Survey shows what Americans really think about their credit cards

There are multiple ways to measure the extent of the love affair between Americans and their credit cards:

• According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, there are nearly 650 million credit card accounts in the United States. That works out to an average of more than two accounts apiece for every adult in the nation.
• These cards were used more than 50 billion times in the most recent year for which data is available from the Federal Reserve.
• By the end of the first quarter of 2026, total balances on those cards topped $1.25 trillion.

A consumer credit card satisfaction survey by CardRatings.com provides some details behind those numbers. The survey found that Americans are pretty happy with their credit cards overall, but that they have distinct likes and dislikes about those cards.

This insight into the experiences of other credit card users can give you a clearer idea of what you should expect from your cards, and what to look for when you shop for a new offer.

Survey finds credit card satisfaction remains high overall

Americans are generally quite satisfied with their credit cards. Nearly 85% of consumers surveyed said they were either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their credit cards.

Just 5% reported being “unsatisfied” or “very unsatisfied” with their credit cards. The remaining 10% described their feelings as “neutral.”

Still, people’s love for their credit cards isn’t unconditional. Despite so many consumers saying they’re satisfied with their cards, nearly 81% say they believe there might be a better card out there for them. More than half of those surveyed plan to apply for their next credit card within a year.

Credit card survey results: Which features drive the most satisfaction?

Most of the credit cards in the survey were general-purpose rewards cards. The feature customers liked most about these cards was the ease of monitoring and redeeming their rewards. On average, this feature scored an average of 7.86 out of 10 points.

Features on specialized cards scored even higher. Business cards ranked highest overall due to their easy employee management tools. This feature earned an average score of 7.99 out of 10 points.

Balance transfer cards performed well as well; respondents rated the available credit limit for consolidating debt at 7.87 out of 10 points.

Beyond features, consumers want value for their money

While consumers are affected by the features cards give them, they also care about what they’re paying for those cards. When weighting the value of card features against the cost, customers generally gave cards lower scores for value than they did for the individual characteristics those cards had to offer.

Overall, survey respondents gave their cards a lukewarm average rating of just 7.14 points out of 10 when it comes to value for price.

This focus on getting value for money also shows up in the answer respondents gave to a question about what was most likely to make them cancel a card. The number one answer was a fee increase, cited by nearly 32% of respondents. Not far behind was another cost-related factor, an interest rate increase. Non-cost factors, such as poor customer service or cuts in credit limits or rewards programs, were far less frequently cited as triggers for cancellations.

In other words, the bells and whistles a card offers may be all well and good, but consumers are very sensitive to how much they’re being charged for those features.

Ranking card benefits from most to least popular

In addition to cost and features, another thing that matters to consumers is customer service. This covers everything from the usefulness of digital portals to responsiveness when a problem arises to data security. The quality of service can make or break a customer’s relationship with a credit card company.

Taking into consideration value, service and individual features, here’s how survey respondents ranked different characteristics of their credit cards, from most to least popular:

1. Ease of managing employee use (for business cards)
2. Information/identity protection
3. Usefulness of website or app
4. Balance transfer credit limit (for balance transfer cards)
5. Ease of rewards redemption (for rewards cards)
6. Data for analyzing expenses (for business cards)
7. Spending monitoring tools (for bad credit/secured cards)
8. Length of 0% interest period (for balance transfer cards)
9. Value of rewards (for rewards cards)
10. Responsiveness of customer service to problems
11. Value for price
12. Credit monitoring information (for bad credit/secured cards)

With credit card interest rates high and fees rising, it’s significant that value for price ranks so low for satisfaction. Credit cards may advertise a variety of attractive features, but customers still have a wary eye on annual fees and interest rates.

What consumers want from credit cards varies by type of card

There are various categories of credit cards based on how those cards are designed to be used. Here are the leading categories of credit cards examined by CardRatings.com, and some of the defining characteristics of each:

• Bad credit/secured credit cards. These are designed to help people with poor credit scores gain access to credit. Those low scores may be because they have limited credit histories or have had problems using credit in the past. Key characteristics include tools to help monitor spending and information on credit status.
• Balance transfer credit cards. These are designed to give people a more cost-effective way of paying off debt. They provide a low interest rate (often 0%) for a limited time, so people can transfer other card balances to the card to save money on interest charges while they’re paying off those balances. Key characteristics include the size of the credit limit available for transferring balances and the length of the 0% period.
• Business credit cards. These are designed for use by businesses instead of individuals. Key characteristics include the ease with which businesses can manage which employees have access to the cards and the limits they have on spending, and the information the card provides to help the business analyze its spending patterns.
• Premium credit cards. These are high-end cards that often charge significant annual fees in exchange for the benefits they provide. Key characteristics may include especially generous rewards and privileges such as access to exclusive airport lounges.
• Rewards credit cards. These popular cards offer benefits based on total spending, with key features including diverse reward structures and targeted bonus spending categories.

As much as these different types of credit cards vary, the table below shows there is one characteristic that almost always rises to the top when it comes to what customers value:

There’s both a good side and a bad side to how highly consumers rate information/identity protection.

In part, those strong ratings reflect the heavy investments credit card companies have made on fraud prevention. Among other things, this includes chip-based identification technology and AI tools designed to spot spending patterns that may indicate fraud. It also helps that there are significant legal protections consumers have against unauthorized card usage.

On the other hand, the emphasis that credit card companies and their customers put on fraud protection is a reflection of how big a problem data theft and unauthorized credit usage has become. That’s why this priority cuts across so many different credit card categories.

How these results can guide you when choosing a credit card

The ratings consumers give to various characteristics of their credit cards can help you know what to look for when choosing your next credit card. These survey results represent the experiences of more than 2,000 credit card users. Those experiences can give some insights into what people like and dislike about their credit cards.

Based on these results, here are some things to keep in mind when choosing a credit card:

• What you look for should be based on how you intend to use the card. You may be using it to build credit, manage a business or earn exclusive benefits. You should base your choice on what you intend to get out of the card.
• The benefits offered may catch your eye in credit card advertisements, but also keep in mind what you’ll have to pay for those benefits. Consumers are generally less happy with the value they get for the price they pay than they are with most other aspects of their credit cards.
• Whatever type of card you get and how you intend to use it, fraud protection is a high priority for consumers. Most customers give their cards good scores on this issue, so you should consider good security features and policies a must when choosing a card.

Overall, consumers report high satisfaction with their credit cards.. That means if yours is coming up short, there are probably better options out there for you.

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