IndexCreditCards.com has released our choices for the top ten new credit card introductions of 2007.
In creating the list, we looked at the perceived value of each offer, the breadth of its appeal (how many people might be interested in it), as well as how often site visitors clicked on links to the card offer.The top ten new card introductions are:
1. Capital One Card Lab – Consumers “build their own” credit cards by mixing and matching features such as interest rates, rewards, and introductory rate offers on new purchases or balance transfers. The result is a credit card that best meets their personal preferences.
2. “Green” Cards – Not one credit card, but three, each riding the trend of environmental awareness. The Bank of America Brighter Planet Visa, the GE Money Earth Rewards Card, and the GreenPay MasterCard were all launched this year, each offering reward points good toward “carbon offsets”—money that funds environmental projects such as tree planting, with the idea of offsetting humans’ production of carbon dioxide to fight global warming.
3. Chase Freedom Card – This card was actually introduced in 2006, but a significant change in its rewards formula makes it a brand new card in 2007. Where cardholders previously had received increased rebates when they made specific purchases of gas, groceries or fast food, in 2007 the rewards formula was changed to automatically give cardholders higher rebates for the three types of purchases they make the most each month, regardless of the category and regardless of how they used their cards in previous months.
4. Discover Motiva Card – To help credit card customers who regularly carry balances, Discover launched this card, which refunds one month’s interest back to the cardholder every time the cardholder makes his or her payment on time for six straight months.
5. PayPal Debit Card – While not a credit card in the strictest sense, this new debit MasterCard allows the millions of PayPal customers to pay for purchases anywhere MasterCard is accepted, with payment for purchases coming out of their PayPal accounts. Previously, PayPal customers had a much more limited number of merchants who would accept payment via the online money transfer service.
6. Gap Visa – Gap introduced its first credit card that could be used at both Gap stores and anywhere else Visa is accepted. (Previously cards could only be used at Gap stores.) The card offers 5% rebates on purchases at Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic stores, and 1% rebates on all other purchases.
7. BankAmericard –Bank of America recycled the name of what is often considered the very first credit card, but gave it a bit of a new twist. Cardholders can earn up to an extra half-point in rewards per dollar charged when they carry this card in addition to having other Bank of America accounts (checking, savings, etc.).
8. Zappos Rewards Visa – Popular online shoe retailer Zappos.com introduced this card which offers rewards toward future Zappos.com purchases. The card can be used at Zappos.com or anywhere else Visa is accepted.
9. World of Warcraft Visa – Online role-playing game World of Warcraft launched this card which allows cardholders to earn points toward free game time—each 1,500 points earned equals one free month of playing.
10. Citi CashReturns Card – Offers a straight 1% cash rebate on card purchases, with no tiered rebates and no caps on earnings. More attractive to heavy card users is the fact that this card offers a full 5% rebate on all card purchases for the first three months, with no cap on earnings.
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