Citigroup Inc.'s new cobranded card with the online travel booking company Expedia Inc. targets consumers who are not loyal to any one airline or hotel brand and shop for bargains online.
Holders of the Citi PremierPass/Expedia.com card, which was launched Friday, can get points on some Expedia.com transactions and also receive mileage points on any airline travel.
Terry O'Neil, the executive vice president of Citi Cards, said Thursday that the card would have a "mass market" appeal and a "broader reach" than the existing cobrand airline, cruise, car rental, and hotel cards, which he said are not relevant to some consumers.
Many consumers, especially younger ones who came of age during the Internet era, shop for bargain airfares and travel packages online.
Mr. O'Neil said the new card would appeal to price-sensitive consumers who do not fly frequently. Its accelerated point accumulation also offers a change from other products in the market, he said.
Cobranded airline cards will remain relevant in the marketplace, however, because they appeal to many frequent fliers who are loyal to certain brands, Mr. O'Neil said. For instance, holders of the AAdvantage card, which Citi and American Airlines have been offering for almost 20 years, are very loyal customers, he said. "For consumers that have an affinity or a loyalty to a specific airline, there is no reason for them to carry any other card than that airline cobranded credit card."
At the introduction of the Citi PremierPass/Expedia.com card Thursday in New York at the American Natural History Museum, Citi and Expedia officials said the card builds on the relationship that Expedia started with Citi last year when it joined the roster of merchants in Citi's ThankYou Network rewards program. In that program, consumers signing up for Citi banking products are rewarded with points redeemable at the merchants.
Paul Brown, the president of Expedia's partner services group and Expedia North America, said that more than a million ThankYou Network customers have redeemed points with his company.
"It has far exceeded our expectations," Mr. Brown said in an interview.
Expedia, of Bellevue, Wash., has learned that many consumers do not want to be tied to a particular merchant for rewards, he said.
Expedia also operates Web sites in several foreign countries, a travel advisory Web site in China and owns hotels.com and hotwire.com.
The rewards for its new product with Citi, however, are available only in U.S. dollar-denominated transactions through the flagship expedia.com.
Citi PremierPass / Expedia.com cardholders who choose the card with no annual fee get two points for some Expedia transactions and one extra point when they book a package; one point for every three miles flown; one point per dollar for all other purchases; and $50 credit for the first eligible Expedia purchase.
Consumers who choose the card with a $75 annual fee benefit from the same category of rewards, but it is richer ? they receive one point for every mile flown; two points for purchases at supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, commuting, and parking merchants; and $100 credit for the first eligible Expedia purchase.
Mr. Brown said "there is not tremendous variation" in pricing between competing issuers, but Expedia chose Citi because of its global reach and the two companies' existing relationship from the ThankYou network.
