At least they help starting a fire....
"As economy improves, credit offers surge; Consumers tempted, annoyed by mailboxes full of come-ons" by Todd Wallack Globe Staff / January 14, 2012
Financial companies are again stuffing mailboxes with credit card applications at a pace not seen since the last recession began four years ago, a sign that banks are relaxing their lending.
Translation: Consumers are no longer playing the debt game, and the dealer is saying c'mon, play.
Promising everything from cash back to airline miles to zero percent interest for nearly two years, credit card companies mailed out an estimated 4 billion offers nationwide last year, nearly triple the amount delivered in 2009 and the most since 2007, according to Synovate, a unit of French market research firm Ipsos. That’s equivalent to a dozen applications for every man, woman, and child in the United States.
We call it junk mail.
The surge in credit card mailings is another indicator of improving economic conditions and household finances in the United States, which in turn is creating a friendlier environment for borrowers. US banks eased standards for issuing credit cards throughout 2011, according a Federal Reserve survey of loan officers.
Oh, this is such disgusting swill it's difficult for me to keep my stomach down.
Yeah, maybe all the junk mail has kept the U.S. post office afloat, but other than that it is an indicator of nothing.
And this whole friendlier environment for borrowers, WhereTF is that? Mars?
That means consumers turned down for credit cards just over a year ago might get them today....
We don't want them because we don't have any money anyway, and can't afford the damn usury.
Credit card offers nearly dried up after the recession, as the financial crisis and housing bust slammed banks, prompting them to frantically look for ways to cut back on risky loans....
Yeah, the poor, criminal, bailed-out, billions-in-profits-per-quarter banks, sigh.
But credit card companies have stepped up their marketing efforts again as the economy has started gaining steam, the unemployment rate has declined, and credit card delinquency rates have plunged to the lowest levels in more than a decade....
Yeah, numbers look pretty good when you don't count over 5 million of them.
Consumer revolving debt, mostly from credit cards, inched up for the third straight month in November to nearly $800 billion, according to the Federal Reserve, down from $972 billion in 2008.
“People still have to be careful in these hard economic times about taking on debt,’’ said Travis Plunkett, a spokesman for the Consumer Federation of America, an advocacy group in Washington.
Many customers say they are simply tossing the deluge of applications in the trash or recycling bin....
:-)
“It’s seems like such a waste,’’ said Molly Williams, 50, a homemaker from New London, N.H., noting the paper, postage, and other expenses that go into the mailings. “It’s not just regular paper - it’s heavy paper and sometimes fake plastic cards inside. They obviously went to some trouble to assemble it.’’
Jeff O’Neill, 43, from Medway said he gets a new offer every day telling him he’s prequalified or offering tantalizing rewards. Just this past week, the stock trader got one touting 50,000 rewards points for Ritz-Carlton hotels.
But O’Neill files them all in the trash. He hasn’t opened a new credit card in a year. “I don’t need more credit,’’ O’Neill said. “I’m happy with the credit cards I have.’’
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Let me check my mail....
