Survey Sampling Method: 594 banks, savings institutions, credit unions and firms engaged in issuing VISA and MASTERCARDs were surveyed for this issue. The survey base includes: The 300 largest U.S. card issuers with cumulative estimated market share of 97%. Card issuers located in all fifty states, the two largest Canadian issuers and the twenty-five largest credit union issuers. All issuers of nationally available low-rate, no-annual-fee, and secured credit cards. CardTrak's survey also appears each month (since 1988) in The Wall Street Journal. The syndicated survey table lists: the twenty-five lowest rate national issuers; the ten lowest rate, no-annual-fee, national issuers; and pricing terms of the ten largest U.S. issuers, ranked b y outstandings. Selected portions of the survey appear from time-to-time in other newspaper and national consumer financial publications. Additional surveys are published in affiliate industry publications: Bankcard Update & Bankcard Barometer.