If you can believe it, we’re now halfway through 2026. Maybe that’s hard to fathom given everything going on in the world — and by that, we mean all the things in personal finance, travel, and money that have just gotten worse. In the spirited tradition of the Joe, we call out some below-Average behavior in the industry.
Shame shortlist: Blame the K-shaped economy, corporate greed, or whatever bogeyman you want, but there’s been no shortage of so-called ‘enshittification’ this year. Some in the r/CreditCards community are even coining 2026 “The year of devaluations.” We’ve summarized the industry trend to mark the midway point of the year.
- (Not worth the) Chase: The credit giant ****continued to worsen its Ultimate Rewards (UR) ecosystem — especially for Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders.
- United rejigged its entire MileagePlus program to incentivize having its own co-branded card; if you don’t have one, you’re earning fewer points as a result.
- Citi, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo all bid farewell to attractive cash back credit card products in the last few months.
- Robinhood previewed a ‘premium not-so-premium credit card that ended up being a big miss, and added foreign transaction fees (FTFs) to its industry-leading Gold Card.
- Bank of America’s refreshed Preferred Rewards program went live at the end of May, with lower bonus rewards and higher eligibility requirements.
- Devaluation station was alive and well, as Aeroplan, Hyatt, and Alaska all ****made changes that worsened award redemptions or status.
It’s Not All Bad, Though
It’s not all losses. If we’re going to complain, it’s only fair to give credit where it’s due.
- New data shows Gen Z helped push the number of Americans with “super-prime credit scores above 780” up by over 15M in the last six years.
- Discover is offering 5% cash back this quarter on flights — helpful when airfare is this expensive; just note the lack of travel insurance.
- Amex just beefed up the case for having a Delta co-branded card with a new second bag fee credit and a $10/mo rideshare credit — with no annual fee increase.
- Bilt debuted its new cards and expanded its popular program — which helped Alaska/Hawaiian flyers earn points and status — to a second program: Air France/KLM.
Plus, friendly reminders: After celebrating this extended weekend, now might be a good time to check in on your budget and spending this year and see if the most important 2026 resolution you made **is on track. And when you’ve done that, maybe make a plan for all those points sitting around — that aren’t getting any more valuable, obviously.
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