"What's in YOUR wallet?" (2024)

Occasionally I post on my blog with the tag what's in your wallet? It's my tag for posts about credit cards, specifically using credit cards to earn frequent flyer points, cash back, elite status, and other perks. Have you ever wondered why I use that tag? It's a meme from years ago.

The phrase is a reference to a hilarious series of commercials by Capital One, a big credit card issuing bank, back in the 00s. They showed a horde of Viking raiders in modern-day settings, comparing paying high fees on other credit card to being plundered. Here's one of the earliest commercials, from 2000:

Each ad ended with the memorable punch line, "What's in your wallet?"

Once the tagline was established as a popular meme, the commercials become more lighthearted. They shifted to showing the Vikings trying to fit into the modern world while enjoying the perks of their travel credit cards. Here's a commercial from 2003:

The ad campaign continued wth the anachronistic, fish-out-of-water theme for several more years. Capital One shifted its ad messaging, from "People are getting plundered by credit card fees from other banks," to, "So many people have switched to Capital One that these Viking raiders have had to find real jobs." Here's one from 2006:

The Viking ads continued until about 2010. Capital One kept using the punchline "What's in your wallet?" for at least a few more years. They switched to a conventional talking-head ad format, though, with celebrity spokespeople such as Samuel Jackson and Jennifer Garner telling us why CapOne cards are better than others. The Viking commercials are classic, though. And I continue using the meme as a tag for writing about profitable use of credit cards.