{"id":3043,"date":"2026-04-03T10:05:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T10:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=3043"},"modified":"2026-04-03T10:05:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T10:05:36","slug":"how-ceo-ed-bastion-built-deltas-8-billion-per-year-partnership-with-american-express","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=3043","title":{"rendered":"How CEO Ed Bastion built Delta’s $8 billion per year partnership with American Express"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In 1996, the same year Delta Air Lines transported the Olympic flame from Athens, Greece, to Los Angeles, the Olympic Games were held in its hometown of Atlanta. That same year, the carrier launched a partnership with American Express that would change the company\u2019s trajectory: a co-branded credit card allowing Amex users to redeem Delta SkyMiles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nearly three decades later, the credit card\u2014along with a raft of other perks\u2014accounted for $8 billion, or about 10%, of Delta\u2019s revenue in 2025. According to Delta CEO Ed Bastian, the co-branded credit card\u2019s spending nears 1% of the U.S. GDP annually\u2014a figure that reflects the sheer volume of transactions flowing through the partnership across millions of cardholders.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Delta\u2019s brand started to move and people started to see it as a premium brand, as a differentiated experience, Amex was critical to that because we see Amex as the premium credit card in the business,\u201d Bastian told Fortune\u2019s Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell on the latest episode of Fortune\u2019s Titans and Disruptors of Industry podcast.<\/p>\n

But the relationship wasn\u2019t always so seamless.<\/p>\n

From friction to friendship<\/p>\n

For years, Delta and Amex struggled with a fundamental question: whose customer was it?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would have difficulties with Amex because we could never figure out whose customer it was,\u201d Bastian said. \u201cAmex thought it was their customer because they had the credit card. Delta thought it was our customer because we\u2019re providing the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tension came to a head about a decade ago, when Delta sat down with Amex CEO Steve Squeri to resolve the matter. Bastian recalled what Squeri\u2014who he now considers a close friend\u2014told him: \u201cIt\u2019s our customers. And let\u2019s stop fighting about who\u2019s getting what size slice, and figure out, how do we make the pie bigger?\u201d<\/p>\n

That reframe changed the trajectory of the deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are the most successful relationships,\u201d Bastian said. \u201cIt\u2019s not when one brand is taking advantage of another or feeding off another. [It\u2019s] when both brands legitimately raise up.\u201d<\/p>\n

A partnership forged in turbulence<\/p>\n

The co-branded card\u2019s importance to Delta came into sharper focus during one of the airline\u2019s darkest chapters. After a post-9\/11 slump battered the carrier, Bastian\u2014then the CFO\u2014pushed the company to file for bankruptcy in 2005. Delta emerged from Chapter 11 in 2007, and the following year, Amex delivered a $1 billion boost, marking the beginning of what would become one of the most lucrative partnerships in the aviation industry.<\/p>\n

Now the most profitable airline in the U.S., Delta has leaned heavily into premiumization, recognizing that targeting wealthier customers would yield more revenue per seat. Flying used to be seen as a commodity, with 80% of Delta customers preferring whichever airline provided the cheapest or fastest experience, Bastian said. Rebranding as a customer-first company that rewarded brand loyalty helped transform the company.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ask people why they choose Delta, 80% would say because it\u2019s Delta, because the experience the brand, the confidence I have in that company\u2014\u2018That\u2019s my airline,\u2019\u201d Bastian said.<\/p>\n

The card pivot<\/p>\n

Delta and Amex aren\u2019t the only ones betting big on co-branded loyalty. American Airlines reported $6.2 billion in cash payments from co-brand and partner agreements with Citi in 2025, while Alaska Airlines saw 16% of its total revenue flow from loyalty spending. United\u2019s deepening relationship with Chase, and Capital One\u2019s aggressive push into premium travel cards have further raised the stakes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Amex, for its part, has been expanding the perks ecosystem beyond travel. CEO Steve Squeri told Fortune in September 2025 that the company is doubling down on \u201clifestyle\u201d areas\u2014wellness, shopping, fine dining\u2014in addition to its core travel benefits. Recent upgrades include tripling the annual hotel credit from $200 to $600 for stays booked through American Express Travel, plus early check-in, late check-out, and credits for food or spa services at more than 3,100 partner hotels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the largest array of any card company, and it keeps growing,\u201d Squeri said.<\/p>\n

Today, Delta is Amex\u2019s largest card distributor. The Delta card accounts for 10% of Amex\u2019s worldwide billings, and Delta cardholders represent 30% of Amex\u2019s U.S. consumer spend, according to Bastian.<\/p>\n

And the growth isn\u2019t slowing.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though we\u2019re the largest distribution outlet, we\u2019re growing faster than any of the other distribution outlets they have at a double-digit clip still today,\u201d Bastian said. \u201cThat\u2019s making the pie bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n

#CEO #Bastion #built #Deltas #billion #year #partnership #American #Express<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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