Credit card issuers in the US and Canada

Issuer, network, co-brand: who does what

Three different companies are usually involved in a single card, and knowing which is which tells you who to call and whose rules apply:

• The issuer is the bank or financial company that approves you, sets your credit limit and APR, sends your statements and pays out rewards — Chase, Capital One, RBC and so on. This is who you apply to and who activates the card.
• The network — Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover — moves the transaction between the merchant and the issuer and decides where the card is accepted. American Express and Discover also act as issuers for many of their own cards.
• The co-brand partner — an airline, hotel chain or retailer — puts its name on the card and supplies the loyalty programme, but does not usually approve applications.

Types of issuer

• National banks dominate the market and offer the widest range of rewards, travel and business cards, with the largest welcome offers.
• Regional banks can offer relationship pricing and simpler approval for existing customers in their footprint.
• Credit unions are member-owned; their cards often carry lower ongoing APRs and fewer fees, but you must qualify for membership.
• Fintechs use app-first experiences and alternative data such as bank-account history, which can help people with thin credit files.
• Store-card issuers such as Synchrony and Bread Financial run most retailer cards; approval is easier, but APRs are typically high.

Application rules worth knowing

Several large issuers apply informal or published limits on how often you can open new cards — Chase's "5/24" rule, American Express's once-per-lifetime welcome offers and Capital One's spacing between applications are the best known. Each issuer profile below lists the rules we know about. Whatever the issuer, check pre-qualification first: it uses a soft inquiry that does not affect your credit score.