Consumer alert: Senators trying to cram anti-points and miles legislation into pending bill

Bad news for fans of points and miles: Some U.S. senators are trying to push the Credit Card Competition Act as a "poison pill" amendment in pending legislation that's up for a vote in Congress.

Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas, filed an amendment last week on behalf of himself and Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, to add the CCCA to the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation in U.S. Stablecoins Act.

The GENIUS Act has received bipartisan support, and initially, it seemed likely to pass the Senate with more than the key threshold of 60 votes. Proponents of the legislation claim it would allow for better regulation of the cryptocurrency market and provide more stability in digital currency markets overall.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is allowing amendments to the bill, which opens up the possibility of the CCCA getting attached to the bill if senators vote to approve the addition. However, at least one senator has said he will withdraw his previous support for the GENIUS Act if the CCCA does end up being attached.

"If it were to be adopted in GENIUS, I would withdraw my support on the Senate floor," said Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, according to the Washington Reporter.

And several other senators are calling for a "clean" GENIUS Act vote without amendments.

They include Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming and Senator Bill Hagerty, a Republican from Tennessee.

Vice President JD Vance is also demanding a "clean" vote without the CCCA attached legislation.

Unfortunately, if Marshall and Durbin are successful and the Senate votes to approve the amendment, the CCCA will be added to the bill. This would force senators to choose between voting against otherwise popular legislation to avoid passage of the controversial amendment or allowing the full bill to pass and dealing with the CCCA's consequences.

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Tell Congress not to take away your credit card rewards: Protect Your Points

"This is a political favor to [the bill's] supporters' largest campaign donors," said Richard Hunt, executive chairman of the Electronic Payments Coalition.

The Electronic Payments Coalition is a trade association representing credit unions, community banks and payment card networks.

"This bill has never been through a relevant committee, never been debated, and was never even reintroduced this Congress," Hunt said. "Unlike the sponsors of the GENIUS Act, the sponsors of Durbin-Marshall [the Credit Card Competition Act] have not done their due diligence."

TPG is strongly opposed to the CCCA because we believe it would destroy the consumer-friendly benefits of credit cards.

What is the Credit Card Competition Act?

The CCCA puts price controls on interchange fees and could virtually eliminate the lucrative sign-up bonuses and points-earning ability for many bank, airline and hotel credit cards.

When similar legislation was passed on debit cards in 2010, consumers were promised lower prices on goods and services because smaller debit card transaction fees would be passed on to consumers in the form of lower prices. That didn't happen. Instead, points-earning and sign-up bonuses on those cards disappeared, and prices increased.

A study by the International Center for Law and Economics estimated that the cap on interchange fees for debit transactions hit large banks' annual revenues to the tune of $6.6 to $8 billion. This loss in revenue directly contributed to the reduction in free checking accounts and rewards programs.

The Electronics Payments Coalition told TPG that "the Durbin-Marshall bill lets corporate mega-stores like Walmart, Target and Home Depot choose the cheapest credit card processing option — without considering consumer security or benefits."

The Electronic Payments Coalition also points out:

• This bill could force transactions onto unproven networks, weakening fraud protections and raising costs for businesses and consumers.
• It threatens credit card rewards, including cash back benefits that help consumers fight inflation and benefit small businesses.
• Small businesses could face higher costs and fewer benefits from accepting card payments.

Research shows that this bill could also cause an economic slowdown for the U.S., costing $227 billion in lost economic activity and approximately 156,000 in lost jobs.

A University of Miami study found that the CCCA would significantly reduce revenue for community banks and credit unions while also curtailing access to credit and banking services in smaller markets across the country, disproportionately affecting rural and low-income families.

As a company founded partly on the principle of using credit card rewards programs to help save money on travel, TPG is among the many organizations with a vested interest in this cause.

A diverse and wide-ranging set of organizations and industries, including labor unions, small-business owners, financial institutions (such as credit unions and community banks) across all 50 states, policy institutes, trade associations, think tanks and airlines, strongly oppose the legislation.

How to help protect Your points

While we do partner with major credit card issuers at TPG, our staff members and millions of our readers have seen firsthand how rewards programs can unlock travel that would be otherwise out of reach. By making travel more accessible, we help our readers broaden their horizons, open their minds and experience different cultures — all of which would be jeopardized if the CCCA were allowed to pass as an amendment to the GENIUS Act.

"This would be disastrous for consumers," TPG founder Brian Kelly said. "... [They] would lose out on rewards, purchase protections and fraud protections, while retailers would add to their bottom line."

In partnership with the Electronic Payments Coalition, TPG has launched Protect Your Points, an advocacy platform for TPG readers to express opposition to the bill to their local representatives and senators.

Click on this link to submit a quick form. Please take 30 seconds today to tell your senator to vote against the CCCA amendment to the GENIUS Act.

Related reading:

• What's the difference between a credit card network and an issuer?
• Complete guide to credit card annual fees
• New ruling means some credit card rewards may occasionally be taxable — but don't panic
• Where have all the rewards debit cards gone?
• TPG's 10 commandments of credit card rewards