What are Card Issuers?

Credit card issuers are the financial institutions responsible for the shiny credit cards sitting in your wallet and all the great rewards they offer. There are hundreds of issuers throughout the world. These types of institutions include banks (ex. Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo), credit unions (ex. Federal Credit Union, Gulf Coast Credit Union), and other types of lenders (Capital One, Discover) which range in size from local to international.

Card issuers handle virtually all aspects of the credit card including the approval (or denial) or credit card applications, establishment of terms and conditions, and determining the fees, signup bonuses, and rewards structures. Aside from being responsible for issuing the card, card issuers handle customer-facing issues such as collecting payments and providing customer service. Card issuers work closely with credit card payment networks like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover – the intermediaries to facilitate payment between bank and merchant –  but they are not the same thing.

Store Credit Cards & More: Co-Branded Credit Cards

Nowadays, it’s quite common to find a retailer or brand offering credit cards with their namesake. These cards tout retailer-specific perks and are splashed with their company’s logo and branding – but the retailers themselves are not the card issuer. These fun credit cards are known as co-branded credit cards and are the result of a retailer and a bank (or other financial institution with lending capabilities) partnering together.

Airlines were actually one of the first industries to do this back in the 1980s. Since then, American Express, Delta, JetBlue, and many other airlines have partnered with existing credit issuers to create some of the most popular rewards cards in the industry. This partnership enables airlines to offer their customers direct rewards and other merchant-specific perks while relying on the existing infrastructure of a financial institution to offer and maintain a line of credit.

How To Determine the Card Issuer of a Co-Branded Card

Determining the card issuer of credit is normally a very straightforward process as the name of the issuer is usually included in the name of the actual card itself. However, this becomes a bit trickier with co-branded cards, which usually have the brand’s name instead. While identifying the card issuer may require some sleuthing, it’s not difficult. You’ll be able to find it on the official page of any credit card and if in doubt, it should always be present at the bottom of the terms and conditions.

Browse Airline Card Issuers

Credit cards are issued by banks and other types of financial institutions, and airline rewards cards are no exception. Explore airline credit cards from the biggest card issuers in the United States, and across the world, with in-depth reviews from AirlineCards.com. We’ve sorted them into easy-to-find categories to make your decision easier:

American Express Airline Credit Cards
Bank of America Airline Credit Cards
Barclays Airline Credit Cards
Chase Airline Credit Cards
Citibank Airline Credit Cards
U.S. Bank Airline Credit Cards