JPMorgan Chase has agreed to acquire one of the largest third-party credit card loyalty operators in a bet that pleasure travel will recover sharply after the coronavirus pandemic disappeared, CNBC has learned.
The bank on Monday agreed to acquire the technology platforms, travel agency, gift vouchers and point-of-sale businesses from cxLoyalty Group, a privately held company in Stamford, a Connecticut company, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal.
JPMorgan employs about half of the company’s 3,100 employees and will create a new business in its retail division, reporting to Marianne Lake, head of the bank’s consumer lending business. The deal will close this week, but the person did not want to say how much the bank paid.
“People around the world want to vacation and travel again, and it will hopefully become a reality for many people in the near future,” Lake said in a statement. “Acquiring the cxLoyalty travel and rewards businesses will provide millions of Chase customers with enhanced experiences once they are ready, comfortable and confident to travel.”
JPMorgan has partnered with cxLoyalty for its popular credit card rewards program until 2018, when the bank switched to using Expedia. Now the bank will finally use cxLoyalty again as the technology platform that supports its travel program, with an emphasis on personalized recommendations based on users’ travel history.
The rewards company serves many of the largest US card companies, including Citigroup, Capital One and Mastercard. Overall, cxLoyalty Group says it has 3,000 customers and marketing partners serving 70 million consumers.
According to the separate statement, Todd Siegel, CEO of cxLoyalty Group Holdings since 2013, will be head of the new JPMorgan business. JPMorgan does not buy the other main business of the company, it is the Global Customer Engagement division.
This story unfolds. Please come and check for updates.