There are now more super prime and subprime borrowers, leaving fewer consumers in the middle of the credit market.
According to TransUnion, the share of super prime borrowers—low-risk consumers with exceptional credit scores—increased from 37.1% in Q3 2019 to 40.9% in Q3 2025, representing roughly 16 million additional customers.
At the other end, the subprime segment also saw an uptick after contracting during the pandemic, when many consumers paid down debt. Together, the super prime and subprime groups drove higher origination volumes and overall growth in the credit card market.
“TransUnion always has great card-level data based on information furnished by lenders,” said Brian Riley, Director of Credit and Co-Head of Payments at Javelin Strategy & Research. “Here we see consumer polarization between good scores and weak scores, and everything in between. Super prime cards are booming, and you can expect to see more with Amex, Chase, and Citi’s amped up offers.”
An Avalanche of Offerings
The premium card market has heated up as economic conditions continue to batter the average consumer. To reach more affluent—and potentially more stable—customers, American Express and Chase have both recently enhanced their premium card benefits and raised annual fees.
Citi followed suit with the launch of its premium-tier Strata Elite card, and an avalanche of offerings aimed at the super prime market has followed. Even Klarna launched subscription tiers for its debit/BNPL card, designed to offer luxury perks without the debt associated with traditional credit cards.
More Stress Is Ahead
Meanwhile, the spiraling credit card balances have pushed many consumers, especially in the subprime segment, toward BNPL cards. However, the TransUnion report found that despite the significant amount of existing debt and credit growth in the subprime segment, delinquencies have continued to decline.
This may reflect improving consumer credit health, but issuers have also played a role, most notably by tightening credit lines. The average new account credit limit has dropped, and TransUnion found that subprime credit limits were down 5% year-over-year. Still, even with the drop in delinquencies, credit card issuers aren’t out of the woods yet.
“With the government shutdown and SNAP, expect to see more activity in line utilization,” Riley said. “Delinquency is rising slightly, but not alarmingly. Watch out for some younger segments that are under stress, particularly if they are subprime.”
“Credit card managers should be using bureau analytics to keep their eyes on two specific data points outside of plastics as inflation persists,” he said. “The increasing number of unsecured personal loans is up from 25.4 million in 2022 to 31.8 million—which is a stress indicator for the household budget—and auto loans are increasing to a point that they can have a real household impact. With tariffs in flux, more stress is ahead. But do not forget middle America—the points between superprime and subprime—as that is where the volume is. Keep a cautious eye on increases in revolving debt.”
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