JPMorgan Launches Premium Corp. Cards
JPMorgan this month unveiled gold and platinum tiers for its MasterCard and Visa travel and entertainment corporate card products that will give travelers access to airport lounges, luggage delivery services and a variety of insurance offerings, a move analysts said was necessary for the issuer to gain ground on market leader American Express.
The new gold and platinum cards offer users unrestricted access to more than 500 airport lounges in more than 275 cities worldwide, the company said. Lounge access privileges cover all major carriers, and travelers can use even the lounges of airlines they are not flying, said Rich Erario, JPMorgan senior vice president and business executive for commercial card and electronic procurement, invoicing and payables.
Lounge privileges are a key feature in wooing executives, said David Hillman, principal of Deerfield, Ill.-based Consulting Strategies. "It's the feature most people are attracted to, and it really pays for the card," he said.
JPMorgan claims its platinum and gold cards provide access to 50 percent more lounge locations than the American Express Platinum Card, basing the claim on publicly available information and Amex's lounge agreements in place with American, Continental, Delta and Northwest airlines.
The platinum card also gives users access to a luggage delivery service—a feature not available in any other corporate card program, Erario said—that allows eight pieces of luggage to be delivered to an address within 40 miles of an airport. The service, offered through an agreement with Priority Solutions International, also is available to gold card users at an additional cost.
Other gold and platinum card benefits include concierge services, $1 million in travel accident coverage, $5,000 in lost luggage insurance coverage, primary car rental insurance and emergency medical and dental coverage. Platinum cardholders receive free enrollment in the JPMorgan Rewards Program.
"This allows us to go head to head with all of our competitors, particularly American Express," Erario said. "This is about taking customer service to an extremely high level."
Hillman said that although acquiring executive privileges through corporate cards is not the highest priority for most companies, the new offering does give JPMorgan another chip to play in negotiations.
"It's not that in demand, but if you're trying to unseat American Express and the executives already have that card with those privileges, it makes it a lot more difficult, so it makes sense for the competition to be prepared to have it," Hillman said.
Gold and platinum card status is immediately available to JPMorgan corporate card users. Hillman said companies usually do not pay for loyalty programs, but it is common to secure executive cards in a final agreement.