This Week in Credit Cards: Shell Launches 4% Rewards Credit Card as Fuel Prices Surge

Shell announced a new credit card this week that gives drivers some relief from rising gas prices. The national average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas is now $4.56, according to AAA. The roadside assistance provider reports that Memorial Day weekend gas prices were the highest in four years.

Powered by co-branded partner Imprint, the Shell Performance Elite World Mastercard lets customers earn 4% back as statement credits toward eligible purchases when they use it at Shell locations for fuel and in-store purchases.

💳 New cards from @Shell and @Fanatics are grabbing headlines. Maybe the bigger story? @ChatGPTapp could soon influence which credit cards people actually use.

This week in credit cards: AI, rising rates, and the continuing fight for customer loyalty.

Read the story:… pic.twitter.com/nuINymWprO

— CardRates News (@CardRatesNews) May 22, 2026

The card also earns 3% back as statement credits on grocery and dining expenses, and 2% back as statement credits on other purchases where Mastercard is accepted.

Shell’s new product has other features for consumers seeking to stretch their budgets. The card doesn’t come with an annual fee. And eligible cardholders who use it to spend at least $500 within 60 days of opening the card earn a $50 bonus. 

Sports merchandising company Fanatics plans to roll out a new credit card that should appeal to sports enthusiasts, CNBC reported. The company is partnering with American Express to offer the card, which is expected to officially launch later this year.

The product gives users the chance to earn FanCash, the digital reward currency that Fanatics offers, which they can redeem for sports merchandise such as authentic apparel and trading cards. Cardholders will also have access to protections and benefits through American Express’s network. 

Share of U.S. American Express Consumer Card Members Who Identify as Sports Fans

80%80%

Nearly

The deal gives American Express a chance to capitalize on consumers’ fandom. The company said in a press release that almost 80% of U.S. American Express Consumer Card Members say they’re sports fans. 

As part of the arrangement between the two companies, American Express will sponsor a four-day summer festival from Fanatics in New York City. The festival will give fans an opportunity to purchase autographs from big names in the sports world, including Marc-Andre Fleury and Daryl Strawberry.

Americans will take to the roads this weekend to celebrate Memorial Day. And while the price of gas may cause them to stress over their trips, many will likely have put in the work ahead of time to cut down on other travel hassles. 

In a new survey from Barclays, 55% of respondents say they have a tendency to overplan vacations to avoid surprises. Doug Villone, Head of U.S. Cards and Partnerships at Barclays U.S. Consumer Bank, told us that a desire for peace of mind and predictability increasingly shapes travel experiences.

Vacation expenses pile up quickly, but people can use credit card rewards to save on the costs of their journeys. The majority of survey respondents (64%) said they use card rewards or loyalty points to help cover expenses.

Travelers can also use newer resources to unearth savings opportunities when planning their vacations. Nearly half of survey respondents said they were comfortable using AI to help them locate deals on travel costs such as airfare.

The yields on 30-year bonds in the U.S. have hit their highest mark in nearly 20 years, according to a new report from ABC News.

Higher bond yields may be welcome news for people looking for a place to park their money and watch it grow. But it could also add pressure to the broader borrowing environment, including the outlook for loan and credit card rates.

Rising credit cards rates can be especially tough on families increasing their card spend in 2026 to keep up with higher grocery and gas prices.

Collectively, people in the U.S. had a whopping $1.25 trillion in credit card debt in the first quarter of this year, which is 5.9% higher than for the same period in 2025, according to a CNBC report.

Politicians have been calling for lower rates on credit cards this year. But whether those efforts will lead to changes remains unclear. Cardholders may want to prepare themselves for the possibility that card rates will remain elevated, even if efforts to lower them continue.

OpenAI has rolled out new tools to help people get a better picture of their personal finances. The tools, which U.S. consumers who subscribe to ChatGPT Pro can preview, allow users to link their bank accounts and make inquiries about their financial activity.

OpenAI is partnering with fintech Plaid to oversee the connected accounts. According to a TechCrunch report, people can connect information from more than 12,000 financial companies, including American Express and Capital One.

The company is planning updates that can enable consumers to see their chances of a credit card issuer approving them for a certain card. The tools may be ideal for people who struggle to make sense of all the complex terms and details they come across when searching for new financial products.

The TechCrunch report said that more than 200 million people already turn to ChatGPT for assistance with financial questions every month. Those people stand to get more detailed answers to their questions once they connect their financial information to the platform.

We’ll be back next week with another edition of This Week in Credit Cards. Visit our social media accounts on Bluesky, LinkedIn, and X for our interviews with industry experts and coverage of the biggest stories from the credit card space.

Don’t forget to check back with us often for reporting on the latest news and trends that matter to cardholders.