The news: New account openings were down 5% across Wells Fargo, Citi, Bank of America, and American Express during Q2 2025, per The Wall Street Journal.

Behind the numbers: Issuers are increasingly targeting big-spending, high FICO score customers who are reliable spenders and are also low risk. Take Amex’s recent earnings report: spending on first- and business-class airline tickets spiked 10%, along with luxury short-term rentals at 9%.

In response, banks have allocated the lion’s share of their marketing to the small share of the rich: 87% of card-related mail volume was only sent to people who hit certain credit criteria—the highest level in three years, per Competiscan data cited by the Journal. 

Middle- and working-class woes: Card balances have also ticked upwards, suggesting demand for cards is healthy. Meanwhile 30-day delinquencies have calmed—sketching an image of fragile financial peace. 

But banks’ selectivity means that their access to these products might be more limited. As issuers have pivoted to catering to the wealthy, underwriting has simultaneously gotten tighter, squeezing out average Americans.

Our take: Issuers are going to chase opportunities to increase their payment volume, which explains targeted efforts to boost luxury travel and dining rewards. But looking long-term, banks need to think strategically about loosening their credit guidelines. 

American consumers are in a window of relative financial health—if issuers wait too long to make credit more available, they may miss their chance to increase acquisitions before consumers are consumed with a new financial burden.

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