US credit card companies are reducing access to credit: New credit-card account openings across 4 major US lenders dropped -5% YoY in Q2 2025. American Express led the decline with a -200,000, or -6%, drop in new accounts Openings at Wells Fargo and Bank of America declined by -34,000 and -117,000, respectively. This comes as financial institutions are raising qualification requirements for lower-end customers who pose a higher risk of missing payments. Additionally, more banks have tightened than eased credit-card approval standards this year, per the Fed’s Senior Loan Officer Survey. In April, over 87% of card-related mail offers were only sent to consumers who already had met specific credit criteria, the highest share in ~3 years. Credit card access is tightening.(The Kobeissi Letter)