These days, if you buy a seat in Delta’s most luxurious cabin at some airports (or book with points), you can skip almost all the chaos of traditional security lines.
In New York, Delta One passengers departing from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) are funneled into a private lobby. There, refreshments start flowing before passengers reach the semi-private security checkpoint on their way to America’s best (and perhaps most unique) airport lounge.
But just before walking through the doors of the 40,000-square-foot Club Kennedy, patrons can look out on the balcony and admire all that their money (or points) will allow them to avoid.
Below, you can see customers lining up at the security checkpoint. Travelers hurried through airport halls lugging $8 water bottles. crowd. pressure.
It’s a tale of two worlds: one for the masses, the other for patrons willing to pay — not just for lie-flat seats, but also for high-end dining, spa treatments and a little peace and quiet before heading out.
And the divide is becoming more pronounced.
The gap between premiums and budget widens
By 2026, we expect the gap between high-end and budget travel experiences to continue to widen—with experiences starting to differ long before travelers board a plane or step into a luxury hotel suite.
This has become one of the major travel trends shaping the industry in 2026.
Credit card issuers step up efforts to target big spenders
This year, banking giants American Express and Chase are launching consumer cards with some of the highest annual fees we’ve ever seen, doubling down on attracting travelers willing to pay extra for extra points, travel perks and, increasingly, lifestyle perks.
Reward your inbox with the TPG daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers and get breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive offers from TPG experts
How much did we talk about?
After this fall’s update, you’ll be able to carry it for just $895 American Express Platinum Card® (See Rates and Fees), up from $695. Chase Sapphire Reserve® (See Rates and Fees) The annual fee for cardholders increased 45% to $795. Overall, the average annual fee cost for premium credit cards has increased 22% since 2023.
Sticker shock, anyone? Sure, but for those willing to foot the bill, the cards now each include hundreds of dollars in annual points that can be spent on Apple TV+, high-end restaurants, tempting hotels, and more. In addition to this, access to the issuer’s own airport lounge portfolio is also available.
However, for all the nifty benefits packed into these premium cards, the enhancements are much more modest for consumers who don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars every year.
For example, many airline cards offer roughly the same points, baggage and boarding benefits as they did five or ten years ago.
Broadly speaking, most of the innovation by issuers and their airline and hotel partners is upmarket, as each issuer looks to appeal to high-income travelers.
Airlines are joining the high-end market
At airports, these dynamics extend far beyond Delta.
In the coming months, United Airlines expects to debut a premium “elevated” cabin with up to 99 premium seats on its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, including some ultra-luxurious Polaris Studios where passengers will enjoy caviar on long-haul flights.
United is one of a number of global airlines looking to not only expand the size of its business class, but also offer a handful of better (and pricier) accommodations to travelers willing to pay for a roomier environment.
“There’s a lot more focus on improving the experience,” Alastair Hamilton, vice president of seat manufacturer Collins Aerospace, told TPG in an interview in Hamburg, Germany, earlier this year.
“Things are getting better everywhere,” Hamilton said of airlines. “Trying to monetize every part of the cabin as much as possible.”
The global aviation industry is promoting the process of premiumization.
Last spring, Air France introduced easily the most luxurious seats on flights between the U.S. and Europe, with its state-of-the-art “La Premiere” first-class cabin featuring recliners, giant entertainment screens and unlimited champagne.
Japan’s All Nippon Airways is gearing up for its sibling with its acclaimed “The Room” suite, often voted one of the prettiest seats in the sky. Closer to home, American Airlines’ new flagship suites debuted in June, giving the Fort Worth-based carrier a serious boost in front-cabin competition.
All told, airlines operating between the United States and Europe are expected to have 35% more premium seats by 2025 than in 2019, six years ago, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
This is partly due to the proliferation of premium economy cabins on airlines around the world.
Premium demand remains unabated
Premium growth is largely the result of airlines (and card issuers) recognizing what we all know: a response to a customer base that has been more than willing to go all out for a luxury trip since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alexander Hill, an economics professor at Arizona State University and a points-based travel enthusiast, said the phenomenon has persisted well beyond the initial pre-pandemic “revenge travel” era and is a complete mindset shift, especially among millennials and Gen Z travelers.
“The shift toward experiences. Spend a lot of money at a Taylor Swift concert. Go pay a fancy credit card so you can get into this lounge,” Hill said.
“All of this,” he quipped, “got my wife interested in credit card points.”
Focus on the front of the aircraft
At the rear of the plane, meanwhile, the innovations are a little more subdued, giving an experience very reminiscent of what it was like a year or two ago.
Recent innovations have focused less on seats or food and more on chair-back screens and Wi-Fi (which is getting faster and free)—impressive feats, but not nearly as dramatic as the luxury of a private suite.
no end in sight
Don’t expect the emphasis on the front cabin to wane any time soon, given the profits big-spending customers are bringing in in the air and increasingly on the ground every time they swipe their credit card.
Guo Tong, a professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, predicted: “We may see further polarization in the market, with the luxury and value segments continuing to expand, while the mid-range segment continues to shrink.”
Budget airlines jump on the bandwagon
Even for an airline once known for being unpretentious, the gap between high-end and budget experiences is widening.
Ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines expects to launch first-class seats by the end of the year. JetBlue hopes to cut the ribbon on its first lounge by the end of 2025. Southwest is already planning to introduce assigned seating (and extra legroom) and is openly considering offering better service. In fact, some of Southwest’s new cabins with extra legroom seats are already in service.
Upcoming fare increases?
On the surface, expanding product selection is a good thing for customers. But in the long term, Hill worries that too many high-end seats across the industry could end up raising ticket prices in each class.
“If you’re going to expand business class seats and premium economy seats, you have to do that [space] “From somewhere,” he said. “So there will be fewer economy class seats, which will lead to higher prices over time.”
What should travelers do?
To combat the growing gap between premium and budget, travelers can still find value by accumulating flexible, transferable rewards that can be redeemed across a wider range of airline and hotel partners. Specifically, many international airline loyalty programs continue to offer great value. In many cases, you can transfer your credit card points to an international airline and then redeem those miles at one of its U.S. partners.
As for elite status? In an increasingly credit-card-centric world, consumers can leverage their everyday purchases to score middle-status perks like seats with extra legroom and free checked bags—perks that may not offer the luxury of a lie-flat seat, but can save money and add comfort to your trip.
Finally, in a world where low-cost airlines now offer a false or genuine premium experience, flying early on a low-cost airline may offer a new opportunity for a more comfortable and relatively cheap flight.
bottom line
To be clear, we haven’t seen a significant increase in airfare prices as the gap between budget and premium continues to widen. If anything, the sheer volume of flights airlines have offered over the past two summers has left economy class fares at historically low inflation-adjusted prices.
But demand for discounts in economy class stands in stark contrast to the situation at the front of the plane, where demand for premium cabins remains unabated. That includes Delta Air Lines, which shows no sign of letting up on its premium business, in part because it expects to earn $8 billion in revenue this year from its partnership with American Express.
“We are actually increasing the percentage of seats we have,” Delta President Glen Hauenstein said in September. “We don’t think this is going to stop.”
For American Express Platinum Card rates and fees, click here.
