Marli Collier, managing director at Airlines for America (A4A), said the proposed Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Competition Act would negatively impact Michigan’s travel industry and economic health.
“Airline credit card rewards play an invaluable role in helping to grow Michigan’s travel and tourism industry,” Collier told Great Lakes Wire. “Consumers love their rewards cards because they get great value with them, but the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Competition Act would threaten credit card rewards programs, undermine jobs and negatively impact economic growth across Michigan. Lawmakers in Congress must consider the negative impact that this legislation will have on the consumers and communities across the country that benefit from airline credit cards.”
More than 181,000 travelers used credit card reward points to visit Michigan in 2022, according to a report released by airline trade group Airlines for America (A4A).
The report said that 181,273 visitors used credit card reward points to visit the state in 2022, which supported 2,299 Michigan jobs and had a total economic impact of $276.3 million.
These numbers were compiled via a survey of A4A’s member companies.
Based in Washington, D.C., A4A is a trade association representing major U.S. airlines. It was founded in 1936 as the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) and rebranded as A4A in 2011.
The group said almost one in four U.S. households has an airline credit card, and 63% of total frequent flier points earned in 2022 by consumers were generated by their use of an airline credit card.
Nationally, airline credit card rewards were used for 15 million domestic visitor trips that had an impact of more than $23 billion in 2022, according to the A4A report.
S. 1838, the “Credit Card Competition Act of 2023,” originally sponsored by U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) would require banks to offer merchants at least two network options, one of which cannot be Visa or Mastercard, for processing credit card transactions.
Based in Washington, D.C., A4A is a trade association representing major U.S. airlines. It was founded in 1936 as the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) and rebranded as A4A in 2011.
What’s the travel and tourism impact of credit card rewards in each state?
Source: Airlines for America
This table summarizes the impact of visitors using airline credit card points by state in 2022.
