Stacks of credit card offers are filling up mailboxes. That's because big banking changes are happening right now, starting with an increase in the number of credit card applications being mailed out to 'certain' consumers across the country.
"Credit card issuers have come out of their shell. They're now back on offense, they are trying to grow their businesses but they're trying to do so primarily through top credit quality consumers," says Greg McBride with Bankrate.com.
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Miranda Marquit is getting plenty of these offers. "I've noticed a big difference from this year to last year."
She's seeing more offers because she has excellent credit. Experts say if you have a credit score of above 740, now is the time to shop around for single digit interest rates, balance transfer offers, cash back cards and premiere reward programs.
But even if the offers are coming your way, it doesn't necessarily mean you should take them. Credit experts say as always, compare rates being offered to what you already have. And remember, if you just dug out of being deep in debt, you may want to hold off on extending yourself again, especially if it was a real struggle. Banks will most likely be sending offers to you, too.
"We are seeing them reaching out and testing the waters with people who maybe have had some problems over the economic downturn or who are new to credit," says Nessa Feddis with the American Bankers Association.
So why the credit push? Banks now make more money from swipe fees when people use credit versus debit cards. And in the big picture the U.S. financial future is looking a bit brighter than it has in the past few years.
"The economy has stabilized. It's more predictable about who will be able to repay their debt. They've eliminated a lot of the debt that people weren't able to pay." says Feddis.
Marquit says she's a bit hesitant to open new credit accounts, but she does like the attractive offers she's getting in the mail. "I actually look through them all to see if any of them make sense for me now, but I feel like I have enough credit cards so most of them just end up going straight to the shredder."
FInancial experts say if you want to comparison shop for the best credit offers, be patient. They expect card promotions and deals to increase as the year goes on, and banks will start to compete with one another. Right now for example, some banks are starting to offer "no balance transfer fee" offers.