A poll conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) shows one in five Canadians with credit cards report being issued new premium cards in the past year.
Among the group targeted by companies like Visa and Mastercard that received the premium cards, without asking, were the poor, elderly and least educated, states a press release from the CFIB.
"One possible conclusion to draw from this is that major credit card companies are distributing these premium cards on only a loosely targeted basis," stated CFIB president Catherine Swift.
This would certainly takes the wind out of any notion that premium credit cards have been responsibly doled out to those most capable of managing debt, she added.
The other assumption is that credit card companies aren't worried about vulnerable customer segments' ability to take on debt.
When the survey asked if card holders had received new premium cards that provide reward programs or additional insurance, 69 per cent said no and 22 per cent said they did, but not because they asked for them. The survey also found eight per cent received premium cards at their own request.
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