The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is a good option if you want American Airlines perks for a lower annual fee. The card charges a $0 annual fee for the first year (then $99), and you still get a free checked bag and preferred boarding for you and up to four companions.

A proposed legal settlement between Visa, Mastercard and U.S. merchants could soon change how some shoppers pay at checkout.

Meanwhile, the company continues to send a lot of cash back to shareholders. In fiscal 2025, Visa returned $22.8 billion through share repurchases and dividends. The bulk of this capital return was in the form of share repurchases during fiscal 2025. Visa repurchased $18.2 billion worth of its own stock.

Credit card payments move trillions of dollars every year, yet the way those transactions settle has barely changed in decades. A December 2025 report from Amplify ETFs highlights a shift that could change that.

Walmart filed a complaint about the Visa and Mastercard settlement offer saying the proposal did not provide relief to large merchants. Merchants challenging Visa and Mastercard regarding swipe fees on credit card transactions recently complained in writing about the settlement offer made in November.

“If those agents are ultimately going to do autonomous buying, consumers have to trust them,” Klenoff says. “That means standards, governance and layers of security.” Mastercard is already working on what it describes as agentic pay – systems that allow AI agents to transact securely on a consumer’s behalf.

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is one of the best major stocks to invest in right now. Monness Crespi Hardt & Co., Inc. reiterated a Hold rating on Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) on January 5 and set a price target of $525.

With fintechs and legal cases pressuring payment fees, the card companies are leaning more on revenue from other sources.

Dubai, united Arab Emirates: botim money, botim’s financial services arm serving millions of users in the UAE and beyond, announced a strategic collaboration with Mastercard to

Mastercard stock: premium valuation vs strong growth, buybacks, and cash flow. Read here for this updated look at MA and why I remain bullish.