Travel Rewards Rising

In today’s competitive credit card landscape, 69% of credit cardholders named rewards as the top reason for choosing their current primary card, and 59% carry two or more cards. For credit card issuers, this means most wallets contain competing options, and the program that delivers the most relevant value is the one that earns the spend.

Not all cardholders represent the same opportunity for issuers, and preferences and expectations differ the most at the top of the portfolio. Premium cardholders, those holding a card with a high annual fee and high-value benefits, are higher spenders, more traveled, and hold firmer expectations about what a program should deliver. This is the segment where program quality and experience have the most direct impact on retention and revenue.

This new HTS (Hopper Technology Solutions) research surveys 1,000 U.S credit cardholders and digs into where today's rewards programs fall short, what it's costing issuers in switched spend and churn, and the three capabilities: travel booking infrastructure, embedded flexibility products, and AI-matched offers that can close the gap.

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