Loyalty and rewards

JetBlue Airways Corp. sold loyalty points to Barclays Plc for $150 million, making the carrier among the first in the U.S. to use the method to raise cash as the coronavirus pandemic all but extinguishes demand for travel.

With the coronavirus pandemic forcing far more e-commerce transactions — and thus, more spending on cards instead of cash — loyalty and rewards are vital to creating lasting consumer habits.

Marriott International Inc. raised $920 million in cash through deals with co-branded credit card companies as it rides out the pause in travel due to the coronavirus.

"We're now in a different world," Stephen Squeri, chairman and CEO of Amex, said during the card brand's first-quarter earnings call.

For Good Causes has emerged from pilot in the U.K. to help consumers and businesses convert loyalty rewards points to digital cash donations for charities impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. Treasury Department is in talks with some airlines about accepting their loyalty programs as collateral against government loans to help them weather the coronavirus crisis.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. is raising cash by selling loyalty points and offering bonds as the company rides out the coronavirus crisis.

While the primary focus for most credit card providers in March was on emphasizing fee forgiveness and payment deferral support, moving forward issuers need to focus on a mix of strategies to retain their cardholders' share of spend, says The Futurist Group's Demitry Estrin.

The benefits of virtual payment cards go beyond replacing physical cards and eliminating social contacts. Payment vendors that manage these virtual cards can also create branded cards and portals for companies, says Berkeley Payments' Jonathan Hamburg.

The mainstream adoption of Bitcoin is getting a boost from credit card giant Visa Inc., which joined startup Fold to offer a card that earns rewards denominated in the cryptocurrency instead of airline miles or cash.