Dean Witter to Add Visa to Credit-Card Lineup : Finance: Analysts say the market may be saturated with similar General Electric, GM and GTE offerings.

The issuer of the nation’s largest credit card is about to add another card to its lineup. But many card-saturated consumers may not pay much attention.

Dean Witter Financial Services Group, whose Discover card is the nation’s most widely held, said it would launch its Prime Option Visa card early next year after winning a court victory on Thursday allowing it to encroach on its competitor’s turf.

The move is a natural path of expansion for Dean Witter, a unit of Sears, Roebuck & Co. Dean Witter claimed that Visa violated antitrust laws by blocking its attempts to issue the Prime Option Visa.

Dean Witter said it will send out 36 million pre-approved credit-card applications in 1993 for the Prime Option Visa card. The company said that it expects to sign up 2 million accounts next year and 13 million accounts within seven years.

Analysts doubted that the card would be an instant hit with consumers in a market increasingly saturated with new cards. Most recently, General Electric, General Motors and GTE brought out cards that offer merchandise discounts or low rates to consumers. Consumers have snapped up more than 1 million GM cards, which offer users rebates on new cars, but other cards are growing more slowly.

“It’s another choice for consumers, but it is not going to change the landscape of the planet Earth,” said James J. Daly, editor of Chicago-based Credit Card News, a trade publication.

Daly called Dean Witter’s growth projections optimistic.

Visa had tried to stop Dean Witter from issuing the cards, saying the move would stifle competition between Visa and Discover. Visa has said it will fight the ruling in favor of Dean Witter, handed down in federal court in Utah.

Dean Witter was anxious to issue a Visa card because it is accepted by 2.5 million merchants in the United States, significantly more than the 1.6 million accepting Discover.

Dean Witter said its Visa card would be different from Discover, which carries a relatively high interest rate but offers cash back. The upcoming Prime Option Visa will be issued at an initial teaser rate of 9.9%. After two months, the rate will float to 9.9% plus the prime rate, or 15.9% if issued today. It will have no annual fee.

Dean Witter, which is being spun off by parent Sears, said it has 39.4 million Discover card holders.