Legislation known as the Credit Card Competition Act, first introduced in Congress in 2022, is described by its sponsors as encouraging “competition in electronic credit transactions.” But if lawmakers end up passing the measure, opponents say it could also torpedo the rich rewards and perks that cardholders have enjoyed for years.
“Will consumers lose? Probably,” wrote Brian Riley, director of the credit advisory service at Mercator Advisory Group, in an August 2022 post to the Mercator blog. “Their reward programs will dry up, just as they did with debit cards.”
I like that politicians always claim the savings will be passed on to customers. Companies are benevolent and will definitely not pocket the extra 1% they’d save.
Exactly this. I’m pretty sure the CC companies themselves are behind this legislation. “We wanted to give you perks for using our card, but it’s illegal now. Oh BTW, completely unrelated, your interest rate and annual fees will remain the same. If you don’t like it, then just pay everything off before the annual fee hits again next month. Ta-ta!”