The Importance of Top-of-Wallet Status: Primary Credit Cards Carry Significant Monthly Balances

A new study reveals that consumers have an average balance of more than $1,900 each month on their primary credit cards. The May 2025 report from PYMNTS Intelligence highlights how beneficial it is to credit card issuers for their card to achieve top status in a consumer’s payment preferences. 

Monthly balances are much lower for the other cards in a consumer’s wallet. The second-favorite card a consumer owns has an average balance of approximately $1,200 each month while their third most-used card has an average monthly balance of roughly $900, according to the study.

“The top-of-wallet dynamic becomes stronger when consumers own three or more cards,” the study’s authors said in the report. “These shoppers concentrate their spending on one primary card rather than spread it out more evenly, especially for routine purchases.”

The study also examined how credit card ownership varies by generation. The data disclosed that more than 56% of baby boomers and members of Generation X own three or more cards, but only 42.9% of millennials and 29.3% of Generation Z members own that many.

More than half of baby boomers and members of Generation X said they own three or more credit cards, according to the study.

But that doesn’t mean that credit card issuers don’t have to jockey to be the top payment preference among millennials and Gen Zers. These generations lead the way among all cohorts in the study in terms of having the largest share of members who own two credit cards. More than 32% of millennials and Gen Zers have exactly two cards, the study shared. 

The study also revealed that more than 55% of cardholders who make more than $100,000 annually have three or more cards. But nearly 37% of those who make less than $50,000 per year also own three or more cards, “underscoring that top-of-wallet dynamics matter for all consumer segments,” the study said.

Recent intel from American Express confirms that, on average, Americans own three or four credit cards. With such a wide disparity in balance levels between the cards in a cardholder’s wallet, issuers will need to do more than just work to get their cards in a consumer’s hands. They need to motivate cardholders to use their cards.

Credit card issuers can offer benefits to increase the likelihood that their card will become the primary card in a consumer’s wallet. The PYMNTS Intelligence study examined the reasons that consumers choose a primary card.

More than 48% of consumers in the study said that card rewards or discounts are a priority for them when choosing a primary card. And 31% said rewards and discounts are the single most important factor for them. 

In fact, the “rewards or discounts” category far outpaced other features, including credit limit and interest rate considerations, that spur a cardholder to reach for one particular piece of plastic over another to complete a transaction. 

Issuers can help consumers find the credit card that best suits their spending habits by clearly communicating rewards programs in marketing literature and making it simple for cardholders to redeem points and activate offers. Some issuers even provide online tools that help prospective customers review rewards packages.

If cardholders understand a card’s benefits — and how their spending behaviors can accelerate rewards earnings — they may be more likely to pull that card out of their wallet to complete their next purchase.