I spend a lot of time on this newsletter discussing new products and innovations in credit and debit cards, but it’s been a while since we touched on credit card marketing.

A market of credit cards

Credit card marketing is a massive space. Major financial services companies spend tens of billions of dollars every year promoting their products. Online marketing, particularly through affiliate channels, is a relatively small slice of that pie, but it still represents more than a billion dollars in annual spending by major banks and fintechs.

Sites like Bankrate, NerdWallet, Credit Karma, The Points Guy, and others dominate the industry. These credit card marketplaces have become increasingly consolidated (with players like Red Ventures owning several of the big names), more expensive to access, and much harder for smaller issuers to break into.

The cost of credit card acquisition is very high. In addition to paying card marketplaces directly for placements, issuers also have to pay for sign-up bonuses (which can be worth hundreds or even over a thousand dollars). Think about:

• 100,000-point welcome offers on the Amex Platinum
• 25,000 points on a Chase Freedom
• $500 cashback offers

All those promos cost real money—and that’s before accounting for paid distribution. Prime cards typically cost north of $250 cost per acquisition (CPA). On the lower end, subprime or secured cards might come in around $20 CPA, with everything else falling somewhere in between. An Amex Platinum might cost $350 CPA, plus a 100,000 point bonus (worth $1,000) leading to a direct CPA to Amex of $1,350, not including broader marketing spend.

Many new credit card startups I talk to or work with initially think: “Let’s go get featured on Credit Karma or The Points Guy.” But they’re often disappointed to find that these sites won’t touch them. Why?

These platforms think carefully about how to distribute each click because there’s a limited amount of traffic. If you have one user ready to apply, you’re going to send them to the product that’s:

1. Most likely to approve them
2. Will pay you the most
3. Comes from a known partner

If you’re running monetization at Bankrate or NerdWallet, you’re probably better off sending that click to Chase—a reliable, high-volume, high-payout partner—than to a new, unknown issuer.

When I was Chief Product Officer at Bankrate, we had a complex algorithm to optimize for revenue per click. For example:

• Amex would need to pay more than Chase because their underwriting is tighter and their approval rates are lower.
• Discover might also need to pay more because their brand perception isn’t as strong, which affects conversion. (No offense!)

That’s the crux of this market: it’s not just about a user wanting a card. They also worry about getting approved, and that friction creates an impact.

Coming from a pure search experience, like landing on CreditCards.com and applying, approval rates can be under 20%. However, with pre-qualification or direct offers, those rates can jump to 60–80%. That’s a huge difference.

So the challenge becomes: How do I get the right customer in front of the right offer at the right time? And how do I do that with limited data, uncertain credit risk, and competitive pressure?

It’s a fascinating subsector of affiliate marketing. Unlike sketchier spaces (I’m looking at you, miracle health supplements), credit card affiliate marketing is highly regulated. Banks have to ensure that their marketing partners present offers correctly and clearly, and marketplaces are subject to rigorous compliance reviews. So, while it’s expensive, it’s also legit.

If you’re curious to go deeper into this space—or you’re thinking about launching a card and want to understand the landscape—I recommend checking out CardCon in Fort Lauderdale this May. We at Totavi have participated before and found it a great place to meet the key players, learn how the affiliate network works, and hear directly from authors and product folks shaping the industry.

CardCon, which started in 2017, is now expanding to all financial affiliates and is May 6-8 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. CardCon features presentations on credit cards, other consumer financial products, and affiliate marketing. CardCon tickets are $500 for content creators and $800 for other industry members. As a reader, you can save $50 with code “CardsFTW”.

Finally, a reminder: affiliate marketing isn’t the only lever in credit card growth. You can also go direct via social media, outreach, partnerships, and pre-qual campaigns. It's not a silver bullet, but it’s powerful when used right. It’s just one tool in the box.

Porter Airlines New Rewards Card

Porter Airlines is Canada’s third-largest commercial airline. The company announced its new Mastercard credit card for Canadian residents, issued by BMO. In many respects, these cards look pretty typical of rewards cards in Canada (and elsewhere), with accelerated earning rates on Porter flights, travel, gas, and groceries, as well as a base earning level. Under the hood, these cards have a lot of features and seem very complicated. There are 27 footnotes on the card information page. That’s a lot. There are all these complex flight discounts that could take a degree in card rewards to figure out.

Cute card!

I was intrigued initially by the press release mentioning “automatic” status, which I thought could be interesting, but it just appears to be spinning the fact that they’ll enroll you in the frequent flier program (don’t all cards?). Then I was interested in “hotel burglary insurance,” which seemed unique, but footnote #13 simply said:

Insurance benefits are subject to specific terms and conditions, including limitations, exclusions and other important information contained in the Certificate of Insurance that is sent to new cardholders. Insurance coverages are provided by CUMIS General Insurance Company, a member of The Co-operators group of companies and administered by Allianz Global Assistance. Allianz Global Assistance is a registered business name of AZGA Service Canada Inc. and AZGA Insurance Agency Canada Ltd. For questions contact Allianz Global Assistance Canada at 1-877-704-0341 or visit www.allianz-assistance.ca.

So, who knows what is covered?

I am less familiar with the Canadian market, but call me disappointed. I went from, “Oh, what’s new here?” to, “Wow, this is classic banking: long, complicated, and probably not as good as it seems.” Oh, well. At least the card’s cute.

Me, Elsewhere

Earlier today I was on Jason Mikula's Fintech Business Weekly talking about credit cards (of course). Find the full episode below.

Interview: CardsFTW Publisher & Totavi Founder Matthew Goldman

Listen now | Where fintech debit and credit programs are heading in 2025

Fintech Business Weekly •Jason Mikula

CardsFTW

CardsFTW, released weekly on Wednesdays, offers insights and analysis on new credit and debit card industry products for consumers and providers. CardsFTW is authored and published by Matthew Goldman and the team at Totavi, a boutique consulting firm specializing in fintech product management & marketing. We bring real operational experience that varies from the earliest days of a startup to high-growth phases and public company leadership. Visit www.totavi.com to learn more.

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*Indicates a company with which Totavi has a financial relationship.