Credit Card Trends: 6 Credit Card Predictions To Watch Out for in 2024

Vault’s Viewpoint

• Some anticipated credit card trends for 2024 are a result of happenings from the previous few years, including interest rate increases from the Fed that should eventually be reversed.
• The new year has already brought some new credit card products, but more could be on the way.
• Expect rules to tighten around credit card sign-up bonuses and available perks in 2024, just as they did last year.

New Cards and Rewards Options

Every new year brings its share of new credit card products, and 2024 won’t be any different. While it’s likely several more credit card products will become available to consumers throughout the remainder of this year, we’ve already seen some major card announcements and a new card from Wells Fargo in 2024.

The new Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Visa® Card is the first rewards card from this issuer with points that transfer to airline and hotel partners, although there are only a handful of transfer partners so far. This puts Wells Fargo on the map with other rewards programs that offer point transfers, including American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards and the Citi ThankYou program.

This card was clearly created to compete with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card since both have the same annual fee of $95, a similar welcome bonus, a selection of travel insurance benefits and flexible rewards. The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey also earns an unlimited 5X points on hotels, 4X points on airlines, 3X points on other travel and dining and 1X points on other purchases, which should help it gain some market share in the travel credit card space.

Will more new credit cards hit the market in 2024? Probably, but we’ll have to wait and see to know for sure.

Falling Credit Card Interest Rates

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) data shows the average credit card interest rate almost doubled from 2013 to 2023. Federal Reserve data also shows that, as of November 2023, the average credit card interest rate across all accounts came in at 21.47%.

Several signs point to falling rates in 2024, which isn’t surprising based on these stats. In fact, Fed officials have already said they expect to cut interest rates three times this year, although the exact timing of these cuts or certainty is unknown. This would reduce the benchmark rate to about 4.60% by the end of 2024, whereas it’s currently at 5.25% to 5.50%.

While the Federal Reserve doesn’t set credit card interest rates directly, it does set the federal funds rate—the rate banks pay when they borrow from one another. From there, credit card issuers move interest rates up and down in response to changes to the federal funds rate.

More Restrictions and Fine Print

The best credit cards on the market today offer valuable perks that help consumers justify paying annual fees that can range from approximately $95 up to $695. For example, cardholders can access benefits like free checked bags and priority boarding with airline credit cards, airport lounge access and annual travel credits with flexible travel credit cards and automatic elite status or free anniversary nights with hotel credit cards.

However, consumers with rewards credit cards will need to read over the terms and conditions of card offers and their included benefits for 2024 and 2025—just as they did in 2023. That’s because top offers will have just as much fine print in the coming years as they did last year, and potentially more.

A few examples of fine print:

• The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Venture X Business offer $300 annual travel credit that cover the cost of airfare, hotels and more, but these credits only apply for bookings through the Capital One Travel portal.
• A handful of American Express credit cards offer annual Uber Cash and/or dining credits that are given out in monthly increments, and these offers do not roll over
• The Platinum Card® from American Express has up to a $200 airline incidental credit each calendar year, but it only applies to one qualifying airline you select ahead of time. The annual fee is $695 (see rates and fees).

A big announcement regarding restrictions on benefits came from American Express and Delta in late 2023 as well. American Express cards that offer access to Delta Sky Clubs will begin imposing annual limits on lounge visits beginning on February 1, 2025, whereas these limits didn’t apply in the past. Those owning the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card will be eligible for 15 days per year of Delta Sky Club access**, and consumers with Amex Platinum and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express will be eligible for 10 days of Delta Sky Club access.

While these specific changes from Amex and Delta don’t go into effect until next year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see changes from other lounge networks since all of them experience some level of overcrowding. And since it’s not uncommon for card issuers to add fine print and stipulations for cardholder benefits over time, 2024 is another year where consumers will want to read over new offers before they sign up and keep an eye on their card’s benefits guide for changes.

Tighter Rules on Credit Card Sign-Up Bonuses

Credit card issuers have made it more difficult to earn credit card sign-up bonuses over the years. For example, Chase has an unpublished 5/24 rule that limits new card bonuses to people who have had no more than five new credit cards from any issuer over the last 24 months. Further, American Express has its “once per lifetime” rule, which limits applicants to one welcome bonus per card.

Many card issuers have also instituted wording in their fine print that limits bonuses for consumers who apply for multiple cards within the same “family.” For example, fine print found on the issuer page for the Chase Sapphire Reserve® notes its welcome bonus is not available in-part to previous cardmembers who have already received a new cardmember bonus within the last 48 months for both this card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

That said, signs point to some card issuers starting to tighten these requirements even more. For example, an array of complicated and lengthy fine print on the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card was recently updated to say that you may not be eligible for the card’s welcome bonus if you have had any other co-branded Marriott credit card within the last 30 days—including Marriott credit cards from Chase.

The bottom line: Make sure you know the sign-up bonus rules for new cards you plan to apply for and don’t waste a hard inquiry on your credit reports if you’re ineligible.

Higher Annual Fees

Credit card annual fees also tend to climb over time, and several card issuers have announced some big changes in this realm over the last few months. For example, in early 2024, American Express announced several fee increases for its co-branded Delta credit cards. These include:

• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card annual fee increased to $650 from $550 (see rates and fees)
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card increased to a $650 annual fee from $550 (see rates and fees)
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card annual fee increased to $350 from $250 (see rates and fees)
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card annual fee increased to $350 from $250 (see rates and fees)
• Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card annual fee increased to $150 from $99 (see rates and fees)
• Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card annual fee increased from to $150 from $99 (see rates and fees)

With each of these annual fee increases on Delta credit cards, new benefits are being introduced to justify the higher cost. For example, the Delta SkyMiles Reserve offers a Delta Stays credit of up to $200 back in annual statement credits for prepaid hotels and vacation rentals booked through Delta Stays on delta.com, up to $240 in Resy credits on eligible purchases with U.S. Resy restaurants using your enrolled card (up to $20 earned each month in statement credits) and up to a $10 monthly rideshare credit on U.S. rideshare purchases with select providers ($120 back each year; enrollment required).

American Express also increased the annual fee on the American Express® Business Gold Card to $375 from $295 (see rates and fees). Benefits added include $155 in statement credits toward a Walmart+ membership equal to up to $12.95 statement credit back each month on one membership fee after you pay your monthly Walmart+ membership with your card (plus applicable taxes) and up to $240 in flexible business credits when you use your card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub and Office Supply Stores (up to $20 earned in statement credits per month, enrollment required).

The fact many card issuers follow trends set by others means it wouldn’t be surprising to see other cards boost their annual fees in 2024. If they do, we can hope they include new statement credit offers or other benefits that help make the juice worth the squeeze.

Rewards Uncertainty Caused by the Credit Card Competition Act of 2023

Consumers should also keep their ears open for news on the Credit Card Competition Act of 2023 this year. While this bill would need to pass both houses of Congress to become law, it was reintroduced in June of 2023 after failing to pass in 2022 and seems to have renewed interest.

While authors of the Credit Card Competition Act of 2023 say the bill intends to “enhance competition and choice in the credit card network market which is currently dominated by the Visa-Mastercard duopoly,” some experts believe it would do so at the expense of credit card rewards programs.

Ultimately, this is because the Credit Card Competition Act aims to reduce credit card interchange fees by giving merchants choice when it comes to the networks they use. Credit card rewards programs are largely funded through these fees, so it’s only natural to think points and miles programs could be sacrificed in the process.

It’s hard to say if this will be the case or not, or to what extent. Either way, rewards enthusiasts should look out for credit card trends that follow if this bill becomes law.