Comparison of credit card issuers

(Last updated: September 2021)

Finding the right credit card for your needs isn't just about picking one specific credit card over the others based on the rewards and fees mentioned on its marketing page. It's also important to consider the credit card company that issues that card (a.k.a. the credit card issuer).

In this article, we'll compare all of the major credit card issuers in various ways, in order to help you make an even more informed decision of which credit card is right for you.

Contents:

1. Market share
2. High-level company details
3. Rewards programs
4. Customer satisfaction
5. Fees that are sometimes overlooked

Notes about this article

Before getting into all the details, there are some important notes about this article that are worth mentioning:

1. This article is about the most popular issuers. The issuers mentioned in this article are the most popular issuers in ths US credit card market, accounting for the majority of credit cards used in the US as well as the majority of purchasing volume and outstanding balance volume. However, there are other, less-popular credit card issuers that aren't mentioned in this article, e.g., various smaller banks and credit unions. We decided to limit the number of issuers discussed to only the most common 10-15 issuers for the sake of brevity.
2. Some details might be outdated. By the time you read this article, some of the details contained within it might have become outdated. (Side note: Whenever there's a specific factual discrepancy between a 3rd-party credit card comparison or editorial website, such as this one, and the credit card issuer's official webpage for that card, it's almost always the case that the official credit card issuer's official webpage is the one with the most up-to-date and correct details.)
3. Consider other types of factors as well. Issuer-specific details are only one of the dimensions worth considering when it comes to picking your next credit card. You'll also want to review things such as the rewards, fees & APRs, and various "fine print" of the credit card(s) you're considering.

Market share

Share of credit card outstanding balances

(Source: Nilson Report)

Share of credit card purchase volume (among just the top 8)

(Source: Nilson Report)

High-level company details

Offerings and company makeup

Organizational metrics and details

Rewards programs

Which issuer offers the best overall rewards programs?

Based on a weighted formula that takes into account all aspects of reward programs, we found that American Express offers the best overall rewards programs, followed closely by Capital One at #2.

See below for the comparison chart that shows the dimensions we considered and the per-issuer ratings for each dimension.

Note: More details about this comparison study can be found in the article titled Comparison of issuer overall reward programs.

Which issuer's points or miles are typically the most valuable?

After doing a meta-analysis of multiple sources, combined with various other card usage and redemption data, we found that American Express has the highest typical value per point or mile, followed closely by Chase at #2.

Note: More details can be found in the article titled How much are points and miles worth?

Which issuer's cards are the most valuable for typical spenders?

Using monthly spending amounts and other reward preference and valuation of "typical spenders", we calculated the total value of all rewards, signup bonuses, issuer perks, networks perks, fees, and APRs for all of the popular cards of each credit card issuer (i.e., all the cards listed on this website).

Considering the prevelance of their credit cards in the top 5, top 10, and top 20 rankings of the most valuable credit cards for typical spenders, we concluded that American Express is the issuer whose cards are the most valuable for typical spenders, followed by Chase at #2.

Note: More details can be found in the article titled Comparison of issuer overall reward programs.

Definition of "typical spender"

A "typical spender" is defined as someone who spends the following amounts each month, and who has preferences and reward valuation opinions that match the "typical spender" spend profile on Findmeacard.

Summary: Number of cards from each issuer in each ranking tier

Customer satisfaction

J.D. Power customer satisfaction scores

J.D. Power conducts an annual Credit Card Satisfaction Study, consisting of the responses of over 14,000 card customers over a two-month period.

Satisfaction is rated on a 5-point scale in the following categories:

1. Credit card terms (e.g., rates and fees)
2. Rewards
3. Benefits
4. Billing and payment
5. Customer interaction
6. Problem resolution

Then, an overall customer satisfaction score is assigned to each issuer. Below is a chart showing the overall customer satisfaction scores for each issuer from the 2021 J.D. Power Credit Card Satisfaction Study, followed by some commentary about each issuer.

WalletHub study of customer satisfaction

Each year, WalletHub.com publishes the results of their credit card customer satisfaction study. The chart below summarizes their 2021 study's findings.

(Source: 2021 WalletHub Credit Card Landscape Report)

Volume of customer complaints

When factoring in each issuer's market size (i.e., normalizing for outstanding balance market share and for transaction volume market share), Chase and American Express are the two major issuers with the lowest frequency of customer complaints to the CFPB ("Consumer Financial Protection Bureau", the relevant government regulating body for the financial services industry when it comes to customer complaints and various other matters).

Fees that are sometimes overlooked

Although credit card annual fees and purchase APRs are always immediately visible (in part due to legislation that requires their disclosure in such an up-front and emphasized manner), there are several other kinds of fees that are often tucked away in the terms and conditions on a separate page or pop-up screen.

With that in mind, this section compares the major issuers with regard to the percentage of their credit cards (listed on the Findmeacard website) that have each particular type of fee.

See below for the comparison chart.

Legend:

• The percentages refer to the percent of each issuer's credit cards listed on the Findmeacard website that have tha non-zero value for that particular type of fee.
• "Yes" means that the large majority of that issuer's cards (listed on the Findmeacard site) have that fee. "No" means that the vast majority of their cards do not. "Some" means somewhere in-between.

Comparison chart: For each type of fee, do most of that issuer's cards have that fee?

Conclusion

Although we weren't able to touch on every single aspect of card issuers, nor include the various less-common issuers in this article, hopefully it has armed you with a bit more information than you had before. Thanks for reading!