Changes are coming to airline and credit card rewards programs, but the quest for higher status is still worth it.

Most small businesses begin as an idea and a dream. Through risk-taking, creativity and sweat those dreams become the economic lifeblood of local communities across America. This activity has provided a pathway for millions to achieve prosperity and financial security.

As a proud Arizonan and Latina small business owner, I advocate against any policies that threaten economic empowerment for our communities. I can say wholeheartedly that the Credit Card Competition Act will hurt us more than it will help us.

Supporters of the Credit Card Competition Act say it will lower how much you pay at the store. Critics of the bill say that’s not a guarantee, and that history shows credit card rewards are likely to suffer.

The Credit Card Competition Act of 2023—nicknamed “Durbin 2.0” after its co-sponsor, Sen. Dick Durbin, who enacted debit card regulations following the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010—would require every credit card transaction to have two networks—one of them not Visa or Mastercard—enabled to route transactions.

One of the lessons my dad taught me early in life was the “law of unintended consequences,” which is that the actions of people — and especially of government — always have effects that are unanticipated or unintended.

Democratic lawmakers like Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division want to impose new rules for credit-card transactions that would reduce competition, harm consumers and crush small banks.

These days as technology gets more advanced, it seems like consumers are under constant attack from hackers and online scammers. Now more than ever, consumer safety and protection are of the utmost importance, which is why I need to sound the alarm on a bill that could compromise our safety.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That seems to be the prevailing sentiment Wednesday (June 7) when it was announced that the Credit Card Competition Act legislation is being reintroduced on Capitol Hill.

When you think of credit card networks, Visa and Mastercard are probably the first — and maybe the only — brand names that come to mind. The Credit Card Competition Act of 2022 aims to change that.