American Express Survey Reveals Increased Credit Card Spending on Essentials

September 17, 2009
By: Joe Taylor

As financial markets noted the one-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse, consumers responding to an American Express survey report optimistic attitudes toward travel, dining, and entertainment expenses. The credit card issuer announced results of its first-ever American Express Spending & Saving Tracker this week, with findings that include:

• Young professionals, already more optimistic about the economy than older colleagues, planned to use credit cards to pay for more clothing, travel, and meals through the rest of the year.
• More Americans used credit cards to pay for necessities like automobile maintenance, home repairs, and groceries over the past year.
• Compared to a year ago, survey respondents noted a sharp rise in spending on personal care and grooming products and services.

American Express spokesperson Pamela Codispoti told reporters that many Americans used the past year to take stock of their financial habits, including credit card and savings account usage. "I don't think anyone expects the American consumer to quickly return to the spending levels of the last few years, but amid their cautiousness we are seeing some areas where people are willing to increase spending," Codispoti said.

Important Note! The information in this article is believed to be accurate as of the date it was written. Please keep in mind that credit card offers change frequently. Therefore, we can not guarantee the accuracy of the information in this article. Please verify all terms and conditions of any credit card prior to applying.

About the Author

Joe Taylor Jr. is an internal business consultant for a Fortune 500 company, who writes about finance, culture, and design. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Ithaca College.