Rewards and Consumption in the Credit Card Market

Last registered on February 12, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Rewards and Consumption in the Credit Card Market
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015376
Initial registration date
February 12, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
February 12, 2025, 12:45 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
China
Region
Nationwide

Primary Investigator

Name
Tianyu Han
Affiliation
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2024-12-01
End date
2025-03-01
Keywords
Behavior, Finance & Microfinance
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of offering a Platinum credit card upgrade on customers' credit card usage behavior. By conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 5,000 randomly selected customers eligible for a Platinum card upgrade, I aim to understand how the availability of enhanced rewards affects consumer spending patterns. The experiment consists of three stages: a pre-experiment survey to collect baseline data, a treatment phase where participants are randomly divided into treatment and control groups, and a data collection phase six months post-treatment. The treatment group is offered the option to upgrade to a Platinum card, while the control group is not. Our analysis will compare credit card spending, non-credit card spending, spending on reward categories, redeemed rewards, financial indicators (savings, debt, holding period), demographic information, and credit information between the two groups. This research contributes to the understanding of consumer behavior in response to credit card rewards and has implications for financial institutions' marketing strategies and consumer financial well-being.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Han, Tianyu. 2025. "Rewards and Consumption in the Credit Card Market." AEA RCT Registry. February 12. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15376-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This randomized controlled trial (RCT) will assess the impact of offering a Platinum credit card upgrade on customers' credit card usage behavior. Participants will be randomly divided into two groups: the treatment group, which will receive an offer to upgrade to a Platinum card, and the control group, which will not receive such an offer.
Intervention (Hidden)
The study aims to evaluate how the availability of Platinum card rewards affects various aspects of consumer behavior, including credit card spending, non-credit card spending, spending on reward categories, redeemed rewards, financial indicators (savings, debt, holding period), demographic information, and credit information. Participants will complete a pre-experiment survey to gather baseline data, and follow-up data will be collected six months after the treatment.
Intervention Start Date
2024-12-01
Intervention End Date
2025-03-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The key outcome variables of interest in this experiment are: Total credit card spending, on-credit card spending, Spending on reward categories, Redeemed rewards by category, Savings, Debt, Holding period (length of time card is held), Credit score, Credit limit
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
For constructed outcomes like "reward utilization," the variable will be calculated based on the total amount of rewards earned and redeemed by the participants over the study period. Another example is "financial health," which will be constructed by analyzing participants' savings and debt levels.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This experimental design involves a pre-experiment survey, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with encouragement design, and follow-up data collection. The treatment group will be offered an upgrade to a Platinum credit card, while the control group will not. Follow-up data will be collected six months after the intervention to assess changes in credit card usage and financial indicators.
Experimental Design Details
Participants will be randomized into two groups, with 50% assigned to the treatment group and 50% to the control group. The treatment group will receive an offer to upgrade to a Platinum credit card, while the control group will not. Additionally, 70% of participants, regardless of their treatment status, will receive two extra survey questions to gauge their spending expectations over the next six months. Follow-up data collection will include credit card usage, financial indicators, demographic information, and credit information.
Randomization Method
Randomization will be done in-office by a computer to ensure unbiased assignment of participants to treatment and control groups.
Randomization Unit
The randomization unit is the individual participant.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
The planned number of clusters is not applicable, as the randomization unit is the individual participant.
Sample size: planned number of observations
The planned number of observations is 5,000 participants.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment Group: 2,500 participants offered the Platinum card upgrade; Control Group: 2,500 participants not offered the Platinum card upgrade
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials