Credit card direct mailings will pick up again after the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 goes into effect next month, an expert said.
Issuers are likely to start sending out more mailings to customers with offers that comply with the new rules, said Andrew Davidson, a senior vice president at Mintel Comperemedia, a direct mail tracking firm in Chicago.
Mintel contends that credit card mailings dropped off because of the economy but have now reached rock bottom and are poised for an upswing.
"Some issuers have also been holding back because of the CARD Act," Davidson said. Issuers are retooling their card offerings because of the changes, he said. "The whole landscape of customer acquisition has changed."
Mintel cites four types of cards that issuers are supporting in direct mailings.
The largest portion is no-fee cards with rewards attached. The other categories are fee-based cards with rewards, credit-building cards with fees but no rewards and "plain vanilla" cards that have no fees and no rewards.
Fewer issuers will focus on the plain-vanilla niche in the new environment, Davidson said.
