In exchange for not having to worry about paying penalty fees, customers may have to pay annual fees or slightly higher interest rates. Consider the Stress-Free Platinum Card from Chase . Chase has been test-marketing the card since early 1999. Potential cardholders receive applications in the mail. Wachovia rolled out its No Hassle Visa Gold in summer 1999.
Consumers are in general very busy.
They want something simple they can use. Wachovia came up with the idea for a hassle-free card after asking consumers what ticked them off about credit cards. A common beef was confusing and supposedly low-rate credit card deals that didn't last. They want to understand the rules that they're playing with and sometimes it's unclear because it seems to change a lot. One consumer, who was proud of a good payment history, complained about being slammed with a high late fee when a payment arrived a day or two late.