Originally Posted by
FriendlyPilot
This is not true at all. United made less than $2B TOTAL in credit card revenue in 2024, yet the net profit was over $4B. Also that $2B wasn't just free cash. It all had a cost associated with it because United actually had to fly people around to be paid that money that was redeemed from earned miles.
This whole myth is ridiculous. Its not much different than chemtrails or the aircraft fuel conspiracies on the internet.
Yes they generally make money flying, they just also make big money with credit cards. There was a probably a quarter here and there where credit card revenue was positive and flight ops negative... maybe air travel is more seasonal than credit card use.