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Some 75 million Americans who are retired or are nearing retirement may represent untapped revenue opportunities for credit card marketers, according to Corporate Insight Inc. The New York-based market-research firm says research it conducted in June and published last month suggest "surprisingly few" rewards-based credit cards exist specifically geared to the tens of millions of affluent retirement-age consumers. "Retirees are one of the fastest-growing demographics in America, with tremendous spending power. Yet there are surprisingly few products designed for this niche," Doug Miller, Corporate Insight senior analyst for banking and cards, tells CardLine. "If you look at the number of people set to retire over the next decade, there seems to be an opportunity for the more-ambitious and inventive card issuers to offer rewards programs tailored for this group." Some issuers already are targeting the demographic. JPMorgan Chase & Co., for example, for several years has offered the cobranded, no-annual-fee AARP Rewards Platinum Visa. And Fidelity Investments late last year introduced the Fidelity Retirement Rewards American Express card, a no-annual-fee product that enables customers to earn two points for each dollar spent. The card automatically sweeps points into a customer's Individual Retirement Account. Executives at Chase and Fidelity did not respond to queries about the cards' performance by CardLine deadline. "This is a somewhat complex market because retirees' needs vary widely, but currently only a handful of issuers are tackling it," Miller says.
