In a new study of consumers' satisfaction in dealing with their credit card company, one of the nation's ten largest issuers stood out above the rest.
USAA was tabbed as having the best customer experience of all 10 of the largest card issuers in the U.S., according to the 2012 Temkin Experience Ratings issued by the Temkin Group. The study looked at 206 major companies in 18 industries, including lenders like American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citigroup, Discover, HSBC, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo.
The rating measures three factors when determining a company's score: functional (whether the experience met customers needs), accessible (how easy was the experience) and emotional (how the customer felt about it), the report said. USAA led the way in all three categories, earning the only "good" rating in the industry. American Express shared in the highest "functional" rating, while U.S. Bank also topped the "emotional" rating.
"USAA stands out as the shining light for customer experience in the credit card industry," states Bruce Temkin, author of the report and Managing Partner of Temkin Group.
On a year-over-year basis, U.S. Bank earned the largest increase over the 2011 ratings, the report said. However, there was little overall change in consumers' feelings about the industry as a whole.
Other surveys have generally found that consumers are more satisfied with their credit card issuers these days, perhaps due to the large number of regulatory changes made to the lending industry over the last few years. These changes were designed to increase protections for borrowers from practices that might have been difficult for many consumers to understand, including clearer lending agreements.
