(San Francisco, CA) Javelin Strategy & Research today released its inaugural 2024 Mass-Market Credit Cards Scorecard, assessing and ranking 10 major issuers. Javelin meticulously evaluated 53 credit card products, using our proprietary Card Bench™ business intelligence tool, to name Best in Class and Overall Leaders within the annual fee and no annual fee market segments. Javelin evaluated all cards across six categories: annual fee, rewards program, purchase APR, intro offer, balance transfer rate, and foreign transaction fee rate.
The TD First Class Visa Signature Card wins Best in Class among mass-market cards with an annual fee while the U.S. Bank Altitude Connect card wins Best in Class among cards with no annual fee. Both cards balanced a solid rewards packages in high value spend categories at good interest rates.
Issuers must keep a pulse on the consumer market in order to offer high value, competitive products. Through our evaluation, Javelin finds notable differences in card preferences by generation as not all consumers value the same card features. The scorecard dives deeper into these generational differences by naming top performers among each generation based on the presence of an annual fee. While top performers in the overall category had an excellent balance of rewards, introductory offers, and rates, generational winners varied according to generational preferences.
Bank of America and TD Bank cards were number one among Gen Zers and Millennials while cards from Citibank, U.S. Bank, and TD Bank took top spots for Gen Xers and Baby Boomers.
“We’ve identified the top card for the average consumer as well as generational segments because it’s important to recognize that consumer needs vary, and issuers should benchmark towards card programs that target similar segments,” said Ben Danner, Senior Analyst of Credit & Commercial at Javelin and one of the authors of the report. “Rewards are an important differentiator, but there is more to the story when it comes to consumers selecting your card.”
About Javelin Strategy & Research
Javelin Strategy & Research, part of the Escalent Group, helps its clients make informed decisions in a digital financial world. It provides strategic insights to financial institutions including banks, credit unions, brokerages and insurers, as well as payments companies, technology providers, fintechs and government agencies. Javelin’s independent insights result from a rigorous research process that assesses consumers, businesses, providers, and the transactions ecosystem. It conducts in-depth primary research studies to pinpoint dynamic risks and opportunities in digital banking, payments, fraud & security, lending, and wealth management. Learn more at javelinstrategy.com.
