Fernando Ortiz-Ehmann, Global Principal & Partner, Saffron Brand Consultants
Relaxation rooms, gourmet food, craft cocktails, shower suites and complimentary WiFi read like a list of perks befitting a private members club’s brochure. But rather, these are the luxury features American Express is boasting of in its new Centurion Lounges. Also getting in on the action is Chase with its newly opened Sapphire Lounge at LaGuardia Airport – spanning two floors, with chic seating, a 360-degree bar and restaurant-quality food.
So why this flurry of airport activity from the credit card brands?
After a difficult five years, global travel is back to business as usual, and brands are racing to get back into the airport and in front of travellers. For credit card companies, the airport lounge offers a rare chance to directly interact with customers, tap into the senses, capture attention, and deliver a premium experience that reinforces brand promises and builds emotional connections.
A lounge isn’t just a comfortable space for travellers—it’s a carefully curated experience that tells a story of status, sophistication, and exclusivity. By delivering perks and consistently exceptional experiences, brands can transform a practical stopover into a valued and positive interaction and cultivate loyalty. The ultimate aim being to turn fleeting transactions into lasting relationships.
It is a new arena for banks and financial services, which, traditionally speaking, few would describe as – or associate with – luxury. Designer shoes, yes. Designer bank accounts, less so.
When banks have previously stepped into the luxury world, it has been through premium/selected, private banking and wealth management sub-brands and services for customers. But we’ve also seen the neobanks, unburdened with legacy, step into the fringe of luxury. These brands have the freedom to replicate the feel of private banking – think black cards, concierge services, AI wealth management – but without old-money or legacy restrictions.
In a new era for banking, developments in tech have broadened the playing field with new channels, such as online, app and open banking, and new players, like Amazon and IKEA, impacting the industry. The challenge has been to position offerings as unique in an increasingly commoditised sector, with many banks focusing on the more emotional attributes as opposed to the functional. The result is that the airport has provided the perfect place for this shift.
By focusing on luxury lounges, banks can reposition their brand away from functional accounts and investment platforms and into tangible, high-quality physical experiences to boost emotional connections and create alternative relationships with customers. The appeal of an exclusive space away from the traveller mayhem is strong, and when these brands do it well, it solves a problem faced by many flyers. Moreover, as luxury is intrinsically linked with higher price points, it’s not only helpful for brand-building but also in supporting the push for improved margins, something critical for success in an overly commoditised industry.
The brand of luxury
The airport lounge is just the latest milestone in the race for luxury. However, people aren’t going to turn into passionate brand advocates simply because of a lounge. That will happen when the lounge is their most recent positive experience among a host of digital touchpoints, exclusive events and seamless customer service that support the perception of a premium brand.
That’s why it’s not just in the lounge that we’ve seen this push. Banks are also expanding into other luxury realms where they can establish a deep connection with customers – think luxury cars, hotels and specialist artificial intelligence platforms. Lloyds’ partnership with Aston Martin as its exclusive retail finance provider is just one example of a bank associating with a premium brand, piggybacking on Aston Martin’s image, while also directly tapping into its customer base.
In an over-serviced market, where every offering looks the same, brand is the defining feature, and luxury has emerged as banking’s new white whale. As a tool, luxury enables banks to achieve better margins and better loyalty, with the brand emerging as the preferred choice over the competition. With so much functional consistency, it is these extra twists that will give one brand the edge in share of mind compared with a rival.
