October 11, 2011
Bad news first: The number of debit cards with rewards programs fell by 30% this past year, according to the 2011 Debit Card Rewards Study from Bankrate.com. Now for the good news: the remaining programs are still mostly fee-free and without caps.
“To compile its 2011 Debit Card Rewards Study, Bankrate surveyed the five largest banks and the five largest thrifts in 10 large U.S. markets, along with the five largest credit unions,” said the site in a press release.
Some of the key findings include:
– 71% of debit rewards cards have no annual or monthly fees (up from 50% last year).
– 71% have no cap on rewards, consistent with 75% in 2010. Among the programs with rewards caps, the threshold is quite high, with the lowest caps at $120 cash, 80,000 miles and 50,000.
– Signature transactions (85% of programs) are rewarded nearly twice as often as PIN transactions (43%).
“The Federal Reserve’s new cap on debit interchange fees is leading many debit card issuers to discontinue their rewards programs,” said Greg McBride, CFA, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com. “On the bright side, disciplined spenders can utilize reward programs as compensation for purchases they’d make anyway.”
The full study can be accessed here: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=61502&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1615607&highlight=
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