It's a relatively mature market. Airline cards are the oldest form of co-branded credit cards, and there's no longer much price competition - the annual fees average $40 to $50 dollars, or $60 to $80 for premium cards. |
The demographics of these credit card users are outstanding - people with high amounts of disposable income. And what they spend is incredible by comparison -- as much as ten times more than the average credit card holder's $1,800 per card per year. |
Too many consumers got smart about it and it wasn't working out for the banks. |