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    What are your credit card predictions for 2026?

    What are your predictions for the credit card space in 2026? Here are my own predictions…

    • More account shutdowns, and more PUJ type systems, as the economy is not doing that great.

    • Apple card may switch over to Chass or Amex.

    • BILT 2.0 will launch and ultimately fail.

    • US Bank will be sidelined and become a "trash tier" issuer, similar to TD or 5/3 Bank with no worthwhile cards.

    • Citi will mostly be focused on integrating Barclays AA cards into Citi AA cards, and will not release any new cards.

    • New SYW will fail, or not many people will get it.

    • Capital One & Discover merger will get more interesting. C1 may start switching a credit card over to the Discover network.

    What are your credit card predictions for 2026?
    byu/Greedy-Ad-6300 inCreditCards



    Posted by Greedy-Ad-6300

    View 9 Comments

    9 Comments

    1. TeflonBillyPrime on

      Thinking we will see more financial review for cards. With people losing jobs/hours CC will try and hedge their bets.

    2. CostcoCuisine on

      You will soon be able to view your Discover and C1 with one portal.

      The PUJ comment has already become reality. Chase is now doing it.

      I expect more banks will follow more practices that Amex does- more PUJ and ladder climbing to earn bonuses.

    3. LiteratureMaximum125 on

      couponism

      Moreover, as credit card fees decrease, both multipliers and point values will decrease and depreciate.

    6. Amyndris on

      As the K shaped economy bifurcates, you’ll see more cards chasing the top 5%-10% of earners.

      Higher annual fees, benefits tied to deposits (Schwab style $1m-10m+ bonuses), benefits tied to spend (Amex Plat/CSR style), Subs with much higher spend (VX style).

      On the positive side, I think its a case where the rich get richer and the benefits will go up as well. You see the huge Sub/spend that the VX business had (200k sub on 30k spend, 400k sub on 150k spend) I think that’s a harbinger for things to come.  

      I could honestly see a 75k spend in 12 months with a 1m point sub from someone.  Basically pay someone to use their card as a daily driver.  Probably too soon in 2026, but I wouldn’t rule it out in the next 3-5 years. 

    7. DBC033 on

      Apple switching networks would be wild… I wouldn’t be surprised if they experiment with Chass or Amex just to see which gets better engagement.

    8. azure275 on

      Bank of America will experience massive growth to the Premium Rewards and PRE by changing absolutely nothing at all and just taking advantage of other companies enshittification

      CSR won’t change in 2026. It’s too soon and lots of people jumping on for the 125k SUB. IMO over a few years they will either have to massively improve The Edit and OpenTables to be real Amex competitors, or the card userbase will degrade and fade away over a few years.

      BILT…is a funny one. The Mesa is not a real indication of anything at all – the Mesa was sheer VC hopium encapsulated in a card. The reason the Mesa failed was not because of points on mortgages it was low spend requirements, way too generous credits for a free card, and the generally ridiculous 3x categories.

      USB still has 2 pretty good cards for now – the Cash+ is good because basically nobody else offers major points on utility spend; and the Altitude Connect is just good for being free. Remove those 2 and you are absolutely correct.

    9. mlody_me on

      BofA – small bump, perhaps in range $500 – $1000, to the quarterly limit on CCR to adjust for the inflation.

      USBank – Smartly v1 ‘good letter’ nerfed, Altitude Connect nerfed (too many good benefits for $0 AF card)

      Apple Card – when Apple switches to a new issuer, perhaps an opportunity for revised benefits, perhaps a PRO card, or additional perks and/or cash back as part of the iCloud+ subscription/services.

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