J.D. Power Finds Cardholders’ Satisfaction Connected to Financial Health

By Roy Urrico

Financially healthy credit card holders are much more satisfied than those who are less fiscally sound (and perhaps carrying a large amount of revolving debt) according to the 2025 J.D. Power U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. The data also showed higher annual fees linked to higher overall satisfaction, regardless of the fee amount; merchant surcharges deterring card use and hurting satisfaction; and anticipation for artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance card security.

Troy, Mich.-based J.D. Power, which provides consumer insights, advisory services, data and analytics, measured customer satisfaction for users with their primary credit card by examining seven factors (account management, benefits, customer service, new account, rewards earning, rewards redeeming and terms). The U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study comprised responses from 37,293 credit card customers fielded from June 2024 through June 2025.

John Cabell, managing director of payments intelligence at J.D. Power.

 “There was a significant increase in the number of financially unhealthy cardholders and those carrying revolving debt in early fielding of the study,” John Cabell, managing director of payments intelligence at J.D. Power, said. “Although financial health and debt levels began improving in subsequent waves, satisfaction is lower in multiple areas among a large portion of credit card customers. At the same time, cardholders with higher financial health scores and no revolving debt — especially those using cards with points/miles rewards programs and annual fee cards — are driving significant gains in overall satisfaction among cardholders. The trend illustrates the challenges card issuers face in delivering the right card options to the right customers in an uncertain economy.”

Cabell told Finoptamus:: “Many credit unions offer credit cards to members who have other banking relationships and accounts with the institution. In 2025, these ‘multiple account’ cardholders tend to have less revolving debt and higher satisfaction than ‘card only’ customers. This fact likely bodes well for credit unions, but nonetheless enhancing the level of support provided to financially challenged cardholders remains a priority effort for all issuers.”

Key Findings

• Satisfaction slightly rises, driven by financially healthy cardholders. Overall satisfaction among all credit card customers is 611 (on a 1,000-point scale), up just a single point from 2024. The nominal improvement, noted the study, comes in part from a 9-point increase (from 2024 to 2025) in customer satisfaction among financially healthy cardholders and a 4-point increase among credit card transactors carrying no revolving debt. There was a single point decline among financially unhealthy cardholders and those carrying revolving debt, driven by lower satisfaction with credit limit, account management and ease of balance transfers.

• Financial strain drives down card spending, spurs payment plan usage. Increased financial volatility and decreasing household incomes contributed to a $68 year-over-year decline in average total credit card monthly spend. The average total monthly spend across all cardholders in the study is $1,058, down from $1,126 in 2024. Use of buy now pay later (BNPL) also increased, with 20% of credit card customers using these payment plans in the past year. The percentage of cardholders who say they would consider using BNPL from another lender also increased, to 37% from 34% in 2024.

• Higher annual fees linked to higher overall satisfaction. Overall satisfaction is higher among cardholders with annual fee products (regardless of fee amount) than among those with no annual fee products (up 3 points). Those with an annual fee of $500 or more have lower satisfaction compared with cardholders paying an annual fee under $500. However, those with an annual fee of $500 or more are more satisfied with the overall card experience than their counterparts who have an annual fee under $500.

• Merchant surcharges deter card use, sap satisfaction. Overall, 65% of cardholders experienced higher prices for goods and services for using credit cards, while 25% of cardholders experienced no surcharges. Customer satisfaction scores fell 39 points, on average, when cardholders encountered a surcharge. Among cardholders who have experienced a surcharge, 81% say they used an alternate payment method at some point to avoid a surcharge.

• High hopes for AI to increase card security. Overall customer awareness of credit card issuers’ use of AI is relatively low, but customers are still enthusiastic about its potential to improve security. Just 11% of cardholders revealed they completely understand how card issuers use AI and only 13% said their cardholder completely communicated using AI technology use. One-third (33%) of cardholders perceive improved fraud prevention and data security would be the biggest benefits of AI.

Study Rankings

• American Express ranked highest in customer satisfaction among credit card issuers, with a score of 643. Bank of America (622) ranked second and Capital One (621) ranked third.

• Capital One Savor Rewards Card ranked highest in customer satisfaction among bank rewards credit cards with no annual fee with a score of 662. Citi Double Cash Card (642) ranked second and Discover it Student Cash Back Card (637) along with Wells Fargo Active Cash Card (637) ranked third.

• The Platinum Card from American Express ranked highest in customer satisfaction among bank rewards credit cards with an annual fee with a score of 683. Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite (674) ranked second and American Express Gold Card (669) ranked third.

• Capital One Platinum Mastercard ranked highest in customer satisfaction among bank credit cards with no rewards or annual fee for a second consecutive year with a score of 620. BankAmericard (610) ranked second.

• Citi/AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard Card ranked highest in customer satisfaction among airline co-branded credit cards with a score of 625. Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card (607) ranked second and Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card (Bank of America, 602) ranked third.

• Hilton Honors American Express Card ranked highest in customer satisfaction among co-branded credit cards with no annual fee, with a score of 641. Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi (629) ranked second and Apple Card (Goldman Sachs) (624) ranked third.