A court move with real-world ripple effects
A case that’s dragged on since the iPod era just lurched forward: a federal judge granted preliminary approval to a revised $38 billion Visa–Mastercard settlement with merchants in June. It sounds like inside baseball—until you realize swipe fees underpin the rewards on the cards in your wallet.
Why this matters now
Interchange (aka swipe fees) is the toll merchants pay when you use a card. Networks and issuers use a slice of that revenue to fund points, cash back, and perks. Under the latest settlement terms described in court filings and industry coverage, the networks would trim rates (including a 10-basis-point reduction for five years) and cap standard consumer credit-card rates at 1.25% for at least eight years, while allowing merchant surcharges up to 3%—subject to state law and card-brand rules. That’s a structural shift: lower fees at checkout and the possibility of more visible surcharging could alter where premium cards are welcomed and how lucrative some transactions remain.
This comes as swipe-fee totals continue to climb with card usage. Reuters, citing the Merchants Payments Coalition, reported Visa and Mastercard swipe fees reached about $118.8 billion in 2025, up from $111.2 billion in 2024. Pair that with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s separate final rule targeting late fees (setting an $8 safe-harbor for larger issuers) and you get a clearer picture: regulators and courts are tightening parts of the card economics pipeline, and issuers will respond.
The likely consumer impact: acceptance, pricing, and rewards mix
- Premium-acceptance pockets: If merchants gain more room to surcharge or steer, expect a few to nudge customers toward “standard” cards for pricey categories—or tack on a fee for pricier premium tiers. This won’t be universal, but even sporadic acceptance friction changes which card you’ll want to present first.
- Rewards steady…then selective: Big programs don’t flip overnight. But over a multi‑year cap, you could see targeted tweaks: category multipliers that shift instead of across‑the‑board devaluations, or richer issuer‑owned portal offers to influence where you book. Think: 5x when you use the bank’s travel portal, tighter base rates elsewhere.
- Data-driven offers accelerate: Citi’s mid‑August acquisition of Kard—an offers and commerce-media platform—signals banks are investing to aim richer, personalized deals where they move the needle most. Expect more “right place, right time” bonuses tied to your past spend rather than blanket promos.
Your near-term strategy: hedge categories, stay flexible, harvest welcomes
Here’s a practical framework to navigate the transition while rewards remain rich:
1) Anchor with a versatile travel core. A mid‑fee transferable-points card (e.g., Chase Sapphire Preferred) gives durable value through travel partners and strong travel/dining multipliers. When networks/merchants negotiate, partner redemptions often remain the ballast for outsized trips.
2) Add a grocery-and-dining engine. The American Express Gold Card continues to excel for food spend with 4x at U.S. supermarkets (up to cap) and restaurants, plus periodic benefit tune‑ups during its 60th anniversary year. Food inflation means every incremental point here compounds quickly.
3) Slot a 5% utility player. Keep a no‑annual‑fee 5% rotating or category card to flex into quarters or merchant types where acceptance or surcharging makes you reconsider which logo to tap first. That optionality matters if a store posts a surcharge on one network tier.
4) Keep an “issuer portal” arrow in the quiver. Issuers will increasingly reward you for booking through their environments (10x on select travel categories via issuer portals isn’t unusual). If interchange caps squeeze the margins, portals and merchant-funded offers are where banks can still go big.
Worked example: Put $1,000/month on groceries and $500 on dining. Using Amex Gold at 4x yields 72,000 Membership Rewards points a year on just those two lines. Layer $400/month in rotating 5% categories for another $240 cash back. Then route $3,000 in annual hotels/car rentals through a bank portal at 10x (common on select cards like Citi Strata Premier via Citi Travel): that’s 30,000+ more points. Before welcome offers, you’re staring at well over 100,000 transferable points a year from normal life.
What to apply for while issuers are competing for your spend
- Chase Sapphire Preferred: Chase ran a public 100,000‑point offer that launched mid‑June and, per multiple trackers, wrapped by July 30. August has still seen targeted or referral pathways—some users even report 125,000‑point targeted offers. If you see six figures in your account pre‑approval screen or via a referral, that’s a green light moment to lock in a high‑water mark. Remember Chase’s general 48‑month Sapphire bonus language and 5/24 constraints when timing your app.
- Citi Strata Premier: Citi’s revamped Premier keeps strong everyday earn and 10x via Citi Travel for hotels and car rentals. Depending on the week, welcome offers have hovered around the 60k–75k range publicly, but Citi is also leaning into personalized prompts and bank‑channel offers more aggressively—expect variability.
- Amex Gold: Public welcome offers have commonly sat around 60,000 Membership Rewards points after $6,000 in six months, with targeted offers occasionally running higher. With its category earn and frequent Amex Offers overlays, it remains a top “food wallet” pick.
Bottom line: act when your screen shows an elevated figure you can hit responsibly within the stated spend window. Issuers are fine‑tuning economics; big welcomes remain one of the cleanest ways to win your business—and they’re very much alive.
Make the play automatic with SuperPay
You don’t need to manually audit every checkout line for surcharges or category quirks. SuperPay’s Smart Card Picker tells you, in real time, which card to hand over at each store—factoring your cards, current promos, and rotating categories. If a merchant starts tacking on a network surcharge or your 5% quarter switches this week, the recommendation updates before you tap.
Want proof you’re executing? Snap your receipt with SuperPay’s Receipt Scanner. You’ll see exactly what you earned—and what a different card would have returned—so you can spot patterns (like a local restaurant adding a 3% surcharge) and adjust.
Your next move
Try PRO+ free for 7 days and unlock your personalized Rewards Roadmap—then let Smart Card Picker do the heavy lifting while the industry shifts around you.