Discover vs. American Express vs. Chase: Which Credit Card Company Is Best?

Are you planning to apply for a new credit card soon?

Most people likely are picking their new plastic based on some combination of annual fee, rewards program and travel perks. And, if you’re not paying your balances in full, APR is the most important consideration.

And while these are all important, perhaps there’s another factor you could add to your analysis: Do existing customers like the service they are receiving from their credit card provider?

Thanks to a recent J.D. Power U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study, we have some data that could be helpful in determining which issuer is best for you.

In this article, I’ll walk you through what the latest data says about Discover, American Express and Chase, as well as some of our favorite credit card choices from each issuer.

Table of Contents

• Discover vs. American Express vs. Chase
• Our Favorite Discover Cards
• Our Favorite American Express Cards
• Our Favorite Chase Cards
• Clark’s Stance on Credit Card Issuers
• About the J.D. Power Study

Discover vs. American Express vs. Chase: Which Is Best in 2023?

Discover, American Express and Chase are not all of the credit card issuers in the United States, but they are some of the most prominently discussed and well-marketed.

And as the newest J.D. Power study reveals, they’re also some of the most well-regarded among their active users.

American Express ranked as the top credit card issuer in overall customer satisfaction in the 2023 study. AmEx scored a 657 on a 1,000-point scale, placing it comfortably ahead of competitors on the index that had an issuer average score of 609.

This is hardly new “news” for American Express. The card issuer has ranked atop this index for four consecutive years, dating back to the 2020 study.

Discover tied with Bank of America to rank second among national card issuers in customer satisfaction in 2023. This is the fourth consecutive year that Discover had at least a share of second place. And Discover previously ranked first in customer satisfaction as recently as 2019.

Chase, which has many of the most recognizable credit cards on the market, ranked slightly below the index average (609) with a 607 score in 2023. That was good for fifth in the rankings.

AmEx Wins Big with Annual Fee Credit Cards

J.D. Power’s 2023 study measured customer satisfaction with cardholders who are paying annual fees for rewards credit cards.

While Discover has long kept customers happy with its menu of no-annual-fee credit cards, American Express appears to have really won over customers with its fee-based rewards credit cards.

American Express did not take the top spot in this index (Bank of America earned top billing with its Premium Rewards Elite card), but it did place three separate cards in the top 4.

Chase, which has two of the travel rewards cards that money expert Clark Howard says are among the best on the market, ranked better than segment average with both of the Sapphire cards measured in this study.

Our Favorite Discover Cards

If you’re considering adding a Discover credit card to your wallet, here are two cards that we often recommend in our “best of” credit card roundups for your consideration:

Discover it® Cash Back

Learn More → This Is the Card for You If: You want a card with 5% cash back upside for rotating categories, a strong welcome bonus and no annual fee to complement the everyday spender in your wallet. Annual Fee: $0.00 Foreign Transaction Fee: None Bonus Offer: Unlimited dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year. Rewards Program Details: 5% Cash Back: Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like Amazon.com, grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. The eligible purchase categories rotate every three months. 1% Cash Back: Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.

Discover it® Miles

Learn More → This Is the Card for You If: You want a no-annual-fee card that produces a consistent travel reward on everyday purchases and has a nice welcome bonus. Annual Fee: $0.00 Foreign Transaction Fee: None Bonus Offer: Discover automatically matches all the Miles you earn at the end of your first year. Example: 35,000 Miles becomes 70,000 Miles, which is $700 all for you. Rewards Program Details: 1.5xMiles on every dollar of every purchase. There’s no limit to how many Miles you can earn. Then redeem for cash, or as a statement credit towards a travel purchase.

Our Favorite American Express Cards

If you’re considering adding an American Express credit card to your wallet, here are two cards that we often recommend in our “best of” credit card roundups for your consideration:

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

card_name This Is the Card for You If: You do your grocery shopping at a U.S. supermarket or are an avid TV streamer. Terms apply. Annual Fee: $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95. (See Rates & Fees) Foreign Transaction Fee: 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars. Bonus Offer: Earn a $250 statement credit Bonus Offer Disclaimer: after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months. Rewards Program Details: 6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%). 6% Cash Back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions. 3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations. 3% Cash Back on transit (including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more). 1% Cash Back on other purchases.

The Platinum Card® from American Express

card_name This Is the Card for You If: You are a high-volume traveler who will get more benefit out of the long list of perks, which includes airport lounge access, than the annual fee will cost you. Terms apply. Annual Fee: $695 (See Rates & Fees) Foreign Transaction Fee: None Bonus Offer: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points Bonus Offer Disclaimer: after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Rewards Program Details: Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.

Our Favorite Chase Cards

If you’re considering adding a Chase credit card to your wallet, here are two cards that we often recommend in our “best of” credit card roundups for your consideration:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

card_name This Is the Card for You If: You are looking for a travel rewards card with a modest annual fee that has bonus rewards for popular spending categories. Annual Fee: $95 Foreign Transaction Fee: $0 Bonus Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points Bonus Offer Disclaimer: after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠. Rewards Program Details: Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.

Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card

card_name This Is the Card for You If: You are a high-volume traveler who will earn the $300 annual travel credit and can maximize the value of rewards points by using Chase Travel to book travel. Annual Fee: $550 Foreign Transaction Fee: $0 Bonus Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points Bonus Offer Disclaimer: after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠. Rewards Program Details: Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

Clark’s Stance on Credit Card Issuers

Money expert Clark Howard believes that credit cards should be measured first and foremost on the benefits they provide the consumer, not necessarily the issuer behind them.

If you’re carrying a balance on your credit card: Clark believes that securing a fixed rate APR that helps you keep your interest costs low should take priority over anything else an issuer offers you. That’s why he often recommends no-fee, low-APR cards from credit unions for this type of spending.

If you’re paying your balances in full: Clark believes that you should first look to secure a steady rate of cash back on every purchase you make. Oftentimes, that can best be accomplished with a 2% cash back card like the Citi® Double Cash Card.

In most cases, the financial institution behind issuing the card is secondary to these factors.

That’s not to say that things like a user-friendly app and great customer service aren’t valued, though.

When discussing a credit card that is not backed by one of the traditional lenders, Clark explained his stance on taking a card from a lesser-known card issuer this way:

“As a customer, it makes no difference to me if it’s a large issuer, a small issuer or someone in between,” Clark says. “It could only become a problem if you have an issue, such as disputing a charge, and they don’t have enough personnel to handle it. The only way to know is with time. That will tell you what kind of customer service experience people have.”

About the J.D. Power Study

The following information was provided by J.D. Power to help you better understand how the index scores were assigned:

“The U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study, now in its 17th year, was redesigned for 2023.

It measures customer satisfaction with credit card issuers by examining seven factors (in alphabetical order):

• Account management
• Benefits
• Customer service
• New account
• Rewards earning
• Rewards redeeming
• Terms

The study includes responses from 31,418 credit card customers and was fielded from August 2022 through June 2023.”

To see the rates and fees for the American Express cards featured, please visit the following links: Platinum Card® from American Express: See rates and fees. Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express: See Rates and Fees.