#10: How Credit Card Companies Manipulate You at the Airport

Every step of the way

Author’s note: I used to work at a credit card company, spending time in both the consumer and business divisions.

“What’s in your wallet?”

Probably a credit card. Or multiple cards.

Take stock in the credit cards you have in your name. What’s your intended use for each one of them? Do they offer travel credit? Perhaps membership reward point multipliers for food or groceries? How about lounge access? Perks like airline upgrades? Or cash back?

If you’re reading this, you are likely educated and did some research before signing up for the cards in your wallet. For most credit cards with grandiose perks, you are required to pay an annual fee. But that’s fair. You pay the fee and can earn credits/perks well beyond the dollar value of the annual fee.

Taking a step back, most marquee credit cards focus on travel perks. Think Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Capital One Venture X. And every airline has a credit card too (hotels have credit card partnerships, but for brevity’s sake, we’ll only focus on airlines for the purpose of this post).

Next time you are on the way to the airport, pause to think. Which credit card did you use to book your flight? Do you have a security clearance pass (ie TSA pre-check or Clear), and did you get this pass as a credit card benefit? Are you planning to hit the lounge for a few “free” drinks to curb any pre-flight anxiety?

If the answer is “yes” to the latter three questions, the credit card companies and airlines are pumping their fists. They have you right where they want you. In a world of so many credit cards and airlines, each company is fighting to be “top of mind”, but more importantly “top of wallet”.

When you go on a trip, there’s a high chance that you will spend more than you typically do in your day-to-day life at home. From the flight to the hotel or Airbnb to dining out and excursions, there’s a lot of expenses to consider!

Oh, and forget about it if it’s a business trip. Your company is paying for it, so what do you care about how much things cost (if you stay within your per diem)? Credit card companies and airlines love business travel. Believe it or not, business class is typically the most profitable section of the aircraft.

And these compadres work together to share the wealth. They seed your mind with travel credits on your card to motivate you to book that trip to Europe. Then they offer a speedy way to get through the ever-frustrating security lines that are TSA. But it gets better. Once you’re through security, you stroll on over to one of the airline or credit card company lounges and receive unlimited food and drink prior to your flight. Guess what? You have a notification on your airline app. Looks like you received a “free” upgrade to first class. Wow, this is incredible. You likely never fly another airline because of how appreciative you are of the “status” you are granted by being a frequent flyer.

That’s how they prime you. Airlines and credit card companies want you to have a positive association with travel as the data shows you spend more when you are on the go. So, their goal is to get as top of mind as possible as you are starting off your trip, which may lead to you using that same credit card throughout your travels. Fancy dinner? Museum tour? Train from London to Paris? Throw it on my Amex. I’ll get the extra membership rewards points so I can book my next trip to Mexico.

And in some ways, they physically prime you for your card to be top of wallet as well. Ever realize that the lounge front desk asks you to see your credit card? They need to verify you but that’s likely going to be the last time you touch a card before you land at your destination. And you may have put that credit card at the top of your wallet. This nudge is thought out way before you stepped into the airport.

In a lot of ways, airlines are marketing companies that happen to have planes as assets on their balance sheet. They market all the ways you can spend your money on travel and have revenue share agreements with credit card companies to make a buck on every part of that cobranded spend.

I’ll leave you with this. No need to change your behavior but remember that all those perks are meant to influence you to spend more than you originally would have on that trip. And the airlines and credit card companies have it down to a science on how to make it happen.