Is Your Airline Rewards Card Costing You More? Officials Debate Need for New Regulations on Credit Card Reward and Airline Loyalty Programs

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Transportation held a joint hearing to discuss whether new regulations are needed for credit card reward programs and airline loyalty programs. Officials argue that for many consumers, the high fees and interest charged on travel rewards credit cards outweigh the value of the rewards and perks earned. Airline-branded credit cards can be much costlier than average cards, with annual fees as high as $650 and interest rates averaging more than 25% compared to no annual fees and about 24% for most cards. Loyalty programs are major revenue generators for airlines, with Delta earning $6.5 billion and Americans expecting 80% of revenue from loyalty members.