THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, August 28, 1996            TAG: 9608280415
SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER 
                                            LENGTH:   50 lines

GM CARD TOPS IN USER SATISFACTION THE MASTERCARD, WHICH IS PROCESSED IN CHESAPEAKE, STOOD OUT FOR ITS BILLING AND PAYMENT FEATURES, J.D. POWER SAYS.

The General Motors credit card processed in Chesapeake captured the top spot in a nationwide survey of customer satisfaction with cards that offer rewards.

The GM MasterCard, issued by a unit of the consumer-finance company Household International Inc., surpassed Discover, Citibank Ford and other cards in user satisfaction, the market research company J.D. Power and Associates said Tuesday.

Launched in 1992, the GM-Household card offers users a discount when they purchase a GM car or truck.

Household Credit Services, a unit of Household International, has 1,250 employees in Chesapeake handling telephone inquiries and other tasks.

Household Credit facilities in Chesapeake, Las Vegas and Salinas, Calif., also process credit cards for Household Bank, Charles Schwab Corp., the AFL-CIO and telecommunications companies Ameritech Corp., US West Inc. and Pacific Bell.

In a separate study of customer satisfaction with basic cards and gold cards, NationsBank's credit card was on par with the industry average, J.D. Power said. Charlotte-based NationsBank processes credit cards at an office in downtown Norfolk.

The best regarded card in the category of basic and gold cards was the AT&T Universal Card, issued by the telecommunications giant.

The GM and AT&T cards stood out from their competitors because of greater consumer satisfaction with their billing and payment features, J.D. Power said in its second annual study of satisfaction among card users.

``This includes such features as the organization of the billing document, clarity of information provided on the bill, accuracy and speed of posting payments, and the amount of time before interest is charged on new purchases,'' the J.D. Power report said.

Customer satisfaction with the Capital One card, issued by a unit of Falls Church-based Capital One Financial Corp., fell substantially below the average for satisfaction with basic and gold cards, J.D. Power said.

Capital One's card operation had been part of Richmond-based Signet Banking Corp. before it was spun off in early 1995.

J.D. Power, which surveyed 10,170 card holders and 47 credit cards, said the success of card-issuers will depend increasingly on the level of service they deliver.

``Although price is, and will be, an important part of customer satisfaction, credit-card holders are demanding more in the way of quality of service,'' the research company said. by CNB