The Rising Price of Eggs Presents Credit Card Issuers with an Opportunity to Help Consumers

The price of eggs continues to rise across the U.S. as the nation’s farmers battle chicken shortages due to a strain of bird flu that has heavily impacted the poultry industry. According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the average price in the U.S. of a dozen Grade A large eggs at the end of January was $4.95. That figure is nearly twice as much as the average cost of the same type of eggs at the end of January 2024: $2.52.

Inflation soared in the early 2020s, reaching 7% in 2021, the highest in recent decades, and consumers in the U.S. are still contending with rising prices for goods and services. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased at a greater rate in January 2025 than it did in any of the preceding 12 months. 

But egg prices have far outpaced inflation in recent months, creating a conundrum for consumers who rely on eggs as a staple of their daily diet. Average wholesale prices for a dozen white shell eggs reached $8 in mid-February, the highest ever recorded, according to Expana, a commodity price information service. 

Consumers are also feeling the pain of egg price increases at dining establishments. The restaurant chain Waffle House has imposed a surcharge of $.50 on each egg it sells to help the popular breakfast spot cover its expenses in the face of the egg-price crisis.

The rising costs of eggs may feel like one in a long list of strikes against consumers who are having difficulties affording the costs of groceries and utilities in 2025. But American consumers aren’t the only group dealing with challenges in today’s economy. If you’re a credit card issuer in the U.S. today, then you’ve probably felt a bit like a punching bag over the past few months.

Consumers who are struggling to keep pace with the rising costs of services and goods — including eggs — can turn to credit cards, which allow cardholders to buy something now and pay for it later.

But more Americans have been lax of late in tending to the latter part of that arrangement. 

Balances on credit cards grew by $45 billion during 2024’s fourth quarter to reach $1.21 trillion by the end of the year, per a Federal Reserve Bank of New York report. When cardholders don’t pay their balances in full each statement cycle, they can incur fees.

Credit card companies don’t advise their customers to miss payment due dates. In fact, card issuers must clearly disclose card annual percentage rates to customers before they begin using an issuer’s card. If a cardholder bites off more than they can chew and goes beyond their card’s limit, that’s the cardholder’s choice. But, judging by recent legislative proposals, some legislators believe card issuers share some, or most, of the blame for consumer credit card debt.

Lawmakers have proposed punitive measures against credit card issuers in the wake of the news of cardholders’ record-setting debt. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) recently introduced a bill that seeks to impose a 10% cap on credit card interest rates.

“When large financial institutions charge over 25% interest on credit cards, they are not engaged in the business of making credit available,” Sanders said in a statement supporting the legislation. “They are engaged in extortion and loan sharking. We cannot continue to allow big banks to make huge profits ripping off the American people.” 

Credit card issuers extend more than just payment flexibility to cardholders. Many cards come with rewards that incentivize customers to use cards in place of other methods of payment, including cash and debit cards.

Rewards can help reduce the cost of groceries. Some credit card issuers even boost rewards offerings for purchases made at grocery stores, allowing savvy cardholders to pocket stronger savings. But not everyone who owns a rewards credit card maximizes its benefits.

Only 56% of rewards cardholders use their cards for grocery purchases. The remaining 44% prefer to use cash or their debit card at the supermarket, leaving rewards savings on the shelf. 

Many credit card companies also offer education materials and tools that can help consumers manage their expenditures. Programs such as American Express’s SpendSmart even analyze cardholder spending patterns to help consumers track their purchasing behavior and prepare budgets. And some issuers publish guides that point consumers to strategies that can help them get the most of their card’s rewards. 

The irony of the bill proposed by Sanders and Hawley is that, in seeking to protect cardholder finances by shielding them from accruing debt, the bill could actually harm consumer wallets by blocking their access to more affordable purchases. 

If the proposed bill becomes law, issuers would likely find ways to cut costs to keep shareholders happy in the midst of declining revenues. That means that rewards programs and issuer-sponsored educational services could be on the chopping block.

“Capping credit card interest rates at 10%, just like President Trump campaigned on, is a simple way to provide meaningful relief to working people,” Hawley said in a statement supporting the legislation.

But the legislation proposed by the two senators has a long way to go before it becomes law, and history isn’t on the duo’s side.

In 2018, Hawley attempted to place an 18% cap on credit card annual percentage rates. But that effort was unsuccessful, suggesting that perhaps a simpler path to providing meaningful relief to working-class cardholders lies in the hands of the credit card industry itself.   

To promote healthy credit use, card issuers can engage in more educational efforts and advertising campaigns that inform consumers of how they can use their cards to their financial advantage with each purchase, including those for a $5 carton of eggs.