Loyalty and rewards

Star Alliance — the largest of the three global airline groups — is planning to offer a co-branded credit card that will allow cardholders to redeem points across all 26 members.

Vanguard Group will give some American Express credit card customers access to financial advice, a business the fund manager is working to build up.

To increase its share of global card spending through gig-economy fintechs and startups, Amex is extending its rewards through a partnership with digital issuing vendor i2c.

Wells Fargo will start letting customers earn points and miles on their rent payments as the banking giant deepens its push into credit cards. 

Klarna Bank is adding the option for customers to pay immediately at checkout in nine new markets while expanding its rewards program, as it targets becoming a one-stop lender for consumers.

As more consumers shop and bank online, Texas Capital and its rivals are competing for market share with concepts such as an American Airlines savings account that offers miles instead of interest and one that pays a 0.70% annual percentage yield, beating the national average of 0.06%.

Working with Bumped, TAB Bank is offering customers “cash back” as fractional shares of popular retailers.

Bank of America is turning to private jets and exotic cars to compete with American Express and JPMorgan Chase and lure big spenders to its credit cards.

Americans are looking for immediate ways to offset rising costs, rather than saving points for future travel. Cash rewards, which were already growing in popularity, are now even more coveted.

Bilt Rewards, which offers a loyalty program and credit card that converts rent into reward points, raised $60 million from investors including Mastercard and Wells Fargo, giving the startup a $350 million valuation.

The revenue that banks earn from these loyalty programs provides a substantial offset to potentially shrinking interchange fees.

The creators hope CU Offers, which lists discounts at local and national businesses, will attract new members and strengthen ties with existing ones. But observers are skeptical that it will drive real growth or inspire frequent use.

Holders of the card, issued by Synchrony Financial, receive 3% cash back on medical visits, veterinarian bills, gym fees and certain other health-related expenses.

JPMorgan Chase revamped the rewards on its popular Sapphire cards as the fight to win affluent customers continues to escalate.

As people more heavily use exchanges and other providers of digital-asset-related services, they're registering more beefs with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, too. Experts say it's only a matter of time before the agency invokes its broad authority to police the sector.

Bank of America is adding a commercial credit card for on-the-go businesspeople in a bet that work travel will eventually return.

Citigroup stopped taking applications for its $495-a-year Prestige card, a competitor to American Express’s Platinum line and JPMorgan Chase’s Sapphire Reserve.

The card issuer, which is offering its customers a chance to purchase non-fungible tokens created from a recent performance by the singer SZA, is betting that the digital art-trading phenomenon will become more mainstream.

JPMorgan Chase is cutting the annual fee of its top-tier card while American Express is raising the fee of its own premium card. Both banks hope to win consumers' travel dollars by finding the sweet spot between cost and rewards.

Walmart has hired a veteran of American Express to run Walmart+, the membership program it unveiled less than a year ago to counter Amazon.com’s Prime plan.