Brandwave

Credit cards:Which brands are most popular in search?

In August 2026, Capital One was the most searched among credit cards worldwide, with an estimated 11.1M branded searches and 62.2% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. Capital One62.2%
  2. American Express28%
  3. Discover7.1%
  4. Barclaycard1.7%
  5. Visa0.89%
  6. Mastercard0.12%

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Share of SearchLeaderboard

Compare the credit cards operators run on. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

Share of Search among credit cards worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for Capital One, American Express, Discover. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthCapital OneAmerican ExpressDiscoverBarclaycardVisaMastercard
Oct 202561.8%27.8%7.1%2%1.1%0.15%
Nov 202557.5%31.4%8%1.9%1.1%0.11%
Dec 202557.4%31.4%8%1.9%1.2%0.14%
Jan 202658.1%32%6.7%1.9%1.2%0.14%
Feb 202657.5%31.4%8%1.9%1.1%0.14%
Mar 202661.5%27.7%8%1.7%0.94%0.15%
Apr 202661.5%27.7%8%1.7%0.94%0.12%
May 202656.5%30.9%9.6%1.9%0.99%0.14%
Jun 202656.8%31.1%9%1.9%1.1%0.17%
Jul 202656.8%31.1%9%1.9%1.1%0.17%
Aug 202662.2%28%7.1%1.7%0.89%0.12%
Sep 2026——————

This month’s ranking, August 2026

  1. 1.Capital One

    62.2%

    Held 1st. 11.1M estimated branded searches, +21.4% vs prior month. Share +5.4 points.

  2. 2.American Express

    28%

    Held 2nd. 5M estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share -3.1 points.

  3. 3.Discover

    7.1%

    Held 3rd. 1.3M estimated branded searches, -12.2% vs prior month. Share -1.9 points.

  4. 4.Barclaycard

    1.7%

    Held 4th. 301K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share -0.2 points.

  5. 5.Visa

    0.89%

    Held 5th. 160K estimated branded searches, -6.5% vs prior month. Share -0.2 points.

  6. 6.Mastercard

    0.12%

    Held 6th. 22.2K estimated branded searches, -18.1% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

Compare search popularity between leading brands

Which brand is most popular in search among credit cards worldwide?

In August 2026, Capital One was the most searched among credit cards worldwide, with an estimated 11.1M branded searches and 62.2% estimated Share of Search within this set. American Express is in 2nd place, 34.2 percentage points behind at 28% Share of Search.

Global credit cards, last 12 months ending September 2026
BrandShare of SearchPeakLowRank
Capital One61.8% → 62.2%62.2%Aug 202656.5%May 20261st
American Express27.8% → 28%32%Jan 202627.7%Mar 20262nd
Discover7.1%9.6%May 20266.7%Jan 20263rd
Barclaycard2% → 1.7%2%Oct 20251.7%Mar 20264th
Visa1.1% → 0.89%1.2%Dec 20250.89%Aug 20265th
Mastercard0.15% → 0.12%0.17%Jun 20260.11%Nov 20256th

Each finding as a sentence

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Capital One’s estimated Share of Search among credit cards worldwide peaked at 62.2% in August 2026 and was lowest at 56.5% in May 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, American Express’ estimated Share of Search among credit cards worldwide peaked at 32% in January 2026 and was lowest at 27.7% in March 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Discover’s estimated Share of Search among credit cards worldwide peaked at 9.6% in May 2026 and was lowest at 6.7% in January 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Capital One, American Express, Discover, Barclaycard, Visa and Mastercard held steady: their estimated Share of Search among credit cards worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for credit cards worldwide in August 2026?

  1. In August 2026, Capital One gained estimated Share of Search among credit cards worldwide, from 56.8% to 62.2%.

  2. In August 2026, American Express lost estimated Share of Search among credit cards worldwide, from 31.1% to 28%.

  3. In August 2026, Discover lost estimated Share of Search among credit cards worldwide, from 9% to 7.1%.

  4. Estimated monthly branded searches for Visa worldwide fell 18.4% over 11 measured months, from 196K to 160K in August 2026.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for Barclaycard worldwide fell 18.2% over 11 measured months, from 368K to 301K in August 2026.

  6. Estimated monthly branded searches for Mastercard worldwide fell 18.1% over 11 measured months, from 27.1K to 22.2K in August 2026.

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

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