Credit Crunch Bypasses Baby Boomers

The biggest credit card companies are trying to get Donnice Polk, a 70-year-old therapist in Shawnee, Okla., to spend more with plastic money.

She's been getting offers from Capital One (COF Quote) in the mail almost every month. American Express (AXP Quote) has sent her similar letters a couple of times in the past six months. Even after having gone through a foreclosure in July 2007, she continues to routinely get credit card offers telling her she's qualified.

"I just threw away three last week," Polk says. She began using credit cards heavily around age 55.

The credit crunch engulfing the U.S. economy, in some ways, has missed some pockets of society. When market research company Mintel surveyed more than 3,000 consumers, 1,000 businesses and 1,000 email users about credit card offers received in the mail during the third quarter, it estimated nearly 55% of 1.507 billion offers sent to non-customers went to people 50 and over. The data clearly show that the 50-and-over crowd has been getting the most solicitations for several years.

"The boomers are still a major economic presence in the marketplace," says Dennis Moroney, research director in bank cards at research and advisory firm TowerGroup. He says the older generations are more likely to repay debts, which means lower profits but also reduced risk. "Right now the banks are looking for any good customers, and the elderly would be the ones who fall into that bracket."