Airlines Make More Money Selling Miles Than Seats
The golden goose isn’t your ticket or bag fee—it’s the credit card you use to collect frequent flier miles.
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Does your wallet contain an airline-branded credit card? If so, your daily Starbucks visits, iTunes selections, and dining habits serve a critical role in keeping the U.S. airline industry fat and happy.
For carriers such as American Airlines riding Citigroup Inc. plastic, or Delta on American Express Co., these programs are a cash cow, a golden goose, or any other fiscal livestock you care to conjure. Each mile fetches an airline anywhere from 1.5 cents to 2.5 cents1490972279379, and the big banks amass those miles by the billions, doling them out to cardholders each month.