Survey: Credit card hopping common in UK

A new survey from life assistance firm CPP shows that the average adult in the UK spends 15 percent of their annual pay on credit card purchases. That amounts to an average of £2,540 per year spent. This outlay can amount to as much as £150,000 over an individual’s lifetime. That’s a lot of money. However, the survey also shows that UK residents are also becoming smarter about how they use their cards.

CPP found that 40 percent of UK residents who use credit cards go from one card to another in search of 0 percent transfer deals. That means that those following this policy change cards around every nine months, accumulating 59 cards over their lifetime. Women own fewer credit cards than men do, according to the poll. The study also showed that 12 percent of cardholders sign up for a gold card because “it looks good in their wallet”. Fourteen percent believe that having a wallet full of cards “looks impressive.”

The survey made clear, too, that people in the UK are aware of the dangers of owning cards in terms of the risk of credit card fraud and identity theft, with 80 percent indicating that they know the risks. Thirteen percent said that they have been victims of theft related to their credit cards.

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