Nearly All Credit Cards Will Have Reward Feature By 2009.

By 2009, the vast majority of consumer credit cards in circulation will offer some sort of reward for its usage, according to The U.S. Market for Rewards Cards, a new report from market research publisher Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com.

Reward-based cards whereby the holder receives a benefit of some sort for each dollar spent are a foundation of the consumer credit industry. Today, consumers can receive airline miles, points toward purchases, hotel credit, cash back¾you name it. And while some consumers will want a card that simply offers a credit line, more and more cardholders, and issuers, are seeing a benefit from having and providing a reward-based credit program.

“Offering rewards has become, and will increasingly become, a necessary part of issuer card program,” said Don Montuori, acquisitions editor of Packaged Facts. “Industry data strongly suggests that reward programs can help increase customer spend, usage, and retention, all the while helping to facilitate the shift toward electronic payment platforms.”

The report speculates that younger cardholders will be more likely to use and/or convert to rewards card programs, because they have grown into expecting such programs as a part of engaging with their card issuer; the flipside is that older consumers, especially the less affluent, may be less likely to do so.

Relying heavily on detailed interviews with industry sources, The U.S. Market for Rewards Cards contains a wealth of tables, charts, information, and concise and pointed analysis that provides well-founded insight into virtually all aspects of reward card industry. The report closely assesses what the industry players are up to it provides a comprehensive analysis of each of the top 10 card issuers and their reward products, tracks the major developments faced by the rewards card market, and analyzes the umbrella strategies employed by Visa and MasterCard.

For more information at http://www.packagedfacts.com