From Citi shutting down Custom Cash to Chase launching a “Best Points Offer Ever” campaign, Andrew Davidson breaks down the latest news in the financial services industry. He also discusses Amex and Delta refreshing the card lineup, USAA launching two new Eagle Cards, and BMO U.S. launching DollarGPS.
Want to discover more of Andrew’s cutting-edge insights on financial products, marketing strategies, and industry innovations? Follow him on LinkedIn, or listen to him as the host of Mintel’s Little Conversation podcast.
Here are the 5 things you need to know:
1. Citi Shuts Down Custom Cash
According to NerdWallet, Citi has confirmed it is no longer accepting applications for Custom Cash, and the card has been removed from Citi’s website.
Custom Cash was unique because it offered ADAPTIVE CASH BACK, automatically giving cardholders 5% back on their top eligible spend category each billing cycle, hence the tagline: “A card that adapts to the way you live.” 👉
According to the NerdWallet article, existing card members are not impacted and can continue using the card.
Source: NerdWallet, Comperemedia Omni [01/01/2026 – 05/31/2026] as of 06/10/2026
💡 Is this the end of adaptive cash back?
- The economics likely weren’t working. Custom Cash launched in 2021 and lasted just five years. In contrast, Citi’s Double Cash has endured since 2014. We don’t know Citi’s internal reasoning, but the rewards cap may have limited its appeal as a primary card. Whether that was the issue here, we simply don’t know, but the tension between generous rewards and sustainable unit economics is one the whole industry is grappling with.
- Citi was part of an emerging wave. When Citi launched Custom Cash, adaptive cash back was already gaining momentum. Venmo had launched its own adaptive card with Synchrony and fintech HMBradley had also launched. Citi brought the concept to a much wider audience and demonstrated that mainstream demand for the idea was real.
- The idea is still very much alive. Five years on, Venmo’s adaptive card is the only consumer product left standing, while some issuers have embraced the adaptive concept on the business side with points-based loyalty programs. Last year CIBC launched the Adapta Card, claiming to be the only adaptive card in Canada. Adaptive points/cash earn is clearly a great idea for consumers and small business owners who don’t want to have to figure out their rewards. The question isn’t whether adaptive cash back has a future. It’s who has the business model to make it work.
2. Chase Launches “Best Points Offer Ever” Campaign
Last June, we entered a new wave of premium with the Chase Sapphire Reserve refresh, Citi Strata Elite launch and Amex Platinum refresh dominating card strategy conversations across the country.
A year on, Chase is upping the ante once again for Sapphire Reserve, launching an omnichannel campaign featuring the card’s “best points offer ever” of 150K for a limited time, a campaign aligned with the upcoming World Cup, and a Sapphire Reserve for Business campaign featuring Tom Holland (Spider-Man and founder of BERO).
Source: Comperemedia Omni [04/01/2026 – 05/31/2026] as of 06/10/2026
💡Another summer of premium.
- Let the value wars commence! Chase has increased the sign-on bonus to 150K points after spending $6K in purchases in the first 3 months. Combined with existing benefits, Chase is now claiming $6,000 in first-year value for a $795 annual fee, significantly higher than Amex claims for the Platinum on its website ($3,500, without the sign-on bonus). Next move, Amex.
- Chase plays the Visa card. Chase has leaned into its Visa relationship to deliver a genuinely unique experience for Sapphire Reserve cardholders. In July, select cardholders will have dinner on the pitch at two World Cup venues, Levi’s Stadium and MetLife Stadium (both temporarily renamed by FIFA for the tournament), with the latter hosting the 2026 World Cup Final. This is something Amex can’t replicate, and shows exactly how premium cards are competing on experience, not just benefits.
- World Cup ad misses the mark (IMO). As a soccer fan (yes we can say soccer) the ad featuring Juno Temple, Myles Garrett and Chloe Kim doesn’t land for me. “Think of cards in football as the opposite to your Sapphire Reserve card”😕. I understand it’s not targeted at me, but leaning into the stereotype of Americans not understanding soccer feels tone-deaf when 27% of Americans follow the sport, and those are precisely the people who’ll be watching the World Cup this summer.
3. Amex and Delta Refresh the Card Lineup
Amex and Delta announced a value update to the Delta card lineup with NO INCREASE IN THE ANNUAL FEES to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Delta-Amex partnership.
The changes:
- Free 2nd checked bag for Gold, Platinum, Reserve & Business
- $120 rideshare credit extended to Gold and Business upon RENEWAL
- New card designs
- New welcome offers from 70K bonus miles to 125K depending on the card
Source: American Express, Instagram
💡Here’s what card marketers need to know
- Checked bag wars. American doesn’t offer a second free bag on any of its cards. United’s Quest ($350) has offered two bags for a while and covers the second bag for the cardholder and a companion. However, Delta just brought the second bag benefit down to the Gold card at $150 a year, the same price as United’s Explorer, which only covers one bag. Delta’s research backs the move: nearly two-thirds of travelers spend more time deciding what to pack than planning their actual trip, and 41% of small business travelers say they’d pack more if a second bag were free. Delta and Amex have identified a pain point and a way to differentiate until the competition catches up. Next move, American.
- Planned enhancements or reaction? Did Amex and Delta plan this in advance or did competitive pressure create the need for a value injection? We don’t know. But the brands that win long-term are those that enhance value before cardholders start churning, not in response to it. Whatever the backstory, this lands like it was planned: summer timing, original consumer research, a design refresh, and an anniversary narrative that makes the upgrade feel like a celebration rather than a catch-up. The question every card marketer should be asking right now is: what is our next planned value enhancement and what is the milestone we are building it around?
4. USAA Launches Two New Eagle Cards
USAA has quietly launched two new credit cards for members on its website as it reveals a new strategy to build out its Eagle sub-brand. The cards are currently shown as additive to the current lineup but the inference is that some of the other non-Eagle options could be phased out.
Eagle Adapt (for everyday spenders)
- 3% cash back on the first $3K of spend each quarter across a broad range of categories including groceries, dining, gas and travel
- 1% on other spend
- $200 sign-on bonus
- 0% intro APR for 15 months
- No annual fee
Eagle Ascend (for building credit)
- 2% cash back on the top spend category each month
- 1% on other purchases
- Walmart+ statement credit ($98)
- Credit line increase review
- Automatic late fee waiver every 12 months
- No annual fee
💡We have an Eagle and we are going to use it!
- Adapt’s unique cash back structure. Unlike competitors that cap rewards by category, Adapt pools 3% across a broad range of everyday categories, meaning cardholders reach the threshold faster without tracking where their money goes. For USAA members spending $12K per year or less, this could be the best no-annual-fee cash back card available. The quarterly cap only becomes a factor for higher spenders. The category list likely reflects the underlying economics, but with coverage this broad, the simpler message would be to drop the category designation entirely.
- Ascend stands out in credit building. Ascend layers in automatic rewards, a Walmart+ credit worth $98, and a built-in late fee waiver offering significant value in the credit building segment. Notably, competitor Navy Federal Credit Union offers a Walmart+ credit in targeted offers, but on a mainstream rewards card. Putting it on a credit-building product is new territory, and it’s aimed squarely at the demographic that gets the most value from it.
- The Eagle takes flight. With Eagle Navigator already in market, the addition of Adapt and Ascend signals that USAA is building a coherent product architecture under the Eagle brand with one card for travelers, one for everyday spenders, one for credit builders. The older non-Eagle cards may not be on the lineup for long.
5. BMO U.S. Launches DollarGPS
BMO U.S. launched DollarGPS, a co-branded financial navigation app developed by MSN Holding Limited.
- The pitch: apply Asset Liability Management modeling (used by governments and global corporations) to everyday consumer financial decisions
- Think less Mint, more institutional-grade financial modeling in your pocket
- The academic board includes two Nobel Laureates, two other heavyweight quants, and a former Goldman Sachs risk manager
💡Bold or risky?
- Nobel Laureate marketing. Take that J.D. Power! Leveraging Nobel Laureates is almost certainly a financial services marketing first for a consumer app. The two laureates are Alvin Roth (2012, market design) and Robert Merton (1997, derivatives pricing). Both are legitimately eminent. Merton won his Nobel for derivatives pricing and was also on the board of Long-Term Capital Management when it collapsed in 1998. Make of that what you will.
- Product vs. branding disconnect. The product genuinely seems useful by giving consumers a clearer view of how their financial decisions play out over time. On the branding side, “Dollar” skews downmarket in the US consumer psyche and GPS is a pre-smartphone term. None of this means the product doesn’t work but for an app positioning itself as institutional-grade and sophisticated, the branding sends the opposite signal.
- Bold strategy or reputational risk? BMO put their name on a product built by a company with almost no public footprint, which is unusual for a large regulated bank. But sometimes the boldest move is betting early on something nobody else has validated yet. Mint is gone, the gap in the market is real, the subscription model is clean, and the methodology is serious. If BMO commits to driving adoption, this could be something worth watching.
