JPMorgan is building a travel agency

Over the past 18 months, JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s biggest bank, has bought a booking system (cxLoyalty), restaurant review company (The Infatuation), and luxury travel agency (Frosch International Travel). It’s also building its own Sapphire airport lounges, as well as launching a new booking website in the coming months.

💰✈️ Driving the moves… A desire to control the whole shopping and buying experience for purchases customers are passionate about. (Automobiles and homes might be next, the WSJ reports.)

Travel has become an important spending category for banks and credit card issuers. JPMorgan estimates its customers already account for one of every three dollars spent on leisure travel in the US, but they rarely book on its own Ultimate Rewards website.

• With the recent moves aimed at getting these rookie numbers up, bank execs expect to capture $15 billion in bookings in 2025. This would make Chase the country’s third-biggest travel agency.

🏦 Zoom out: JPMorgan isn’t the only bank making its way into travel bookings. AmEx is currently the country’s third biggest travel agent, and Capital One plans to build its own travel site after opening its first airport lounge last year.

+Bonus travel read: ​​How JetBlue’s takeover of Spirit could change air travel