Capital One (Capital One Financial Corp.)
Capital One is a relatively young bank, having been founded just a few decades ago in 1994. It started issuing credit cards almost immediately, and has grown steadily since then.
Nowadays, Capital One is ranked as the fourth-largest credit card issuer by purchase volume. But it comes in second on credit card lists when it comes to the number of cards in circulation.
See our list of Best Capital One credit cards.
Popular Capital One cards we've reviewed:
Why we like them: There's a reason so many people have Capital One cards, and it's not only because they're easier to get (though Capital One does offer many cards for people who need to build credit). They also have a variety of quality rewards cards, including competitive options for travel rewards and cards for everyday rewards.
Chase (JPMorgan Chase & Co.)
Chase has been around in one way or another since 1799 when it was founded as the Bank of The Manhattan Company. Through many mergers, it eventually became JPMorgan Chase, called Chase for short.
Chase is arguably the top credit card issuer in the U.S., both in terms of purchase volume and card volume. Chase holds the largest share of the market in purchases, and comes in first for the number of cards.
See our list of Best Chase credit cards.
Popular Chase cards we've reviewed:
Why we like them: Chase really excels when it comes to rewards. Its Ultimate Rewards points program is one of the best around. You can also get great benefits with nearly every Chase card, including top-tier travel insurance.
Citi (Citigroup Inc.)
Citi can trace its roots back to the early 1800s and the City Bank of New York. It became Citigroup, called Citi by most, in 1998. The company entered the credit card market in the 1960s, with a card known colloquially as the "Everything Card."
The modern Citi reigns as No. 3 of the top credit card issuers in the U.S., ranked third in both purchase volume and by the number of cards in circulation.
See our list of Best Citi credit cards.
Popular Citi cards we've reviewed:
Why we like them: Citi has a wide variety of cards, making it easy to find one to suit your needs. It has one of the top rewards programs with their transferable ThankYou Points. You can also find unique cash back cards with long intro 0% APR deals.
Discover (Discover Financial Services)
Discover was born as a branch of Sears -- yes, the department store -- during an attempt to enter the financial industry. It was spun off, sold, and eventually became Discover Financial Services. Many credit Discover as the inventor of the rewards credit card. Discover is both an issuer and its own credit card network.
Discover comes in fourth overall of top credit card companies when it comes to the number of cards in circulation. But it only ranks sixth for market share by purchase volume.
See our list of Best Discover credit cards.
Popular Discover cards we've reviewed:
Why we like them: Discover's stable of cards have a lot of great features. For one, all of them have rewards -- even its secured card. Discover cards are also light on fees, with no annual fees or foreign transaction fees on any of its cards.
Synchrony (Synchrony Financial)
Synchrony originated as the GE Capital Retail Bank roughly 90 years ago, becoming Synchrony Financial in 2014. Most people who hold a card issued by Synchrony may not even realize it, as the company deals almost exclusively in cobranded retail credit cards. Dozens of popular retail brands have store credit cards issued by Synchrony. But the bank keeps its own branding minimal.
Synchrony holds the smallest portion of the market of the issuers on this list, coming in 10th in purchase volume. This makes sense with so much of its portfolio consisting of typically low-limit store cards.
Popular Synchrony cards we've reviewed:
Why we like them: If you have a store card, there's a good chance it was issued by Synchrony. And as much as we may caution against store cards, they definitely have their place.
U.S. Bank (U.S. Bancorp)
U.S. Bank started out on the West Coast as the United States National Bank of Portland in 1891. Several mergers later, it became U.S. Bancorp, also called U.S. Bank. The bank hasn't been issuing credit cards for long, though it now has both bank-branded and cobranded options.
All in all, U.S. Bank has a relatively small portion of the market share. It comes in seventh for card volume, and it's only ranked seventh for percentage of purchase volume.
See our list of Best U.S. Bank credit cards.
Popular U.S. Bank cards we've reviewed:
Why we like them: U.S. Bank has several interesting cards that stand out from the typical offerings. It has one of the few choose-your-own rewards cards on the market, and even includes unusual bonus categories like home utilities and fitness centers.
Wells Fargo (Wells Fargo & Co.)
Wells Fargo is a child of the California Gold Rush and once served as the western arm of the Pony Express. It got into more traditional banking in the 1920s, and credit cards toward the end of the century.
Wells Fargo currently holds a modest portion of the market share, ranked seventh overall for card volume and eighth for purchase volume.
See our list of Best Wells Fargo credit cards.
Popular Wells Fargo cards we've reviewed:
Why we like them: Wells Fargo underwent a major overhaul of its credit cards -- and we're fans. Its current offerings include a strong cash back card and an intro APR card with a very generous 0% intro APR term.
Lesser-known or regional credit card issuers
The bulk of the credit cards in the U.S. may be from just 10 issuers. But the rest are issued by lesser-known companies, including regional banks and credit unions. This is definitely not a complete list, but here are some smaller issuers you may encounter:
- Fifth Third Bank
- Goldman Sachs
- HSBC
- Huntington Bank
- Navy Federal Credit Union
- Pentagon Federal Credit Union
- PNC Bank
- Truist (a merger of BB&T and SunTrust)
- USAA
- World Financial Network National Bank (aka Comenity)
If you're not sure which company issues your credit card, you can check your cardholder agreement. You can also look up the card's website and check the fine print at the bottom of the page or in the terms and conditions.
Fact Checked
Nathan Alderman
