I doubt that will happen. The clamp-down on the churners is a result of them being money-losing customers: someone that signs up for a card with a bonus and first-year fee waiver, meets the minimum-spend requirement, then abandons the card is a money-loser for the bank. A recession isn't going to make the banks say "Gee, the economy is down - what we really need to do is beg those money-losing customers to come back!"