By Liz Morris

Credit reporting agency Experian has released a new study showing that 14.1 percent of Americans have at least 10 credit cards, and just over half (51.3%) of credit card holders have at least two. Overall, the study found that the average American cardholder has four credit cards.

Experian study also tracked credit card usage by state, and New Hampshire came up as the state that most enthusiastically uses credit cards. New Hampshire and New Jersey had the highest average for credit cards per cardholder, at 5.2 and 5.1 cards per cardholder, respectively. New Hampshire and Minnesota had the highest percentage of cardholders with two or more cards, at 63.4% and 61.1%. And New Hampshire and New Jersey were the most likely to have 10 or more cards, with 20.3% and 20.0% fitting that definition respectively.

On the flip side, Mississippi and Washington D.C. had the least cards per cardholder, at 3.0 and 3.1 respectively. D.C. and Texas had the lowest percentages when it came to carrying two or more cards, at 43.0% and 44.1% of cardholders. Mississippi and D.C. were also the least likely to carry 10 or more cards, with 8.3% and 9.0% of cardholders being heavy card carriers.

For complete state-by-state statistics from Experian, go to: http://www.nationalscoreindex.com/ScoreNews.aspx.

By Justin McHenry

Last week’s Wall Street Journal story reporting that Bank of America would test a program offering credit cards to customers without social security numbers has led to a flood of criticism from around the country. Opponents of the action say that offering financial products to people who are in the United States illegally encourages more immigrants to try to cross the border.

A group called The National Illegal Immigration Boycott Coalition is calling on consumers to boycott Bank of America and has set up an online petition to try to force Bank of America to pull the program. In San Diego, radio host and former mayor Roger Hedgecock encouraged listeners to come to the station and shred their Bank of America cards. Several lawmakers are now calling on the government to look into the legality of the program. Various newspaper editorials and letters to the editor echoed the sentiments.

Bank of America is testing the program at about 50 banks in the Los Angeles area. New cardholders do not need a Social Security number to apply, but they must have a tax ID number and a previous banking relationship with Bank of America. The bank says it is not specifically targeting illegal immigrants with its new offering, and it is not at this time planning to roll out the program nationally.

Despite the uproar, Bank of America is not the first major bank to offer financial products to those without Social Security numbers. Citi has offered credit cards, while Wells Fargo has offered mortgages. Other banks also offer checking and savings accounts.

By Justin McHenry

What came as bad news to Wall Street investors is good news for MasterCard credit card holders. While MasterCard announced better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter of 2006 due to an increase in fees on some international transactions, it disappointed Wall Street by saying margins would not increase in 2007 as no increase in transaction fees is currently planned.

After earnings were announced, MasterCard’s stock price hit its all-time high since the company’s May, 2006 public offering, then plummeted after the warning on 2007 margins. MasterCard had a fourth-quarter profit of $41 million, or 30 cents per share. Revenue rose to $839 million, up from $716 million a year ago.

Mastercard also announced it would raise its quarterly dividend to 15 cents per share, up from 9 cents per share.

By Justin McHenry

Southwest Airlines and its credit card partner Chase announced yesterday an increased bonus for new cardholders.  Those acquiring a Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa Signature or Visa Business Card will receive 8 Rapid Rewards credits after the first use of the card, and can earn up to an additional 8 credits if they transfer a balance to the Southwest card within 90 days.  (One credit is awarded for every $1200 in transferred balances, up to a maximum transfer of $9600.) Taken together, the maximum bonus of 16 credits would immediately qualify cardholders for a free Southwest flight. Previously the new cardholder bonuses were 4 credits after first card purchase and up to 5 credits for transferring a balance.

In addition, Southwest announced other enhancements as it celebrates the 20-year anniversary of its Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program, including two credits awarded annually when the credit card is renewed and double Reward Dollars on certain Southwest and preferred partner purchases.

While on its face Southwest has one of the more generous frequent flyer programs, the program details make its attractiveness harder to assess.  For every dollar spent on the Rapid Rewards Visa, you receive a Reward Dollar (or two Reward Dollars in cases such as those mentioned above).  Each 1200 Reward Dollars equals one credit, and 16 credits equals a free flight.  Comparing this to other frequent flyer programs, you would find that it takes 19,200 Reward Dollars for a free flight, which compares to the 25,000 points it generally takes to get a free flight elsewhere.  However, there’s one catch—to get a free Southwest flight, the 16 credits must be earned within a two-year period.  Other programs allow points to accrue for a longer period of time in order to earn free flights.