Originally Posted by
Flying Lawyer
Fortunately we do not have a CC system like in the US promoting indebitness. For me maybe 1/5 of my miles is generated in the Air. All the rest is Taxi, Creditcard, Limo, Payback, Newspaper and all that crap.
I hear you. For me, also a majority of my miles don't come from flying.
I still think Lewis42 has a bit of a point. Co-branded CC are certainly generating a ton of revenue for the US major carriers' frequent-flyer programs. Of course, this is related to higher merchant fees on CC transactions as well as a higher load of CC debt. The CC system here in Europe doesn't allow loyalty programs to generate quite as much revenue.
EDIT: I guess lower CC spending in Europe than in the US is also a factor.