The news: The outcome of the midterms could have sweeping consequences for credit card rewards.

If Democrats take control of the House and the Senate, they could use voter anger with rising prices to revive the Credit Card Competition Act—a bill that has had slim bipartisan support in the past but has never made it to a floor vote. President Trump has expressed his support for the bill.

How we got here: The Credit Card Competition Act is designed to lower swipe fees by forcing more card network competition.

The bill would force issuers with over $100 billion in assets to provide multiple payment network options for processing credit card transactions.

The Electronic Payments Association and other financial lobbyists have spent roughly $165 million since 2023 lobbying against the CCCA across direct lobbying, ads, and other activities, per Demand Progress.  

For its part, the National Retail Federation has spent $31.3 million in direct lobbying dollars since 2023, though not all of those funds may have been for the CCCA.

Why this matters: Credit card rewards are supported by swipe fees—and those rewards drive spend and loyalty.

• Rewards cards made up 92% of general purpose card spending in 2023 and 2024, per a December 2025 CFPB report.
• And use of rewards cards is growing: Consumers earned $47.5 billion in rewards in 2024, nearly double the amount earned in 2020.

Implications for issuers: The passage of the Credit Card Competition Act could weaken the economics of card rewards. While annual fees and revolving interest on balances could help fund premium rewards programs, the loss of swipe fees revenue could cause a major shortfall: Swipe fees for credit and debit cards totaled $198.25 billion in 2025, per Nilson Report data cited by the Merchant Payments Coalition.

With cash back and miles threatened by the CCCA, issuers may double down on experiences for their cardholders. This will make strategic partnerships with sporting leagues, musical artists, and venues even more important. As long as issuers can act as brokers of exclusive, memory-making experiences, cardholders may be able to overlook the lack of monetary rewards.

But even if Democrats take both chambers of Congress, the bill is hardly a fait accompli. The CCCA’s biggest champion, Sen. Dick Durbin, is not running for reelection, and incumbent GOP Sen. Roger Marshall, who cosponsored the bill in the Senate, is neck and neck with Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton.

This content is part of EMARKETER’s subscription Briefings, where we pair daily updates with data and analysis from forecasts and research reports. Our Briefings prepare you to start your day informed, to provide critical insights in an important meeting, and to understand the context of what’s happening in your industry. Non-clients can click here to get a demo of our full platform and coverage.