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The chase is on among premium credit card issuers. JPMorgan Chase has announced some big changes to its high-end Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, which include a hefty new annual fee of $795, up from $550. The Sapphire Reserve card, which is known for its slate of perks and benefits including travel credits and access to airport lounges, is also getting a counterpart in the Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business card. When the card was first introduced in 2016, the annual fee was $450, so it has increased by more than 75% since then. Interestingly, customers dont seem to mind: The amount paid in annual fees totaled $6.4 billion in 2022, more than double the $3 billion paid in 2015, according to a 2023 report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). When will the fee increase take effect? According to Chase, customers still have a few days to sign up for the card at the old rate. If you’re already a Sapphire Preferred member, or if you sign up before Monday, June 23, you can expect the same benefits and fee through October 25 of this year. Though the fee is increasing significantly, there will be new card designs, and new credits and benefits that arrive along with the revamp. Specifically, for cardholders who spend at least $75,000 per year on their cards, there will be new perks, such as exclusive online shopping experiences, and status rewards at IHG Hotels, and Southwest Airlines. Points earnings rates and multipliers are also changing through a new Points Boost program. The new Business card will also have credits for services from ZipRecruiter, Google Workspace, and more. Its the culmination of five years of investment that weve made across Chase in completely uplifting and repositioning what we mean for premium travelers in the premium-card space, Allison Beer, JPMorgans head of card and connected commerce, told Bloomberg. This is about having the best-in-class travel assets and an end-to-end travel experience. Premium card issuers up the stakes Chase’s announcement comes shortly after American Express, one of its chief rivals in the credit card space, teased a forthcoming overhaul to its premium Platinum Card. Details are scarce, but those changes are expected by the end of the year. The Platinum Card currently has a $695 annual fee. In all, the board is set for Chase and Amex to duke it out with their premium offerings, which might provide some serious perks to customers who can afford them. Were going to take these cards to a new level,” Amex’s said Howard Grosfield in a statement, “not only in what they offer in travel, dining and lifestyle benefits, but also in how they look and feel, to meet the evolving needs of our customers.
Category:
E-Commerce
The Senate is expected to approve legislation Tuesday that would regulate a form of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins, the first of what is expected to be a wave of crypto legislation from Congress that the industry hopes will bolster its legitimacy and reassure consumers.The fast-moving legislation, which will be sent to the House for potential revisions, comes on the heels of a 2024 campaign cycle where the crypto industry ranked among the top political spenders in the country, underscoring its growing influence in Washington and beyond.Eighteen Democratic senators have shown support for the legislation as it has advanced, siding with the Republican majority in the 5347 Senate. If passed, it would become the second major bipartisan bill to advance through the Senate this year, following the Laken Riley Act on immigration enforcement in January.Still, most Democrats oppose the bill. They have raised concerns that the measure does little to address President Donald Trump’s personal financial interests in the crypto space.“We weren’t able to include certainly everything we would have wanted, but it was a good bipartisan effort,” said Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., on Monday. She added, “This is an unregulated area that will now be regulated.”Known as the GENIUS Act, the bill would establish guardrails and consumer protections for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency typically pegged to the U.S. dollar. The acronym stands for “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins.”It’s expected to pass Tuesday, since it only requires a simple majority voteand it already cleared its biggest procedural hurdle last week in a 6830 vote. But the bill has faced more resistance than initially expected.There is a provision in the bill that bans members of Congress and their families from profiting off stablecoins. But that prohibition does not extend to the president and his family, even as Trump builds a crypto empire from the White House.Trump hosted a private dinner last month at his golf club with top investors in a Trump-branded meme coin. His family holds a large stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto project that provides yet another avenue where investors are buying in and enriching the president’s relatives. World Liberty has launched its own stablecoin, USD1.The administration is broadly supportive of crypto’s growth and its integration into the economy. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week said the legislation could help push the U.S. stablecoin market beyond $2 trillion by the end of 2028.Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbasethe nation’s largest crypto exchange and a major advocate for the billhas met with Trump and praised his early moves on crypto. This past weekend, Coinbase was among the more prominent brands that sponsored a parade in Washington commemorating the Army’s 250th anniversaryan event that coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday.But the crypto industry emphasizes that they view the legislative effort as bipartisan, pointing to champions on each side of the aisle.“The GENIUS Act will be the most significant digital assets legislation ever to pass the U.S. Senate,” Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., said ahead of a key vote last week. “It’s the product of months of bipartisan work.”The bill did hit one rough patch in early May, when a bloc of Senate Democrats who had previously supported the bill reversed course and voted to block it from advancing. That prompted new negotiations involving Senate Republicans, Democrats and the White House, which ultimately produced the compromise version expected to win passage Tuesday.“There were many, many changes that were made. And ultimately, it’s a much better deal because we were all at the table,” Alsobrooks said.Still, the bill leaves unresolved concerns over presidential conflicts of interestan issue that remains a source of tension within the Democratic caucus.Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has been among the most outspoken as the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, warning that the bill creates a “super highway” for Trump corruption. She has also warned that the bill would allow major technology companies, such as Amazon and Meta, to launch their own stablecoins.If the stablecoin legislation passes the Senate on Tuesday, it still faces several hurdles before reaching the president’s desk. It must clear the narrowly held Republican majority in the House, where lawmakers may try to attach a broader market structure billsweeping legislation that could make passage through the Senate more difficult.Trump has said he wants stablecoin legislation on his desk before Congress breaks for its August recess, now just under 50 days away. Joey Cappelletti, Mary Clare Jalonick and Alan Suderman, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
Trolls be warned: influencers are now hiring private investigators to expose their anonymous bullies online. Australian influencer Indy Clinton, who boasts 2.1 million TikTok followers and was crowned Creator of the Year in 2023, posted a seemingly typical video yesterday of herself dancing in her kitchen. At first glance, it appeared no different from her usual contentuntil viewers read the on-screen text. How it feels receiving a 64 page report from my PI [private investigator] after an extensive 3 month investigation on all my ladies (mothers) who have continuously bullied, defamed & trolled me and my family for months n moths & even years, the text read. Change is coming. and I will spend my last dollars to make change before I renovate my bathroom, she wrote in the caption, with the hashtag #urnotanonymous. Clintons comments were soon flooded with support from fellow influencers, many praising her for taking action. Some even asked for the contact details of her private investigator. The trolls, on the other hand, were conspicuously absent. Its literally nothing but crickets in this comment section from all the haters, one commenter wrote. I would pay to see the reaction of those people when they found out that they’re not so anonymous, another added. On her Instagram Story, Clinton claimed she now knows specific details about her trollsincluding where they live, their Australian Business Numbers, and even the tattoos they got at 18. But what surprised her most: many of the trolls were fellow mothers. (Fast Company has reached out to Clinton for comment.) @outspoken_the_podcast Indy Clinton has iconically put her trolls on notice The popular TikToker recently hired a private investigator to track down faceless bullies relentlessly defaming her. Indy dropped a series of clues about some the biggest culprits, disturbingly revealing that majority of them are mothers. original sound – Outspoken If youre wondering who actually has the time or energy to troll influencers online, the scale of the problem may surprise you. Manychat, a leading chat marketing platform, surveyed 974 Americans in May 2025 about online behavior. The results: 61% admitted to making offensive jokes or comments online, and 3 in 5 confessed to spreading rumors. More than 3 in 4 believed their online actions have no real-world consequencesdespite research linking online harassment to anxiety, sleep disruption, and suicidal thoughts. Fast Company has previously reported on the internets so-called snarking problem, with entire subreddits devoted to obsessively dissectingand critiquinginfluencers every move. The internets promise of anonymity has long made trolls feel untouchable. In fact, 84% of those surveyed said they feel more empowered to speak freely online when anonymous. But with influencers now taking matters into their own hands, the tide may be turning. Just last week, the anonymous founder of Tattle Lifea British gossip forum often described as the most hate-filled corner of the webwas revealed to be an influencer himself. The unmasking followed a two-year investigation led by Neil and Donna Sands, who successfully sued the site for defamation. The internet is not an anonymous place, they posted on Instagram while sharing the news. The comments section is awfully quiet right now.
Category:
E-Commerce
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