PrepTest 131, Section 2, Question 24
Market analyst: According to my research, 59 percent(70 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(7 more words not shown)
- Amost consumers would(9 more words not shown)
- Bcredit card companies(14 more words not shown)
- Cmost consumers would(12 more words not shown)
- Dmost consumers would(18 more words not shown)
- Ethe most intense(21 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Most consumers in this research expect to avoid interest entirely. The 59 percent plan to pay their balances before charges begin and use the cards for convenience: no cash to carry and no checks to write.
Expecting that isn't the same as actually doing it. Someone might intend to pay in full and later end up carrying a balance. But the analyst's other finding concerns what customers are interested in when companies compete for their business. Their expectations are relevant to what will attract them.
What we’re looking for
For the missing conclusion, I'd expect something about convenience or the limited appeal of interest rates to people who don't expect to pay interest. The facts don't identify one particular convenience feature as the winner, so let's avoid narrowing the prediction further than the evidence supports.
Working the answers
- A
Wanting convenience doesn't make customers indifferent among cards. They could prefer one company's services or rewards to another's. The passage describes interests that companies try to address; it doesn't say customers see no meaningful differences between companies.
- BCorrect
If most consumers expect to pay no interest, the rate charged on an unpaid balance is unlikely to be the feature they care about most. Companies concentrating on customers' main interests would therefore be expected to make something else the main selling point. The answer doesn't say rates matter to nobody or that companies will never mention them.
- C
The research doesn't compare credit card borrowing with bank loans. In fact, the majority described intend to avoid paying interest on their card balances. Their convenience motive doesn't establish a preference for one way of borrowing over another.
- D
The length of the interest-free period could matter a great deal to someone planning to avoid interest. Having one month rather than two to pay could affect how easily the person carries out that plan. Not intending to pay interest doesn't mean ignoring the deadline for avoiding it.
- E
Acceptance at more businesses could be convenient. Imagine one card being accepted at a store where another isn't. That difference could matter to a customer who wants to avoid carrying cash. But the passage doesn't establish that acceptance is customers' foremost concern or will produce the most intense competition. E picks one specific convenience feature and ranks it above the others without evidence. B stays with the broader implication about interest rates.
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