Nation’s one of the biggest banks, JPMorgan, for around past 18 months, has been pushing it hard to launch a full-service travel business where people can plan and book anything ranging from a simple domestic flight trip to an extravagant safari. For the same cause, the company had bought a restaurant review company, booking system, and a luxury travel agent. It is even constructing its own airport lounges and will be appointing large group of travel agents in thousands. A new website will be launched in the coming months too.
JPMorgan already have to play a small part in the travel world, like the Sapphire Reserve, its very own credit card which lets customers build up travel rewards and then cash them through the company’s Ultimate Rewards booking website.
Now with even more new offers to present, the bank could capture $15 billion in bookings in 2025 as believed by the executives. That fact would alone make it the third-biggest travel agent in the country, according to industry publication Travel Weekly. It will only be behind the likes of parent companies of booking.com and Expedia, which each manage more than $70 billion in the market.
Though this plan comes with some risks. The Travel-rewards giveaways haven’t always led to the lasting relationships the banks hoped for and have, more often than not,proved expensive for JPMorgan and other banks. Some of JPMorgan’s corporate airlines and hotel partners have already complained about the success of Sapphire which is taking their customers away, while they expect the opposite from them.
It’s important to note that JPMorgan is not alone in trying to venture into travel bookings. The American Express Co. currently stands as the sixth biggest travel agent. Last year, Capital One Financial Corp. invested in a booking company with the aim to build its own travel site and started its first airport lounge.
What JPMorgan believes is that it can differentiate itself partly because of its detailed insight into what and where its customers spend. The data will power both travel agents and AI technology that can target customers with its offers and ideas.
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