Keep Calm and Co-brand

Week at a Glance: The Evolution of CobrandCo-branded Card 2025 Competitive Intelligence TrendsCo-branded Card Predictions for 2025All That Glitters Is Not Gold: Sometimes It’s SapphireFulcrum Question: Who owns the future of co-brand: issuers, brands, or ecosystems?Bonjour, I am back after a two-week break and re-energized, raring to go. Time away always sharpens perspective, and this week’s edition is all about co-brand. It was hard for me to miss the “usual” ads that I saw at JFK, and interestingly, CDG and NCE were no different; a reminder that cobrand messaging truly travels across borders.One story that caught my eye during the break was Imprint’srecent Rakuten co-brand. Reportedly, Imprint beat out a number of traditional banks to land this partnership. Not bad for a five-year-old credit card startup that is now valued at $900 million. For context, consider Cardless, another fintech challenger that already has major co-brands in its portfolio. The fact that merchants are entrusting these partnerships to young entrants rather than legacy issuers shows just how much the ground is shifting.Speaking of shifting ground, Alaska and Hawaiian are nowmoving closer together, and with Bank of America’s launch of the Atmos Rewards cards, the combined airline is doubling down on loyalty alignment. This is not just a merger of fleets but a merger of ecosystems, with co-brand as a central pillar.