July 2, 2007:  Direct mail initiatives are still the most effective when it comes to credit card offers, according to new research released by Cardbeat, a monthly research report published by New York-based Auriemma Consulting Group.

Forty-two percent of U.S. consumers received their newest credit card through a pre-approved credit card offer, according to Cardbeat.  In 2005, 39 percent of U.S. consumers said they applied for a credit card through a pre-approved direct mail offer. That percentage increased by 50 percent in 2007 to 60 percent of U.S. consumers.

Prior to the Internet, virtually all U.S. credit card acquisitions involved mail solicitations.  Now, according to the Cardbeat report, branches, the Web and direct response TV generate results.  Yet direct mail still generates more acquisitions than the other channels combined.

According to Megan Bramlette, managing editor at Cardbeat, contrast British consumers apply for credit cards primarily through untargeted materials such as "take one" applications available at teller counters.  Only 28 percent have ever replied to a pre-approved direct mail offer; and just 15 percent applied for their most recent credit cards this way.

"This year, Americans who acquired cards through pre-approved mail offers received an average credit line of $8,002," Ms. Bramlette said. "Brits who applied through the same channel got an average of $5,795, but those who filled out take ones received credit lines averaging $9,729."