A Gem of a Rewards Segment: With Sapphire, JPMorgan Chase hopes to get its Wealthy Back
Published 10/14/2009
Author: Sharon M. Goldman
Sharon M. Goldman is the Senior Editor for COLLOQUY.
Summary
Back in 2006, companies courting the affluent were like Justin Timberlake’s song "SexyBack"—everywhere, all the time, with a Timbaland bass track thumping in the background. Vogue boasted over 625 advertising pages in its September issue; and banks including Citigroup and Bank of America were developing reach-the-rich cards to compete with American Express’s famed Centurion brand.
As 2009 skids uncertainly to a close, it’s almost hard to recall those heady pre-recession days when private jet ownership was still taking off and there were 946 billionaires, according to Forbes—compared to only 793 in ’09. In fact, the idea of the affluent as a target segment seemed to go into hibernation sometime around early 2008, replaced by the thrifty, the cost-conscious and, oh yes, the penny-pinching.
Perhaps that hibernation was short-lived: It appears JPMorgan Chase may be betting the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression is drawing to a close. The evidence: Chase’s August launch of Chase Sapphire, a credit card targeted at households with an annual income over $120,000.
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