House byline
Credit Cards correspondent
Tyler Brooks is a house byline for InfoHandle’s Credit Cards desk.
LendingTree’s September card-offer scan puts the average new-account APR at 23.82%, with the top of the range above 27% for weaker scores—while 84% of cardholders who asked for a lower rate last year got one.
Amazon is sending automatic refunds to eligible Prime members under the FTC’s $2.5 billion settlement over enrollment and cancellation practices—no claim form, but phishing copies are already circulating.
Chase and IHG reset co-brand fees on October 1, lifting the Premier card to $150 and adding a $350 Premier Select tier while most existing holders keep old annual charges until 2027 renewals.
Capital One left the Venture X annual fee at $395 while Chase and American Express pushed flagship cards past $800, giving household budgeters a rare fixed point in a repricing wave.
Cardholders whose Sapphire Reserve anniversaries fall in October are seeing the $795 annual fee post for the first time under Chase’s 2025 refresh, with a short window to downgrade or burn credits before the charge sticks.
Nearly 1,000 merchants told a Brooklyn judge the $38 billion Visa-Mastercard swipe-fee settlement fixes almost nothing for checkout costs, as President Trump again promised card-fee relief on the campaign trail.
PenFed ended the Honors Advantage checking workaround on September 28, so every Pathfinder Rewards Visa Signature card now carries a $95 annual fee whether or not you keep a linked deposit account.
Chase removed the Freedom Flex’s 3 percent foreign surcharge on purchases abroad and from foreign merchants online, while the sibling Freedom Unlimited still charges the fee.
A federal court vacated the CFPB’s $8 late-fee cap in 2025, so large issuers may legally charge up to $41 on repeat missed payments even while many still bill $8 voluntarily—and a new agency data request could reopen the fight.
The Fed’s Sept. 16 quarter-point hike is hitting prime-linked card APRs on September billing cycles. If you carry a balance, the effective date depends on your statement—and paying before it closes can blunt the interest hit.
Congress capped debit swipe fees in 2011 to make checkout cheaper. Most of the savings never reached the shelf, and the fee gap between debit and credit is exactly what funds the cash-back offers that cash and debit shoppers never earn. Here is the mechanism, the evidence on pass-through, and why the same fight is back over credit routing.
Chase doubled the Aeroplan card's annual fee to $195 in its September refresh, raised the welcome offer to 115,000 points and added Air Canada perks for existing holders. Grocery and dining fell from 3x to 2x. Here is the math on who should keep paying.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. will raise the Sapphire Reserve annual fee to $795 for renewals billing on or after October 26, bundling a larger DoorDash credit and Priority Pass guest rules Tyler Brooks says cardholders must model against Amex Platinum and Capital One Venture X before autopay renews.
Discover Financial Services ended its Cashback Match bonus for applications completed after September 20, steering late-month applicants toward balance-transfer APR windows rivals Chase and Citi expanded while marketing pages still highlight first-year match language in footnotes Tyler Brooks says cardholders must read before clicking apply.
Citi began auditing September Custom Cash grocery bonus merchant category codes after cardholders reported mis-labeled superstores and delivery wrappers, clawing back five percent earn on transactions acquirers coded outside grocery MCC groups until accounts pass review.
JPMorgan Chase tightened Sapphire Reserve Priority Pass visit caps at crowded New York-area airports during UN General Assembly week, shortening how long cardholders and guests can stay per entry when terminal lounges hit contracted capacity limits.
E.Sun Bank reshuffled hotel statement credits on its luxury travel card as cardholders booked domestic stays during Trump–Xi week and hedged November U.S. tariff headlines.
CTBC Bank extended zero-fee installments on select travel cards after a weaker NT dollar raised the sticker price of Mid-Autumn trips booked in foreign currency.
MUFG Bank's card unit is pushing refreshed fee tables for overseas ATM withdrawals ahead of Silver Week forex volatility, warning weak-yen travellers that dynamic conversion and network charges can stack on holiday cash grabs.
Rakuten Card is extending documentation windows for storm-related travel chargebacks on Silver Week bookings, letting cardholders dispute non-refundable hotel and tour charges when Typhoon Dujuan cancellations left trips impossible.
American Express set the U.S. Platinum Card’s annual fee at $895 for applicants in its October product refresh, extending a 2025 repricing that hits renewals on membership anniversaries—not calendar year—for many holders.
Discover Financial Services lifted advertised minimum rates on variable home-equity lines after the Federal Reserve’s Sept. 16 hike brought the federal-funds target to 3.75%–4% and major banks posted 7% prime.
Mega International Commercial Bank let policyholders split long-term care insurance premiums into monthly card installments with disclosed handling fees, targeting middle-aged salaried clients facing rising LTCI rates after regulator-approved repricing rounds.
CTBC Bank tied renovation loan drawdowns to contractor invoice QR codes so homeowners release staged funds only after scanned receipts match approved interior budgets, cutting disputed payouts in Taipei and New Taipei remodeling projects.
Orico Consumer Finance began auditing point-mall partner ledgers after Silver Week redemptions spiked on travel and electronics SKUs, hunting duplicate settlements and timing gaps between issuer points and merchant fulfillment systems.
Credit Saison’s Saison Card unit reissued autumn bonus catalog SKUs after an internal audit found partner merchants inflated point prices on travel and appliance redemptions, resetting member-facing values before the October shopping season.
Discover and Capital One removed duplicate merchant category caps on rotating bonus categories for integrated cardholders, letting combined accounts earn full quarterly limits on grocery and gas codes that previously split across legacy Discover IT and Venture lines.
Capital One tightened Venture X access hours at Denver International’s shared lounge after partner locations reset staffing, shortening late-night entry for cardholders who relied on the space during delayed mountain-hub connections.
Fubon Financial linked QR checkout for short-term travel insurance to eligible credit cards after Mid-Autumn trip claims rose, bundling policies with card activation screens but leaving exclusions for adventure sports in the fine print.
Cathay United Bank refreshed airport lounge mile-earning rates and visit thresholds on select travel credit cards before October holiday departures, tightening caps on third-party lounge networks while boosting Asia Miles on EVA and China Airlines spend.
EPOS Card Co. throttled convenience-store gift-card purchases after skimmer-linked velocity spikes, capping single-day EPOS-point exchanges and register-bought prepaid cards while police traced cloned mag-stripe taps in Kanto.
Suruga Bank’s card unit is embedding tap-to-pay spend ceilings on campus Visa Debut cards after contactless fraud reports near Shizuoka universities, letting holders raise limits only through branch PIN visits.
Discover activated fourth-quarter 5% categories on pharmacy and wholesale club spend, capping bonus rewards at $1,500 but steering holiday stock-ups toward stand-alone drugstores and club tills.
Capital One Venture X cardholders face paid guest fees at partner lounges ahead of ski-season travel, unless they hit a $75,000 annual spend threshold or pay for authorized-user lounge passes.
CTBC Bank and Line Pay Taiwan widened zero-fee installment plans for night-school and continuing-education tuition, letting working students split semester bills across three to six months on linked CTBC cards.
Hua Nan Commercial Bank will waive overseas ATM withdrawal fees for cardholders traveling through October, a Mid-Autumn promotion aimed at Japan and Southeast Asia trips that still stacks with daily cash limits and FX spreads.
Credit Saison is adding zero-fee installment plans on JR East regional rail passes bought through Saison Portal, targeting resident foreign workers who cannot use the nationwide Japan Rail Pass but need lump-sum travel budgets split across pay cycles.
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Club is piloting yen-settled condo down payments in Hong Kong dollars with an optional FX lock for Japanese buyers, using card billing rails usually reserved for domestic luxury travel.
American Express is clarifying that Platinum Card airline fee credits will not reimburse partner-carrier charges on many alliance tickets, closing a loophole frequent flyers relied on when codeshares split billing.
Chase Sapphire Reserve renewals hitting the $795 fee this fall coincide with tighter Chase lounge capacity controls, shifting the math for cardholders who bought the card mainly for airport access.
EasyCard Corp. and Taoyuan Metro enabled co-branded credit-card tap-in at all station gates after a six-month A-line trial, letting riders pay fares on the credit function without loading stored value.
Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission told BNPL providers to limit installment plans on electronics above NT$30,000 to twelve months, closing a loophole retailers used to advertise thirty-six-month zero-interest phone and laptop deals.
SMBC Nikko Securities is piloting seminars that route wealthy clients toward SMBC Card installment and C-Web tuition loans for medical school bills, testing whether Platinum limits can cover six-figure tuition without resorting to revolving interest.
JCB tightened free airport lounge visit caps on several co-branded Gold and Platinum cards for the July–September usage period, catching Silver Week travelers who assumed prior-year quotas still applied.
Banks are trimming foreign transaction fee waivers on travel cards as the dollar strengthens, shifting cost to cardholders booking fall trips while Gulf reroutes keep overseas spend elevated.
Major card issuers are capping gasoline bonus categories after pump prices surged, steering households toward higher grocery earn rates that cost less when diesel-driven rack prices spike.
Fubon, Shin Kong, and Taishin Bank updated airline-mile and lounge perks on travel cards after Taiwan's MOFA revised Middle East guidance, steering marketing toward Japan, Europe, and domestic Golden Week spend.
CTBC, Cathay United Bank, and E.Sun Financial are lifting foreign-spend cashback caps on flagship cards as households book Golden Week flights—while purchase APRs on the same products remain above 15 percent.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is piloting dynamic foreign-exchange cashback on inbound tourists’ card spend in Tokyo and Osaka, linking rebate rates to weekday occupancy data from partner hotels and transit gates.
Rakuten Card will require step-up authentication on more overseas e-commerce merchants before Silver Week, after a spike in card-not-present fraud tied to vacation bookings and duty-free prepayments.
Trip cancellation and interruption claims on premium travel cards jumped after Gulf route disruptions and tighter State Department advisories, insurers behind Visa and Mastercard benefits said.
Five-percent gas rebates shrink in real dollars as Brent-driven pump prices jump, pushing issuers to defend quarterly caps and marketing claims.
S&P Friday 7,656.98 still last. Pirates won 4-3. Monday 9:30 Eastern has not opened.
S&P Friday 7,656.98 still last. Pirates won 4-3. Monday 9:30 Eastern has not opened.