Through advance sales of frequent-flyer miles to the banks that issue their cobranded credit cards, airlines could raise the cash, while banks could get steep discounts on the miles they give to customers as rewards for spending.
For example, American Express, which issues cobranded credit cards with Delta, purchases the airline's miles, and issues them to customers as a reward for spending, typically at a rate of 1-2 miles per dollar spent on the relevant credit card., both Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have approached their credit-card partners about purchasing large stocks of miles in advance .
There's also precedent for such a pre-sale, which helped airlines after both the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the 2008 global financial crisis. Delta, for instance, put up some of its planes as collateral for a $2.6 billion credit line from JPMorgan and other banks on March 20, The Wall Street Journal reported, immediately drawing down $2.3 billion. American secured a $1 billion loan from Citigroup and other banks, and United raised $2 billion in early March, followed by another $500 million, both secured by airplanes and parts.
While pre-selling miles to their credit-card partners could unlock cash, it's likely to serve as a close-to-last resort for airlines.
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Source: WSJ - 🏆 98. / 63 Read more »