Since no study was undertaken in India to study the behavior of credit card holders and consumers, the researcher attempted at identifying the factors which influence the most, decision of owning a credit card. Since no secondary data was available, the researcher designed an questionnaire and administered to various types of bank customers in the cities of Ludhiana, and Jalandhar. The objective of this study was to understand the usage patterns of credit cards by the consumers. A major limitation of the study was a very small population size and a non-co-operating attitude and sometimes stark refusal by the credit card companies (issuers) to divulge the list of credit card holders in the cities of Ludhiana and Jalandhar. Another major limitation was non-availability of resources to undertake the survey. The researcher was left with a list of 1650 credit card holders, which, finally, constituted the universe for this study. The entire universe was divided into four strata; viz., The Businessmen, Senior Govt. Officials and Senior Non-Govt. Executives, Women, and Students. This indeed was a very small universe. The questionnaire was tested for its validity and reliability. The conclusion drawn from the study include; A significant number of the credit card holders use their credit cards to make retail purchases. The information regarding the credit cards was significantly ignored by the consumers at the time of owning a card. They found interest rates, fee & charges, and credit card terms and conditions such as repayment time, easy to compare amongst the loan products offered by credit card companies.
