Why aren't there more "cool" CC designs?

[Anonymous]

Like many of you on here, I personally don't care what a CC looks like, as the benefits it provides are paramount to everything else IMO.  I think many of us though are in the minority here, where a large majority of people out there do care about CC aesthetics.  It's true of any product really.  People like things that look good, unique, or stand out.  For this reason and in terms of simple marketing, I'm surprised that there aren't more "cool" CC designs out there.  I don't really know how to define "cool" for the sake of this discussion, but basically anything that could set a card apart from the competitors.  There are people out there that app for cards based on how they look.  You'll catch occasional threads mentioning someone getting a card because it was metal, for example, or because they liked the design.  These types of things may appeal more to the younger generation, perhaps those entering the credit world, because they have yet to really learn the ins and outs of card benefits and base their decisions on looks over anything else.  That being said, it would seem to me that if a CCC wanted to attract more customers they could do so by designing a unique looking card. 

I think Discover is a good example of a CCC that kind of keeps up with this sort of thing.  You get to pick from about 50 different card designs.  Discover seems to come out with a new option at least a few times per year.  While some of us don't care about this sort of stuff, many do, as evidenced by threads announcing a new card design or color being available and many respond saying they plan to get one. 

Anyway, the point of this thread really is just to ask why we don't see more of this.  As an outsider looking in, I would think the additional customers and additional profit that could be had from a little better card marketing in terms of aesthetics would more than outweigh the cost of providing a different option.  That's just my take on it, though.

[Anonymous]

IMO, the people who the companies were catering too back then, aren’t who they are catering too anymore. This was big in 2005 to 2009. We all know how rough that period was. The mindset is different now also. It’s not about getting that new gadget on credit and paying on it for 2 years with minimum payments vs getting the most rewards. 

I will I’ll say some aesthetics are still in play via “oohhhh look, my card is metal 😣” but 9 times outta 10, no one touches the card to know it’s metal but the person who actually has the card. 

[Anonymous]

I think the Discover card designs are ugly, but I guess that's just me, with exception to the NHL designs. 

I think American Express cards are designed the best. Whenever you see the Trojan, you know it's American Express. I also like the designs of their blue cards, the Plenti card, SPG, and their gold/plat Delta cards. 

[Anonymous]

Forgot to add.... it’s really all kinda silly. And say this with an extremely ugly card lol! Maybe 2 IMO. But with saying that, the most important component of any card, is, is works when you swipe it.

Nothing uglier than a declined card, I don’t care how pretty it is!

[Anonymous]

I absolutely love the First Premier Card design. So sexy.

[Anonymous]

We have the Super Green Discover card and get complimented a lot of places we go they say they've never seen a CC look like that it's really nice.

[Artemis092]

I think this is a good thread. I've always had a thing for the Citi DC card aesthetically speaking. Some people think it is ugly but for me the blue and green make it stand out.

[wasCB14]

Cool to one person is gaudy to another. Banks may not want to turn off any customers, particularly ones with lots of disposable income, by forcing something "cool" on them.

Discover allows a fairly broad choice of designs, but they also focus on customers who like simplicity and good customer service more than perks or great rewards.

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I think the Discover card designs are ugly, but I guess that's just me, with exception to the NHL designs. 

I think American Express cards are designed the best. Whenever you see the Trojan, you know it's American Express. I also like the designs of their blue cards, the Plenti card, SPG, and their gold/plat Delta cards. 

---

That would be a Centurion - a rank introduced to the Roman army maybe 1000 years after Troy (the major sovereign power) was destroyed.

[Discover2016]

In terms of looks, nothing beats the Primor cards, which look like a 5 year old designed them.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies thus far everyone, but I'm not really hearing an answer above as to why CCCs don't take looks into consideration more in terms of attracting new customers and making more profits.

Honda may make some of the "best" cars in the world in terms of reliability, but if they didn't look good [to the people that buy them] how much do you think their profits would suffer?

When it comes to product sales, any product really, I think it would be very difficult to make the argument that a less aesthetically pleasing version would generate more profits than a better looking version.  Now, if a better looking version costs more to produce (or more relative to the additional expected profits) I get not doing it. 

These don't need to be earth-shattering, costly differences.  You don't need a card made out of 14K gold or with a diamond border here.  A card with some glittery crap could be a huge hit for younger females, for example.  Maybe something that had mirror effects.  Maybe a piece of plastic that changes colors depending on temperature.  I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud here.