I started with the wrong question: Why haven’t Bank of America, Citi, Wells Fargo, and U.S. Bank gotten into travel the way Chase, Amex, and Capital One have?
They have. In 2025, Citi’s cards handled $538 billion of purchases. Bank of America’s handled $378 billion. Wells Fargo’s handled $186 billion. Three banks, $1.1 trillion of card spending in one year.
What they have not done is build travel companies. Chase has. Chase Travel booked $13 billion last year. JPMorgan calls it the third-largest consumer leisure travel seller in America. Capital One is bringing its travel technology in-house. Amex has run a travel agency since 1915.
The rest of American banking stopped earlier. Not because they don’t care about travel, but because they decided a different part of the traveler is worth more.
The Split
Seven banks, two theoriesof travel