17 Million Have Spied on Credit Card Statements

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Approximately 17 million U.S. credit cardholders have snooped on the spending habits of someone with whom they share a credit card account, according to a new CreditCards.com report. 20% of shared accountholders admit to sneaking a peek at another person's spending (16% online and 12% on a paper statement).

Those percentages are down from June 2008, during the Great Recession, when CreditCards.com found 20% had used printed account statements to check up on another person's spending and 15% had done so online. Click here for more information:

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/shared-credit-card-poll.php

• The new survey found Republicans are almost twice as likely to spy on spending as Democrats (25% vs. 14%).
• The highest and lowest income brackets are equally likely to peek (24%). That includes annual household incomes of $75,000+ and below $30,000, respectively. Just 14% of those with incomes between $30,000 and $74,999 have checked on another accountholder's spending.
• 17% currently say they feel closer to the other person because of the shared account, almost double the 9% who said so eight years ago. Hispanics (29%) were much more likely than whites (14%) to say this in the most recent survey.
• Arguments over shared credit card accounts have decreased from 19% in 2008 to 12% now.
• 48% of credit cardholders have shared an account with a partner or spouse, 10% have shared with an adult child and 5% with a child under 18 years of age.
• Parent/adult child credit card sharing is the most likely to result in arguments and canceled accounts.

"When you share an account with someone, it's important to know what the other person is doing," said Matt Schulz, CreditCards.com's senior industry analyst. "Ideally, you'd talk frequently and openly with the other person, but if that doesn't happen, checking in on your fellow accountholder's spending can help you sniff out problems before they get out of control."

The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International on behalf of CreditCards.com. PSRAI obtained telephone interviews with 827 adults living in the continental United States who have shared a credit card account with someone else. Interviews were conducted by landline and cell phone in English and Spanish by Princeton Data Source from October 20-23 and November 3-6, 2016. Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling error for the weighted data is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

About CreditCards.com:

CreditCards.com is a leading online credit card marketplace, bringing consumers and credit card issuers together. At its free website, consumers can compare hundreds of credit card offers from America's leading issuers and banks and apply securely, online. CreditCards.com is also a destination site for consumers wanting to learn more about credit cards. Offering advice, news, features, statistics and tools, CreditCards.com helps consumers make smart choices about credit cards. In 2015, over 27 million unique visitors used CreditCards.com to find the right credit card to suit their needs.

For More Information:

Ted Rossman
Public Relations Director
[email protected] 
917-368-8635

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SOURCE CreditCards.com

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