Credit card users are showing increased financial stress

A growing share of US credit card holders faces mounting financial strain that is quietly reshaping how they engage with their plastic.

Sixty percent of cardholders are now classified as financially unhealthy, up from 56% a year ago; a shift that JD Power says is fundamentally altering how consumers perceive and extract value from their cards.

"The widening gap in financial health means value perception with credit cards is tilted toward debt-free rewards hunters," said John Cabell, managing director of payments intelligence at JD Power.

Rising balances

Average monthly credit card spending climbed $109 year-over-year to $1,167. The average number of card benefits actually used fell to 2.3 from 2.5, and among those carrying balances (52% of all cardholders) nearly one in three holds more than $2,500 in debt.

Fraud incidence rose to 13% year-over-year, while the share of issuers proactively reaching out to customers about suspicious activity dropped from 42% to 38%. Customer confidence in the security of their identity and financial information fell five percentage points, to just 37%.

Premium cards hold their ground

On satisfaction among customers, American Express scored 668 on a 1,000-point scale, followed by Chase at 635 and Bank of America at 630.

The study measures satisfaction across seven dimensions, including rewards earning, customer service, and account management.

Airline co-branded cardholders posted the highest overall satisfaction at 641, well above the 613 average. Delta SkyMiles American Express products swept the top three: the Delta SkyMiles Reserve scored 715, the Platinum variant 702, and the Gold 654. The Hilton Honors American Express card led the no-annual-fee co-branded segment for the second straight year at 669.

In the bank rewards category with annual fees (where high-engagement, financially stable consumers tend to cluster), the American Express Platinum Card scored 720 for the second consecutive year, followed by the Capital One Venture X Rewards at 705 and the Chase Sapphire Reserve at 703.

At the other end of the spectrum, cards with no rewards and no annual fee scored 573, significantly below average, reinforcing that cardholders not earning benefits have little reason to report satisfaction.