Who actually pays for your credit card rewards?

Rewards credit cards can offer points, travel miles, and more

For every dollar that a cardholder spends on a rewards credit card, they can also receive benefits such as cash back, airline miles, and more. For many, rewards are the reason they make so many purchases on credit cards in the first place.

Credit card companies make money through interest, annual fees, and more

They also profit from interchange fees, the fee the retailer has to pay the credit card network in order to facilitate a transaction. The fee is typically between 1% and 3% of the transaction amount.

American Express caters its business to wealthy cardholders

American Express cards charge high annual fees, but also offer significant rewards and credits. It's just one way the company targets affluent customers who spend higher dollar amounts per transaction and tend to have more transactions than the average cardholder. This strategy decreases the company's risk, since it actually offers credit instead of just acting as a card network.

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

Visa, the first credit card network, still dominates competitors with a roughly 52% market share by purchase volume.

Among the major credit card companies in the US, Mastercard had about 25% of the market share in 2025. American Express had roughly 20%, and Discover had the smallest market share of about 4%.

Only 14% of transactions are in cash, as of 2025

Credit (35%) and debit (30%) cards have long eclipsed cash as the primary method of payment in the US. It is a primary backup, however, with 90% of customers intending to use cash to pay or store value and 80% carrying cash.

Airlines made an average of $13 per passenger as of 2025

Some airlines, like American Airlines (which started the first airline loyalty program), have loyalty programs with higher valuations than the airline itself. The confusing business model of the modern commercial airline industry, including said loyalty programs, began after the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act in the US, which removed federal control over airline fares, routes, and market entry.

Why Americans are drowning in credit card debt

Americans owe more than $1T to credit card companies. And with rising interest rates that prevent cardholders from paying down debt (not to mention the rising cost of living), that number is likely to keep growing. A podcast episode explains how the US got here, and what policymakers and individuals can do about it.

Managing too many credit cards can be costly if they have annual fees

However, canceling cards must be strategic if it becomes necessary, as it can negatively impact your credit score. Before canceling, experts suggest asking if it's possible to downgrade to a no-annual-fee version in order to keep the account open, thus preventing potential hits to your credit score.

Over one-third of Americans have lost money on a gift card

They've done so by letting it expire (20%), losing the card (17%), or due to a retailer going out of business before they could redeem a card (12%). That's according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited Bankrate research from 2024. This article explains how to maximize your gift card's value.

See an original Diner’s Club charge card

Before credit cards, there were charge cards from companies like Diner’s Club. While credit cards allow cardholders to carry a balance from month to month (potentially accruing interest), charge cards like Diner’s Club cards had to be paid off right away.

Are credit unions really worth it?

Credit union perks sound great on paper. They promise better interest rates and competitive customer service. But does this really translate to financial benefit for members? A new report dives deep into transaction data and answers with a resounding “yes.” Credit unions yield benefits of $179 per member or $376 per household. Dive deep into the data and read the report here.

Credit card issuers determine your credit limit using your payment history, income, and more

Some credit card issuers also take your other payment obligations into account when determining your credit limit, such as the cost of your rent or alimony.

Should you pay off debt or invest?

Some experts say you should put aside 20% of each paycheck and use that money for future goals, such as saving, investing, and paying off debt. But which should you prioritize first? It all depends on where you are in your financial journey. This article outlines the steps you should take depending on what your finances look like right now. Read it here.

Regular coupon users pay less attention to the actual price of what they’re buying

The psychology of coupon users can feel counterintuitive: Research suggests regular coupon users actually prioritize coupon availability over actual price comparisons.

How to check your credit score

Contrary to popular belief, checking your credit score doesn’t hurt your credit. Many credit card companies show your score when you log into their app online, but there are other ways to check it.

Learn how budget airlines provide customer savings

No-frills airlines, like Frontier and Spirit, are popular for providing customers with a much cheaper alternative to flying. However, many budget airlines rely on baggage charges and extra fees, which can sometimes make it just as expensive as flying on a mainstream airline.

How big brands keep your loyalty

We perceive ourselves as rational decision-makers—but research about our consumption habits suggest we are easily played by clever marketing. Here's how big brands design their branding to keep you coming back.

A credit card’s grace period is a minimum of 21 days

Under federal law in the United States, an individual’s credit card payment due date must fall on the same day of each month, at least 21 days after the cardholder’s statement closing date.

Meet China's "VICs," or Very Important Customers

High-volume spenders power China's economy. Despite making up just over 10% of consumers, they account for about 40% of consumer spending. WeChat has focused on these spenders to supercharge the expansion of its digital payments and e-commerce services.

Algorithms built to detect credit card fraud can deny charges if they perceive the attempted purchase is unfamiliar or unusual based on historical data, even when a person has enough credit to make the purchase.

Since fraudulent charges are rare compared with the much greater number of transactions across purchase histories, these models have been shown to be overly sensitive, lacking sufficient training data on what legitimate fraud looks like. Models also perform less reliably for groups in low-income areas or communities of color, given less available data from which to build an accurate baseline.

Around two in five students in any given academic year take out some form of student loans

Among the nearly two in five students who take out loans, 90% of those students rely on federal loan programs. These federal loans come in three flavors—subsidized, unsubsidized, and options for parents and graduate students. Each option has its own financial considerations; see an overview of each, along with what to consider when borrowing funds to cover higher education costs.

See which age group pays the most in taxes each year

Americans between 45 and 55 pay nearly 30% of all income taxes, bearing the largest share of tax burden in the country. These taxpayers pay an average tax rate of around 17%.

Explore internet usage data, including how humans consume 1.2 billion years of content yearly

About half this time consists of content from social media platforms, where the average user spends about 18.5 hours weekly. An estimated $3.66T was spent on consumer goods by online shoppers in 2025, though nonconsumer goods, such as flights and hotel stays, greatly increase this estimate.

The average person celebrating Valentine's Day spends $189

That might include dinner, flowers, or something even more romantic. The most popular gift is candy, with 56% of people celebrating the holiday by purchasing sweets. That's about $2.5B in sales.

What is buy now, pay later?

The buy now, pay later industry allows consumers to buy something immediately and pay in installments, typically without the need for applications or credit scores associated with credit cards. BNPL has boomed in the last decade, led by fintech companies Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay, which have targeted young adults. Some critics say BNPL is a reinvented version of payday loans that allow borrowers easy access to cash with relatively few barriers.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Poison ivy's rash-causing compound is found in the plant's roots, stem, and leaves—so coming into contact with any part of the plant can lead to rashes for the 85% of people who are allergic to it.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.