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Thread: Are all "points as good as cash" loyalty programs inevitably doomed?
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Old Feb 21, 2015 | 9:47 am
  #58  
sdsearch
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Originally Posted by GUWonder
Citi, Chase and Amex almost certainly paid less per mile to the US 3 airlines of relevance to their cardholders than any hotel program out there.
It's very complicated to figure out what Citi effectively paid for AA miles. Besides being the issuer of AA credit cards, Citi is also AA's bank. Citi thus can "pay" AA in ways other than actual money, such as by improving their banking terms. That's not possible in a "simple" relationship (where the bank simply issues the airline's credit cards, but has no other relationship with the airline).

Is Amex Delta's bank the way Citi is AA's bank? Is Chase both UA's bank and Southwest's bank the way Citi is AA's bank?
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