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News Roundup
This is a roundup of news that I have come across during the day. Here you can read about Goldman Sachs buying General Motors’ credit-card business, another airline bailout, JetBlue COVID-19 tests, new limit for Amex Platinum, and average credit card interest in July was at 20.21%.
General Motors’ Credit Card, Brought to You by Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs is buying General Motors’ credit-card business for about $2.5 billion, a deal that furthers the Wall Street giant’s push into Main Street lending. Goldman Sachs, a newcomer to the credit-card space, won the bidding over Barclays PLC, people familiar with the matter said, handing the Wall Street firm more than a million GM cardholders and their roughly $8.5 billion in annual spending. It is the second win in the credit-card sector for Goldman, which launched its first credit card last year with Apple Inc. and is on the hunt for other deals in co-branded cards.
U.S. airlines rise as new proposal revives bailout hope
U.S. airlines have been pleading for another $25 billion in support to protect jobs for a further six months after the previous package, which banned furloughs, expired at midnight Sept. 30. The deadline expiry prompted American Airlines AAL.O and United Airlines UAL.O, two of the largest U.S. carriers, to announce they were beginning furloughs of over 32,000 workers.
JetBlue To Offer At-Home COVID-19 Tests For Travelers With Upcoming Flights
JetBlue announced its intention on Tuesday to provide customers with pending flights the option to purchase an at-home COVID-19 saliva test. The tests are coordinated through a partnership with health care company Vault Health and are intended for JetBlue customers who need to obtain a negative COVID-19 test result before entering various states or countries, or as a requirement to avoid mandatory quarantine.
American Express Platinum Adds $500,000 Limit To 5x On Travel Starting 1/1/2021
American Express will add a new cap on spending for the American Express Platinum card of $500,000 per calendar year on flights purchased directly from airlines or American Express Travel.
Average Credit Card Interest Rate Was 20.21% in July 2020
The average credit card interest rate was 20.21% in July 2020, according to data collected by The Balance. That’s down a hair from June’s average rate of 20.22%, but not because of any major card APR shifts. The Balance refined database calculations in July, and recorded just a few small card APR increases, but those offer changes did not move the average rate needle much.
