This Week In Credit Card News: A Card Made From A Boeing 747; PayPal Takes BNPL To A Different Level

These Amex Credit Cards Were Made From a Retired Boeing 747

In 2018, Delta Air Lines retired the last of its Boeing 747s, the iconic wide-body jets that, from their first flights in 1969, forever changed the scale and magnitude of commercial air travel. The airline sent most of its decommissioned fleet to boneyards in Arizona, California, and New Mexico, save for ship 6301, the first Delta 747-400 to ever take flight, which today comprises the immersive 747 Experience at the Delta Flight Museum in Atlanta. For aircraft aficionados still nostalgic for the “Queen of the Sky,” today the airline, in partnership with American Express, is announcing a limited-edition run of credit cards made from metal cut from Delta ship 6307, the first-ever credit card upcycled from a decommissioned 747. [Fast Company]

PayPal Will Let Users Split the Cost of Purchases Over 24 Months

PayPal is expanding its buy now, pay later options with a longer-term payment plan. The company has enabled users to cover the cost of a purchase over a few interest-free payments and it also offers credit cards. Pay Monthly, which is issued by WebBank, is another option for folks in the US. It’s valid for purchases between $199 and $10,000. The cost will be split across monthly payments of between six and 24 months. If you select the Pay Monthly option at checkout, you’ll then need to complete an application. Should that be approved, you’ll be able to select from three payment options with different time frames. APR is calculated on a risk basis and will be between zero and 29.99%. The first payment is due a month after purchase. [Engadget]

Fed Attacks Inflation with its Largest Rate Hike Since 1994

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday intensified its drive to tame high inflation by raising its key interest rate by three-quarters of a point—-its largest hike in nearly three decades—-and signaling more large rate increases to come that would raise the risk of another recession. The central bank is ramping up its drive to tighten credit and slow growth with inflation having reached a four-decade high of 8.6%, spreading to more areas of the economy and showing no sign of slowing. Americans are also starting to expect high inflation to last longer than they had before. This sentiment could embed an inflationary psychology in the economy that would make it harder to bring inflation back to the Fed’s 2% target. [Associated Press]

U.S. Banks Finally See Upturn in Credit Card Borrowing

Big U.S. banks appear set for some earnings boost from a pick-up in the battered credit card business, but a possible recession would pull consumers back and bring losses on outstanding loans. In steady economic times, cards are one of the most profitable businesses for banks, and analysts say a continued upturn in card borrowing would bring relief for banks. Now overall balances on credit card and similar loans at U.S. banks are up 15%, as of May 25, from a year earlier, and back near pre-pandemic levels, according to Federal Reserve data. Even better for banks, cardholders now are allowing more of those balances to revolve and incur interest charges instead of paying them off monthly. [Reuters]

American Express Launches First Crypto Product: A Card that Allows Users to Earn Rewards in Crypto

While American Express has scotched hopes of a cryptocurrency-linked credit card any time soon, the card giant has confirmed hints made earlier this year that it would be offering crypto rewards, teaming up with digital-assets services major Abra. The Abra Crypto Card will allow users to earn back crypto on any purchase, no matter the amount or category. Cardholders can choose from any of the more than 100 cryptocurrencies supported on the Abra platform, with no annual or foreign transaction fees. The card will also come with Amex Offers for shopping, travel, dining and services as well as presale ticket access and purchase protections. [Fortune]

India Lifts Ban on Mastercard

India has lifted restrictions on Mastercard after the payments giant demonstrated “satisfactory compliance” with the South Asian market’s local data storage rules. In a series of moves last year, the Reserve Bank of India indefinitely barred Mastercard, American Express and Diners Club from issuing new debit, credit or prepaid cards to customers over noncompliance with local data storage rules. The business restrictions on American Express and Diners Club remain in place in the country, though they are permitted to continue to serve their existing customer base. Unveiled in 2018, the local data-storage rules require payments firms to store all Indian transaction data within servers in the country. Mastercard has identified India as a key growth market and has invested over $2 billion in the country over the past decade. [Tech Crunch]

Samsung Rolls Out New Digital Wallet

In an effort to streamline and provide access to digital information people access every day, Samsung has unveiled its new wallet, which combines the existing Samsung Pay and Samsung Pass platforms into one. The new platform will store and let users access digital IDs, payment and loyalty cards, keys, boarding passes and more. Samsung Wallet is using Samsung Knox for defense-grade security. Protections include fingerprint recognition and encryption to help safeguard users’ sensitive data. In addition to Samsung Knox, certain key sensitive items in the wallet are stored in Secure Element, an isolated environment designed to help protect against digital and physical hacking. [Tech Republic]

Capital One Travel Credit Cards Get Expanded Airport Lounge Access

Capital One announced Tuesday that the Capital One Venture X, Venture, and Spark Miles credit cards are getting greater access to airport lounges globally. Additionally, for a limited time, the cards will earn rewards for booking a rental car through the Turo app or the Turo website. The Venture X, Capital One’s highest-tier travel card, will now come with unlimited access to more than 100 Plaza Premium Lounges worldwide. This expands on the card’s Priority Pass membership, which means cardholders can enjoy access to over 1,400 airport lounges globally thanks to both memberships. And until May 16, 2023, the Venture X will earn 10x miles per dollar for rental cars booked through Turo.com or on the Turo app. [ZD Net]

Grubhub Adds Instant Pay Option for Delivery Drivers

Grubhub has launched a new feature, called Instant Cashout via Direct to Debit, that allows its drivers to access their earnings immediately. The offering is enabled by Paypal’s payout management platform Hyperwallet, which then uses Visa Direct to deposit the funds to a bank debit card. Instant Cashout is designed to give drivers more flexibility when it comes to accessing their pay in a safe, reliable way. This pay option, which will be available to drivers this month, builds on Grubhub’s recent per-mile driver pay increase to help offset high fuel costs and retain drivers. [Restaurant Dive]

How JPMorgan Chase is Using Payments Data to Woo Merchants from Fintechs

To help merchants improve their marketing, pricing and staffing strategies in a tightening economy, Chase this week began sharing deep insights about shoppers’ habits gleaned from two streams: its U.S. massive consumer card-spending database and huge national card-processing operations. The new resource, called Chase Customer Insights, rolled out this week after months of testing to Chase small-business customers and users of QuickAccept, the newest version of its small-business card acceptance service. The bank is offering the product as fears of an economic downturn increase among small businesses. 57% of small business owners in May predicted the economy will become worse in the next year, up from 42% in April. That fear could lead small businesses to become more cautious about decisions on marketing and operations. [American Banker]

Gift Card Usage is on the Rise

According to Fiserv’s Q2 Gift Card Gauge, 37% of consumers have already taken advantage of a gift card promotion in 2022, and 58% say that gift card promotions will motivate them to buy more gift cards during this inflation period. Consumers find the most value in gift card promotions that offer bonuses (i.e., buy a $50 gift card and get a $10 bonus gift card as an incentive). While 51% of consumers are significantly reducing their personal shopping habits due to inflation, only 23% of consumers are purchasing fewer gift cards. [CU Today]