Better purchasing decisions and the new rules and regulations that were bought in as a part of the CARD Act have put customers on guard. Experts say that card holders are thinking twice before pulling out their plastic card to pay for the purchases.

The President of Best Advantage Credit Union, based in Brillion, Tammy Williams has said that the overall market condition clearly indicates that the customers are not using credit cards as often as they used to in the past.

As a proof to this fact, surveys conducted during the holiday season towards the end of 2010 clearly indicated that customers were using cash to purchase gifts as compared to their credit cards. Another reason for the drop can be attributed to the current outstanding amount of $13 billion that many card holders are trying hard to pay off. Though cash was the preferred payment option for people shopping at various regular malls and stores, credit cards still ruled the roost when it came to paying for purchases made on the internet.

Wells Fargo Funds’ financial analyst, Brian Jacobsen, who also is a professor of economics at Milwaukee’s Wisconsin Lutheran College, said that the implementation of the CARD Act made it impossible for people to avail new credit cards. He also said that though card holders were becoming increasingly aware of the various drawbacks of using credit cards, issuers are also exerting extra care and caution while approving new applications.