The news: American Express has expanded its acceptance across 22 Caribbean islands, per a press release. 

The strategy: Amex Q4 earnings were bolstered by card spend in travel and leisure, which shot up 10% YoY. This surge was driven largely by airline spend, signalling users’ appetite for potential foreign or domestic excursions. 

It makes sense to ensure its cardholders can use their Amex cards at their vacation destinations —that way, Amex can capture everything from booking the flights to dining and souvenir shopping.

Additional benefits: Amex also holds an disproportionately affluent cardholder base compared with other issuers—one reason its delinquencies and charge-offs are below pre-pandemic levels, unlike almost every other issuer. 

This is a cardholder base that desires and can afford luxury vacations, which can help sustain volume growth for the issuer if economic weakness makes middle-class and working-class Americans throttle back on spending.

Marketing initiatives: Amex’s recent ad campaigns are encouraging cardholders to travel overseas with exclusive experiences and benefits, like its recent White Lotus campaign. 

It has also made strong gains targeting moneyed millennials and Gen Zers: Amex gained a record 13 million new card acquisitions in 2024, with millennials and Gen Zers representing over half of these accountholders.

Our take: Amex is making a savvy investment in expanding its international network. Its cardholders have the hunger to travel and the money to spend on luxury.