AMERICAN EXPRESS AND BRITISH AIRWAYS ANNOUNCE AN EXPANSION OF THEIR CARD PARTNERSHIP
New SME corporate co-brand card agreement is unveiled
LONDON, July 19, 2005 -- American Express and British Airways today announced that the British Airways American Express Credit Card programme will be renewed, and will be joined by a new co-brand corporate card specifically targeted at the small to medium sized enterprise (SME) market.
The new corporate co-brand card which will be available later this year will reward SME companies, who are members of British Airways’ OnBusiness programme, with free business travel, whilst employees will also earn BA miles on all of their card expenditure.
“There has been unprecedented growth of SME companies over the past few years, and together British Airways and American Express have developed a unique product that will enable these smaller companies to earn the air travel savings that have typically been enjoyed by larger companies,” said Paul Abbott, Vice President, Head of Commercial Card, UK and Benelux. “This is our biggest card partnership in the UK and will be critical to our success in providing products that add value to our customers and reward loyalty”.
Commenting on the expansion, Tiffany Hall head of global sales and distribution for British Airways said: “The British Airways and American Express consumer credit card has proved very popular with our Executive Club members over a number of years and we are delighted to be able to extend the successful programme and partnership.
“We believe the new British Airways American Express co-brand corporate card will be well received by small to medium sized businesses as it offers an excellent opportunity to make additional travel savings whilst using a highly convenient payment tool.
“The SME market is extremely important to British Airways and we have worked closely with our 13,000 OnBusiness customers over a number of years to deliver tailored products to help maximise their travel budgets where possible.”
The new corporate co-brand will be launched later this year and adds to the three existing co-branded British Airways American Express credit cards available to British Airways Executive Club members (British Airways American Express Credit Card, Premium card and Premium Plus card), each with its own level of rewards and benefits. Cardmembers can earn up to 1.5 BA Miles for every £1 spent on the Card.
