2007-12-15, Secret History of the Credit Card (2)

Today, nearly 144 million Americans have credit cards and they are using their cards like never before, charging 1.5 trillion dollars last year alone. Credit cards have become a central part of the American Economy.
“I really can’t say that I love my credit card, but I would hate the live without it.”
“I use it a lot for work. It’s easy. It’s easy access. I can take clients out for dinner.”
“I take advantage of the miles. We fly first class on vocations 1.”
“It’s a nice will to spend what you don’t have.”
“Can you imagine living without credit card in the society?” “It’s hard to imagine.” “No.”
We shut down with the group of credit card customers to talk about how they use their cards.
“We are consumers, an American loves to consume in our blood.”
“This like an addiction 2, I mean I have this new credit card in my pocket. Look at great dress! I can do I really shouldn’t do. I’ll just pay it off later. And you do it.”
“Put on that IPod, am I cool?” “Yeah.” “So I can charge it and pay it off.”
“And Christmas is just around the corner. There is always something.”
“They are just a gift for the traveler which I am, a very, very, very frequent driver indeed what I am. They are indispensable 3.”
Actor and author Ben Stan loves the convenience of using his credit cards.
“Credit cards are incredible 4 ideal for me. I mean I have lots, lots of different cards. I mean my wallet is just stuffed with cards. It’s just insane 5, it’s just ridiculers. I look like, I look like I’ve got a third breast from my, uh, carrying around my wallet so many credit cards in it.”
“Thank you very much for you sign, have a nice afternoon.” “Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much.”
Stan says he charges thousands of dollars a month in business expenses on his credit cards.
“I use all their good services. They don’t make any money from me. I mean none to speak of.” “Anyway, here is a kind of cute one.”
The credit card companies do make a percentage on each transaction 6. But Stan is not their ideal customer. Because like 55 million Americans, he pays his bills off every month and doesn’t pay any interest. The credit card companies hate people like me who pay off our bills every month. And I know that cause I ran into a fellow I went to a high school was on the street and they tell me work for a credit card company. And I told them that how much I use credit cards now. I paid them off every month and he told: we guys, we hate you. We hate you guys. We call you “Deadbeats”.
“Deadbeats”, in the upside-down word of “Credit Card Business”, are the people like Ben Stan, who pay off their bills on time. The industry’s best customers are the 90 million Americans who don’t pay off their credit card debts. They are called the “Revolvers”.
“People in the industry tell us that the revolvers - people who borrow money basically with their credit card. That’s where the profits are.”
“I don’t think that’s where all the profits are…” “Well, the…” “I think it’s generally understood that those, that used to revolving 7 part of the credit card uh…are…are called the “Sweet bond”.”
Today, the “Sweet bond” as Mr. Yingling calls it continues to grow and the top interest rates charged are higher than ever before, according to Robert McKinley who founded Cardweb – a research from the tracks industry.
“The top ten issues in the country are charging interest rates of 25% to 30% to some of their customers. And this is in a market, where interest rates are at a 40-year low. We have consumers paying interest rates that would be considered loan sharks are in my day.”
At the same time, Americans with credit card balances are carrying a record amount of debt.
“How much credit card debt is the average American family carrying?”
“About 8,000 dollars for those who are carrying some debt.”