Andrew Willis: Do you ever wonder where Aeroplan points get made? Perhaps you picked them up at the grocery store, gas station, or with a new credit card. But that’s not where they came from. In exchange for your loyalty as a consumer, you’ve been contributing to a significant source of income for Air Canada (AC).
The business of frequent flier programs can be simplified to airlines selling miles to banks, and credit card companies – before they give them to you. Equity analyst Burkett Huey explains that the margins on this marketing revenue, or the difference between the selling price of a mile and its redeemable value, is ninety-percent.
Talk about a capital-light business. And while it’s supplementing capital-heavy operations that continue to struggle with the pandemic, it’s likely to continue growing in the good times too.
For Morningstar, I’m Andrew Willis.