American Express Co. will announce today that Citigroup Inc. has begun selling Amex gift cards at its branches.
This is the first time Amex has partnered with a national bank to sell its gift cards.
The cards bear both companies' logos.
A Citi spokesman, Robert Julavits, said the contract with Amex is for two years.
Amex, which entered the gift card business in 2002, said it sold more gift cards last year than in all the previous years combined.
It has been selling its gift cards at American Express Travel Service offices, supermarkets, drugstores, and regional banks.
"The popularity of giving and receiving gift cards continues to soar," Alpesh Chokshi, a senior vice president and the general manager of American Express Travelers Cheques and Prepaid Services North America, said in a press release.
"We are committed to making gift cards available where our customers want to buy them," Mr. Chokshi said.
Citi has a "nationwide footprint," he noted.
Amex did not disclose how much it has sold in gift cards last year.
But Robert Sherman, a spokesman, said it sold $19.7 billion in prepaid products, which include gift cards and travelers checks.
Regional banking companies that sell Amex gift cards include Fifth Third Bancorp, Sovereign Bancorp Inc., Chevy Chase Bank, a unit of B.F. Saul Co. of Chevy Chase, Md., and Huntington Bancshares Inc.
Last fall, Amex began offering themed gift cards for kids, teen birthdays, dining, movies, and marrying couples.
Citi is selling Amex's regular gift card.
Both companies are based in New York.
