From Amex launching its 60th anniversary campaign for the Gold Card to Amazon moving its business credit cards from Amex to U.S. Bank, Andrew Davidson breaks down the latest news in the financial services industry. He also discusses Royal Caribbean Group announcing a new premium credit card, PNC announcing TotalRewards, and Frontlands launch of the first credit card backed by Natural Resource Rights.
Want to discover more of Andrew’s cutting-edge insights on financial products, marketing strategies, and industry innovations? Follow him on LinkedIn, or listen to him as the host of Mintel’s Little Conversation podcast.
Here are the 5 things you need to know:
1. Amex Launches 60th Anniversary Campaign for Gold
In celebration of the Gold Card’s 60th anniversary, American Express has partnered with lifestyle brand STAUD on a limited-edition resort-wear collection “inspired by modern travel and the experiences that define the Gold Card.”
Among the eight fashion pieces (ranging from $145 – $595) are a special travel-inspired edition of STAUD’s Timmy Bag and a “Member Since ’66” t-shirt to honor the Gold Card’s launch year.
From March 26 through June 30, 2026, Gold Card Members can earn a $90 statement credit when they spend $350 or more at STAUD.
The Gold Card anniversary campaign (set to run for a year) kicked off featuring Laura Harrier, whose mix of fashion credibility and modern cultural relevance reinforces Gold’s positioning at the intersection of style and experience.
💡 Is Amex the master storyteller?
- Credit Card Fashion Line! We have seen fintechs like Cash App experiment with apparel, but this is still rare territory for a major card issuer at Amex’s scale. The move is less about selling clothes and more about signaling cultural relevance, extending the brand beyond payments into lifestyle. It’s all part of the story conveyed on Instagram and in partnership with the influential Laura Harrier.
- Amex Owns the Narrative. This is a strong example of narrative control in action. Amex is not chasing competitors or reacting to category noise, it is defining what Gold means through product, partnerships, and culture. When the story is this clear, every activation compounds rather than dilutes the message.
2. Amazon Moves Its Business Credit Cards From Amex to U.S. Bank
Amazon announced it is moving its business credit cards from Amex to U.S. Bank and shifting the network to Mastercard.
It’s hard to believe it has been nearly eight years since Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran took the stage at Money20/20 to help launch the original Amex Amazon Business cards. Time flies!
Amazon Business has continued to scale and now serves more than eight million organizations globally, with many in the U.S. using it for business purchases.
- Prime Business Card: 5% back on Amazon purchases for Prime members.
- Amazon Business Card: 3% back for customers without Prime.
The rewards are the same but the announcement messaging for small businesses signaled “more ways to earn rewards wherever they shop and better tools to manage cash flow.”
💡U.S. Bank for the WIN, U.S. Bank for the WIN!
- Symbolic move. Even if this is “only” Amazon Business, being selected by Amazon is a credibility upgrade for U.S. Bank. As the world’s largest online retailer, it’s a vote of confidence that U.S. Bank can operate at platform scale and support a business audience that cares about reliability, controls, and operational ease as much as rewards.
- Spreading the risk. Amazon’s Chase-issued consumer card sits on Visa, and Amazon has been deliberate about keeping the business portfolio on a different rail first with Amex and now with Mastercard. That choice is intentional, especially given U.S. Bank’s reputation as a Visa-leaning issuer. The simplest explanation is that Amazon wants diversification, leverage, and optionality. If you keep consumer and business on separate networks, you avoid putting too much power in one place and you keep a stronger hand at the negotiating table.
- Test run? Chase renewed the consumer partnership with a multi-year extension in 2022, but there is no public end date. That makes the timing of this move interesting. Is Amazon using the business portfolio to pressure test a new issuer and network before the next consumer decision point arrives? I have always wondered why Amazon has not unified its cards under one issuer to unlock synergies for customers shopping on both the consumer and business platforms.
3. Royal Caribbean Group Announces a New Premium Credit Card
This week, Royal Caribbean Group and Bank of America announced the Royal ONE and Royal ONE Plus Visa cards, the first “tri‑branded” cruise credit cards spanning Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea.
The cards are expected to launch in the coming weeks and will replace the current Royal Caribbean Visa Signature Card.
Royal ONE: No‑fee card that now earns points across Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea and has accelerated earn on gas/grocery/EV charging, priority boarding and a $100 anniversary reward.
Royal ONE Plus: $99‑fee card with higher earn rates on Royal Caribbean Group purchases, added travel and dining categories, priority boarding and luggage handling, a $200 anniversary reward and a $120 TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit.
💡Cruise co-brand cards go premium
- Cruise co‑brand credit cards are moving into premium for the first time. With consumers willing to pay higher fees for better rewards, we’ve seen the premiumization trend extend from airlines and hotels into adjacent categories and now into the cruise card segment. Based on the details so far, the value gap for the fee versus the no‑fee card remains narrow, suggesting that the value gap could be enhanced at launch with a welcome bonus.
- The early announcement is about signaling, not teasing. Announcing rates, fees, and structure weeks ahead of availability feels deliberate, designed to signal a shift in loyalty strategy and portfolio thinking rather than drive buzz or excitement. This may be about introducing the tri‑branded concept to travel media and setting the frame before launch marketing begins.
- The overall timing reflects a strong cruise industry backdrop. With 2025 marking a record year for U.S. cruise passengers and Mintel projecting continued growth, Royal Caribbean is investing in loyalty from a position of category strength, not defensiveness.
4. PNC Announces TotalRewards
I’ve Long Wondered Why More Banks Didn’t Follow BofA’s Rewards Playbook
PNC has announced TotalRewards, a new relationship‑based loyalty program spanning banking, lending, and credit cards.
- Tiered rewards structure based on combined deposit and investment balances (Silver/Gold/Platinum)
- Enhanced credit card rewards, savings rate boosts, and fee‑avoidance tied to relationship depth
- Cash rewards on certain lending products (mortgage, home equity, auto), not just rate discounts
- Automatic Silver‑tier status for eligible military members, regardless of balance
💡What stood out
- PNC game changer. If the structure looks familiar, it’s because it closely mirrors Bank of America Preferred Rewards, long held as the gold standard. It is also a reminder that these programs take years to roll out. By the time TotalRewards launched, B of A had already evolved its approach with BofA Rewards, extending entry level membership regardless of balance. It shows how quickly the competitive bar can move but it’s still a meaningful step for PNC, which prioritized building something durable for the bank and meaningful for customers.
- Cash rewards on lending. Most banks express lending benefits through rate discounts or fee reductions. PNC’s decision to pay some of that value in cash, specifically for auto and home equity loans, makes the benefit more visible and positions lending as an active contributor to loyalty. PNC isn’t replacing rate discounts but is adding cash rewards on top, enhancing the value for customers without changing the underlying economics.
- Recognizing the military. Automatically granting Silver status to military members is uncommon among large banks. Rather than offering parallel fee relief, PNC embeds recognition directly into its rewards hierarchy, signaling relationship value. It will be interesting to see whether this becomes a visible part of PNC’s marketing or remains a quieter design choice.
5. Frontlands Launches the First Credit Card Backed by Natural Resource Rights
Niche? I thought I’d seen it all but…
Frontlands provides asset-backed credit to natural resource rights owners (like oil, gas, solar, wind, and water). The fintech has announced a new credit card launching this June.
What we know:
- Frontlands launching a card backed by income‑producing natural resource rights
- It has already been offering asset‑backed lines of credit in select states, with average approved limits north of $30K
- The sponsor bank is TransPecos Banks
- The company recently secured a $50 million credit facility, on top of a previously raised $5.5 million in equity in preparation for the launch
- THE MESSAGE: an alternative to high interest rate unsecured credit cards
Source: Frontlands
💡Asset-based cards aren’t dead
- What’s niche is actually a market. There are an estimated 12.5 million Americans who own natural resource rights.🤯 Often inherited, often fragmented, and often ignored by mainstream lenders, these consumers are not necessarily wealthy. This card is less about rewards and more about making illiquid assets usable without selling them. Whether the 12.5 million figure reflects the true addressable market or not, it clearly points to a meaningful population with assets and credit needs that sit outside traditional models.
- Follow the funding. Frontlands is not alone. Aven continues to raise large rounds and scale a HELOC‑backed credit card, while Yendo recently secured significant funding to expand its auto‑backed card. Different assets, same underlying idea. With consumers holding record credit card debt and interest rates remaining stubbornly high, capital is backing models that change the risk equation by anchoring credit to real assets. These products may still be niche but in the current rate environment, they are increasingly relevant.
