National Survey: Americans Highly Value Their Credit Cards

A strong majority of U.S. consumers are happy with their credit cards and the significant benefits they provide including helping manage their daily household finances, according to a new survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Bankers Association. 

The survey, conducted before the midterm elections, also shows that most Americans view the credit card marketplace as highly competitive, and they have concerns about reduced access to credit and other potential harms from policy proposals to cap credit card interest rates.

Highlights from the survey released today include: 

• 77% of consumers are satisfied with their current credit card(s).
• 7 in 10 (70%) say access to a credit card is important for managing household finances. 
• More than two-thirds (67%) say the credit card marketplace is highly competitive and they have multiple options to choose from when picking a card that best meets their needs.
• Consumers say the following benefits of credit cards are valuable:
  • 79% – fraud/security protection when making purchases
  • 78% – access to credit in case of emergency
  • 75% – earning rewards like cash back, points, or miles
  • 74% – convenience of not carrying cash
  • 73% – financial flexibility during periods of rising costs
  • 69% – special offers, discounts or perks from retailers or brands
  • 66% – helping me bridge financial gaps between paychecks
  • 60% – travel benefits
• When consumers ranked the most valuable credit card benefits, fraud protection was the top choice, followed by earning rewards, emergency access to credit, convenience, and helping to bridge financial gaps between paychecks. 

“Americans view their credit cards as an essential tool to help them navigate daily financial challenges, and they see firsthand the security, choice and convenience that today’s highly competitive marketplace offers,” said Rob Nichols, ABA president and CEO. “Whether it’s fraud protection, financial flexibility or generous rewards programs, the vast majority of consumers recognize and appreciate that their credit card provides very valuable benefits.”

Consumers are Wary of Government Price Controls on Credit Cards 

In addition to sharing their views on the many benefits of credit cards, the survey also gauged consumers’ views on several card policy issues. The survey found that Americans do not want the government to impose price controls on credit cards that will restrict their access to credit and jeopardize their cards’ rewards programs. Here are the key findings:

• Credit card interest rates are not a top economic concern for most Americans. 
  • When asked to pick among several economic issues they would like Congress to prioritize, Americans ranked credit card interest rates near the bottom of the list. Inflation, food and grocery prices, healthcare costs, housing affordability, energy costs, government spending and the deficit, and wages and income growth all ranked well ahead of credit card interest rates as top concerns for consumers.
• U.S. adults have concerns about the potential negative consequences from a credit card interest rate cap proposal. 
  • By nearly a 4-to-1 margin (66% vs. 17%), Americans say a one-size-fits-all credit card interest rate cap ignores the fact that people have very different financial situations (vs. only 17% who disagree).
  • By a nearly 2-to-1 margin (55% to 30%) consumers oppose a 10% rate cap if it results in higher annual fees for most cardholders.
  • By a nearly 3-to-1 margin (62% vs. 23%), consumers are concerned about potential negative impacts on credit scores from account closures or credit line reductions caused by an interest rate cap.
  • By a nearly 5-to-1 margin (70% vs. 15%), consumers say responsible cardholders shouldn’t face higher fees or reduced rewards because of new regulations.
• Three-quarters of Americans say it is important for Congress to: 
  • Prevent higher annual fees for cardholders (75%) as a result of new regulations.
  • Protect consumers from losing access to credit cards or seeing their credit limits significantly reduced because of new regulations (73%)
  • Protect people from being pushed toward payday loans or other extremely high-interest lenders as a result of new regulations (73%)

“The survey shows that many consumers recognize the potential harm from a credit card rate cap including reduced access to credit for some of the very people a cap is intended to help,” said Nichols. “Americans are rightly concerned that rate caps would make the affordability challenge worse by limiting the number of people who qualify for credit cards, imposing higher fees for those who do qualify, and forcing more consumers to turn to less regulated, more costly alternatives.” 

More information on how credit card rate caps would harm U.S. consumers and the economy is available at RateCapReality.com.

The data released today is the latest in a series of results gauging U.S. consumers’ preferences and opinions regarding banks and their services. ABA recently released additional survey data showing that U.S. consumers are highly satisfied with digital banking channels and that Americans are wary of AI agents handling their money and bank account information, as well as data revealing that consumers recognize banks’ efforts to protect them from fraud and support policy actions to combat fraud. The full results for today’s survey questions are as follows:

When asked “How satisfied are you with your current credit card(s)?” consumers provided the following answers:

• Very satisfied – 44%
• Somewhat satisfied – 33%
• Not too satisfied – 5%
• Not at all satisfied – 2%
• Don’t know/no opinion – 16%
  

When asked “How important is having access to a credit card for managing your household finances?” consumers provided the following answers:

• Very important – 36%
• Somewhat important – 34%
• Not too important – 11%
• Not at all important – 8%
• Don’t know/no opinion – 10%
  

When asked “Do you agree or disagree with this following statement? The credit card marketplace is highly competitive, and I have multiple options to choose from when picking the card that best meets my needs.” consumers provided the following answers:

• Strongly agree – 31%
• Somewhat agree – 36%
• Somewhat disagree – 12%
• Strongly disagree – 5%
• Don't know – 16%
  

When asked “How valuable are each of the following benefits of credit cards? — Fraud/security protection when making purchases” consumers provided the following answers:

• Very valuable – 55%
  Somewhat valuable – 24%
  Not too valuable – 6%
  Not valuable at all – 4%
  Don't know – 11%
  

When asked “How valuable are each of the following benefits of credit cards? — Access to credit in case of emergency” consumers provided the following answers:

• Very valuable – 51%
• Somewhat valuable – 27%
• Not too valuable – 6%
• Not valuable at all – 5%
• Don't know – 11%
  

When asked “How valuable are each of the following benefits of credit cards? — Earning rewards like cash back, points, or miles” consumers provided the following answers:

• Very valuable – 44%
• Somewhat valuable – 31%
• Not too valuable – 9%
• Not valuable at all – 5%
• Don't know – 11%
  

When asked “How valuable are each of the following benefits of credit cards? — Convenience of not carrying cash” consumers provided the following answers:

• Very valuable – 45%
• Somewhat valuable – 29%
• Not too valuable – 9%
• Not valuable at all – 6%
• Don't know – 11%
  

When asked “How valuable are each of the following benefits of credit cards? — Financial flexibility during periods of rising costs” consumers provided the following answers:

• Very valuable – 40%
• Somewhat valuable – 33%
• Not too valuable – 10%
• Not valuable at all – 7%
• Don't know – 12%
  

When asked “How valuable are each of the following benefits of credit cards? — Special offers, discounts, or perks from retailers and brands” consumers provided the following answers:

• Very valuable – 33%
• Somewhat valuable – 36%
• Not too valuable – 12%
• Not valuable at all – 7%
• Don't know – 12%
  

When asked “How valuable are each of the following benefits of credit cards? — Helping me bridge financial gaps between paychecks” consumers provided the following answers:

• Very valuable – 35%
• Somewhat valuable – 31%
• Not too valuable – 13%
• Not valuable at all – 9%
• Don't know – 13%
  

When asked “How valuable are each of the following benefits of credit cards? — Travel benefits (e.g., travel insurance, lounge access, no foreign transaction fees)” consumers provided the following answers:

• Very valuable – 30%
• Somewhat valuable – 30%
• Not too valuable – 16%
• Not valuable at all – 11%
• Don't know – 13%
  

When asked “Which of the following economic issues should Congress prioritize most? consumers provided the following answers:

• Inflation and cost of living – 49%
• Food and grocery prices – 45%
• Healthcare costs – 34%
• Housing affordability – 27%
• Energy costs – 21%
• Government spending and the deficit – 19%
• Wages and income growth – 18%
• Credit card interest rates – 10%
• Tax policy – 10%
• Consumer debt – 6%
• Other – 1%
• Don't know – 9%
  

When asked “Do you agree or disagree with this following statement? A one-size-fits-all credit card interest rate cap ignores the fact that people have very different financial situations.” consumers provided the following answers:

• Strongly agree – 34%
• Somewhat agree – 32%
• Somewhat disagree – 11%
• Strongly disagree – 6%
• Don't know – 17%
  

When asked “A proposal in Congress would cap credit card interest rates at 10%. If this policy resulted in the following consequences, how much would you support or oppose it? — Higher annual fees for most cardholders.” consumers provided the following answers:

• Strongly support – 15%
• Somewhat support – 17%
• Somewhat oppose – 21%
• Strongly oppose – 34%
• Don't know – 16%
  

When asked “If a proposal to cap credit card interest rates at 10% caused account closures and credit line reductions, which can negatively impact an individual’s credit score, how concerned would you be?” consumers provided the following answers:

• Very concerned – 29%
• Somewhat concerned – 33%
• Not too concerned – 15%
• Not concerned at all – 8%
• Don't know – 15%
  

When asked “Do you agree or disagree with this following statement? Responsible cardholders shouldn’t face higher fees or reduced rewards because of new regulations.” consumers provided the following answers:

• Strongly agree – 43%
• Somewhat agree – 27%
• Somewhat disagree – 8%
• Strongly disagree – 7%
• Don't know – 15%
  

When asked “How important is it for Congress to protect each of the following? — Preventing higher annual fees for cardholders as a result of new regulations.” consumers provided the following answers:

• Very important – 46%
• Somewhat important – 29%
• Not very important – 8%
• Not important at all – 4%
• Don’t know/no opinion – 13%
  

When asked “How important is it for Congress to protect each of the following? — Protecting people from losing access to their credit cards or seeing their credit limits significantly reduced because of new regulations.” consumers provided the following answers:

• Very important – 43%
• Somewhat important – 30%
• Not very important – 9%
• Not important at all – 5%
• Don’t know/no opinion – 13%
  

When asked “How important is it for Congress to protect each of the following? — Protecting people from being pushed toward payday loans or other extremely high-interest lenders as a result of new regulations.”  consumers provided the following answers:

• Very important – 48%
• Somewhat important – 25%
• Not very important – 9%
• Not important at all – 4%
• Don’t know/no opinion – 14%
  

About the Survey
This poll was conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Bankers Association from October 9-12, 2026, among a national sample of 4,402 adults split into two representative groups for specific question sets (Split Sample A n=2,191 | Split Sample B n=2,211). The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on age, race/ethnicity, gender, educational attainment, and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point.