More than Half of U.S. Credit Card Customers Are Financially Unhealthy; Nearly Same Percentage Carrying Revolving Debt

Volatility in everything from financial markets to the prices of consumer goods has started to influence the way credit card customers use their cards. According to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study,^SM released today, more than half (53%) of cardholders are currently carrying revolving debt and 56% are classified as financially unhealthy.¹ While these percentages have risen and fallen during reporting waves of the 2025 study, the result is a bifurcation of credit card customer experience, with significantly higher levels of customer satisfaction among financially healthy customers than among those who are less financially resilient.

“There was a significant increase in the number of financially unhealthy cardholders and those carrying revolving debt in early fielding of the study,” said John Cabell, managing director of payments intelligence at J.D. Power. “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.”

Following are some key findings of the 2025 study:

• Satisfaction slightly rises, driven by financially healthy cardholders: Overall satisfaction among all credit card customers is 611 (on a 1,000-point scale), which is up just a single point from 2024. The nominal improvement is driven in part by a significant 9-point increase in customer satisfaction among financially healthy cardholders and a significant 4-point increase among credit card transactors carrying no revolving debt. There is a decline of a single point 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 have 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 now $1,058, down from $1,126 in 2024. Use of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) has 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 has 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 (+3 points). Those with an annual fee of $500 or more have lower satisfaction for the reasonableness of the annual fee itself 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 have been charged higher prices for goods and services for using their credit cards, while 25% of cardholders have experienced no surcharges. Customer satisfaction scores fall 39 points, on average, when cardholders encounter a surcharge. Among cardholders who have experienced a surcharge, 81% say they have 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 artificial intelligence (AI) is relatively low, but customers are still enthusiastic about its potential to improve security. Just 11% of cardholders say they completely understand how their card issuer uses AI and only 13% say their cardholder has completely communicated how they are using AI technology. One-third (33%) of cardholders perceive improved fraud prevention and data security would be the biggest benefits of AI.

Study Rankings

American Express ranks highest in customer satisfaction among credit card issuers, with a score of 643. This is the sixth consecutive year in which American Express receives a segment award.² Bank of America (622) ranks second and Capital One (621) ranks third.

Capital One Savor Rewards Card (with No Annual Fee) ranks highest in customer satisfaction among bank rewards credit cards with no annual fee for a third consecutive year, with a score of 662. Citi Double Cash Card (642) ranks second and Discover it Student Cash Back Credit Card (637) along with Wells Fargo Active Cash Card (637) rank third.

The Platinum Card from American Express ranks 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) ranks second and American Express Gold Card (669) ranks third.

Capital One Platinum Mastercard ranks 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) ranks second.

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

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

See the rank chart for each segment at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2025088.

The U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study, now in its 19th year, measures customer satisfaction with their primary credit card by examining seven factors (in alphabetical order): account management; benefits; customer service; new account; rewards earning; rewards redeeming; and terms. The 2025 study includes responses from 37,293 credit card customers and was fielded from June 2024 through June 2025.

For more information about the U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study, visit

https://www.jdpower.com/business/credit-card-consumer-insights.

About J.D. Power

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services, and data and analytics. A pioneer in the use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modeling capabilities to understand consumer behavior, J.D. Power has been delivering incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions with brands and products for more than 55 years. The world's leading businesses across major industries rely on J.D. Power to guide their customer-facing strategies.

J.D. Power has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more about the company's business offerings, visit JDPower.com/business. The J.D. Power auto-shopping tool can be found at JDPower.com.

About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules: www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/press-release-info

¹ J.D. Power measures the financial health of any consumer as a metric combining their spending/savings ratio, creditworthiness and safety net items like insurance coverage. Consumers are placed on a continuum from healthy to vulnerable.

² J.D. Power 2023-2025 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study: Credit Card Issuers segment, which included issuers with more than 1,000,000 active accounts, excluding co-branded cards. J.D. Power U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study ^SM in 2020-2022: National Issuers segment, which included issuers with more than 4,000,000 active accounts. Visit jdpower.com/awards for more details.

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