Online Card Seekers More Affluent

Adults who seek credit cards on the Internet tend to be more affluent than the average Web user, according to a recent survey by New York City-based Cyber Dialogue Inc. The survey, based on interviews of 1,000 adults who regularly use the Internet and 1,000 adults who are not online, found that online credit card seekers have an average net worth of $141,100 and average household income of $61,800, as compared to net worth of $115,200 and income of $60,300 for the average online adult. Despite the figures, many card issuers have historically reported high rejection rates for online card applicants. Sam Callard, an analyst with Cyber Dialogue's Internet Strategies Group, suggests that online card applicants tend to be either wealthy "techies" with high incomes or young consumers who may have turned to the Internet because of difficulties obtaining credit.