's a whopping $408 billion in originations. Clearly, "Card is King" in terms of total loan origination activity. However, it's critical to align the right offer to the right household for premium card offers.  Here's a typical menu of card offers for consumers: 

Card marketers familiar with demographic variables will notice a lot of “buzz” words that appeal to affluent consumers – folks who typically travel for pleasure or business.  Travel perks are a major hook for premium card offers. But demographics and travel preferences aren't the only variables that premium card marketers need to focus on. They should also market to households with significant wealth.

Solutions to Target Affluent Audiences

Equifax recently launched WealthComplete HD to help card marketers reach affluent audiences more effectively – both online and offline.  This new model of the flagship WealthComplete offering allows marketers to reach high asset households, while excluding protected class variables. Equifax also offers a full suite of digital targeting segments for card marketers.

In summary, new solutions make it easier than ever for card marketers to align the right credit card offer with the right consumer based on demographics and financial capacity. Contact your Equifax sales representative for more information.

 

1Equifax statistics for affluence based on WealthComplete National Profile (June 2017).

2 Prior year credit card originations as reported in the February 2018 Credit Trends origination report.