I’m not saying CC rewards are the end all be all for how the economy is doing. Just curious what contributing factors have caused this. It seemed like massive SUBs followed COVID… and now banks are tightening their belts 🤔
Why the wave of CC reward nerfs in 2026? Is it a small indicator of the overall economy? Or just one CC issuer following another because they can?
byu/Interested-Investor inCreditCards
Posted by Interested-Investor
6 Comments
I can’t think they’re doing this for fun. These nerfs seem ham fisted enough that I can’t really think of any other explanation than they’re preparing for economic trouble.
Its the economy. Banks tighten their belts when bad debt piles up, deliquent accounts rise, unemployment rises and overall spending falls. When things improve (which may be a while). We will likely see cards start to be buffed again
There are too many people optimizing rewards, now that it’s so easy to find information about it on the internet. Rewards programs depend on lots of suboptimal usage to be profitable.
Customers are getting savvier, and issuers have learned that any benefits open to exploitation will be taken advantage of, just look at US Bank’s mistakes last year.
Most cards are only profitable if the majority of users aren’t optimizing, but issuers are noticing more people doing just that. BoA saw a wave of customers moving over from US Bank’s downgraded cards, and these are maximizers, not profitable customers. When one issuer cuts benefits, others often follow, or risk attracting those same maximizers to their cards.
Cards get nerfed every year nonstop. Such is the way of things.
There will never be a year where cards get boosted lol.
I think our ZIRP policy from the 2010s through COVID was a huge factor. Money cost almost nothing to borrow so it was more important that you get users. You see this also in tech also; like a 20 minute uber ride was like $10 or when food delivery was actually cheaper than going to the restaurant yourself.
Now that borrowing money has a cost, user acquisition has to be balanced against sustainability.