More lenders sending out rewards credit card offers

In the third quarter of the year alone, lenders sent out 1.2 billion new credit card offers, according to a report from Mintel Comperemedia. That marked a significant increase over the 391 million issued in the same period last year. In addition, a large portion of these offers – 80 percent – were for cards that gave consumers points, miles or cash back for taking on credit card debt, up from 60 percent last year.

Lenders have also made a greater effort to appeal to consumers’ feelings about taking on credit card debt by increasing the amount of cash back rewards offers they send out to 41 percent, the study found. This was a jump from the 28 percent seen in the third quarter of 2009.

Many consumers have been wary of taking on additional credit card debt in recent months, and specifically rewards cards because they carry higher rates and fees than do traditional accounts.