This Saturday, October 14, a solar eclipse will be seen across the Americas. From inside a 125 miles wide path stretching across the U.S. Southwest and on to Central and South America, a “ring of fire” will be glimpsed for a few minutes as a smaller-looking new moon covers only the middle 90% of the sun.
Explaining the Credit Card Competition Act and what it means for your credit card rewards
20.09.2023 - 13:33 / thepointsguy.com
Editor's note: This story is continually updated with new information.
With lawmakers threatening to intensify the risk of an Oct. 1 government shutdown over the fiscal year 2024 spending bill, the Credit Card Competition Act — which has the potential to significantly negatively alter, if not completely eliminate, the world of credit card that we know today — may face a vote.
Last week, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., threatened to attach his bill to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act and risk thwarting movement on the $280 billion overall government funding package if the Senate fails to vote on his bill to crack down on credit card swipe fees, per Politico.
If enacted, the proposed legislation could dramatically change the rewards ecosystem. It could hurt your ability to collect (and redeem) points and miles toward travel or earn cash back that can offset some of your everyday spending.
Here at TPG, we teach you to maximize your rewards so that you can earn as many as 3 points per dollar when dining out, 4 points per dollar on groceries and 5 points per dollar when booking airfare.
Leveraging these rewards and the perks on popular credit cards gives you the ability to travel more frequently — or in greater comfort — and discover the world. It can also mean more cash in your pocket, a better airport experience and the benefit of purchase protections that don't exist with other payment methods.
This could all change if this bill is approved.
To help answer your questions about the proposed piece of legislation, we've put together this primer that outlines what the bill would do and how it would potentially affect travelers and your hard-earned rewards.
The Credit Card Competition Act originated when Marshall and Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., introduced it July 28, 2022. They later attempted to include it as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. Neither effort gained much traction in Congress.
On June 7, 2023, Marshall and Durbin reintroduced the bill at a press conference with largely the same structure. They were joined by Sens. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, as well as Reps. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.
As its name implies, the proposed legislation aims to inject more competition into the credit card industry to lower the fees merchants pay whenever shoppers swipe their credit cards.
If enacted, the law would amend the Electronic Fund Transfer Act by directing the Federal Reserve to require credit card-issuing banks to offer a minimum of two networks for merchants processing electronic credit card transactions. It even specifically prohibits these two networks from being those with the largest market
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