Visa and MasterCard began as consortiums of banks, so they made the system in banks' favors. Good rewards cards pay 2% cash back on all purchases, while transac

Visa and MasterCard began as consortiums of banks, so they made the system in banks' favors. Good rewards cards pay 2% cash back on all purchases, while transaction fees on rewards cards are in the 2-3% range, which necessitates that most of that fee go to the issuing bank, or the rewards programs would be money losers... they're not.