Since J.D.Power, a market research firm, began ranking credit card companies’ customer satisfaction ratings, American Express has been the annual champion.  This year, Discover has unseated AMEX at the top spot.

Discover has been steadily climbing the ranking ladder, tying American Express for first place last year, after placing second in the prior year’s rankings.

J.D. Power conducts an annual survey of 20,000 credit cardholders to determine the rankings.

Jim Miller, senior director of banking services at J.D. Power, said, “Discover has really focused on making it easier for people to actually use what they earn.”  Miller added Discover has allowed customers with Amazon.com accounts to use their cash back bonus money to pay for all or part of their purchases on the site.

The fact that Discover does not charge an annual fee but still lets customers accumulate cash bonuses on most of their cards, is likely a factor as well.

Discover also offers its customers free access to their FICO credit score, a move that many other card companies are starting to offer.  They have recently begun a new program that allows customers to place a temporary freeze on their accounts, if they have lost or misplaced their Discover card.

American Express finished second in this year’s rankings and a spokesman for the firm said that even though they didn’t come out on top this year, customer feedback reveals their users are still satisfied with their accounts and service.

American Express introduced the Blue Cash Everyday Card this past year that has no annual fee but has a rewards program.  New cardholders who spend $1000 in the first three months get a $100 credit on their statement, and they also get a 2-3 percent reward for everyday purchases at the grocery and the pump.

Chase finished third in the rankings this year, while Capital One made the largest improvement in customer satisfaction, raising their score by 25 points.