Today American Express & Delta have announced that they have renewed the co-brand partnership until 2029. This will see American Express be the sole issuer of Delta cards until at least 2029 and provides American Express the following:
- Sole issuer of Delta credit & charge cards
- Ability to provide access to Delta Sky Clubs on the Delta Reserve Card
- Delta as a transfer partner for American Express membership rewards points
- Delta will accept American Express cards as a payment method
American Express & Delta have partnered for 23 years, so an extension is not surprising although we typically see extensions for a shorter period of time than 11 years. Last year saw Delta receive $3.4 billion from the relationship and that is expected to hit $7 billion by 2023. In 2018 1 million new Delta credit cardholders were added. It’ll be interesting to see if Delta can hit that doubling target by 2023, I don’t see that happening unless American Express is either increasing the amount paid dramatically under this extension or significant positive changes are made to the card line up.
