On June 4, 2026, American Express and Delta Air Lines rolled out a suite of new travel benefits for their co-branded Delta SkyMiles credit cards. While the company focuses on locking in modern frequent flyers, podcasters are looking back at the financial giant's deep historical footprint in media and its status as an elite advertising powerhouse.
On My First Million, former MTV executive Tom Freston detailed how American Express originally helped birth the cable music revolution through an interactive TV joint venture with Warner Communications. Freston recalled that "when it finally got approved, we were the child of American Express and Warner Communications. It was a joint venture."
Meanwhile, on The Shawn Ryan Show, journalist Megyn Kelly pointed to the company as the gold standard of prestige television advertising. Discussing her prime-time days hosting The Kelly File on Fox News, she noted that her program attracted "American Express, BMW, you know, like, all the blue-chip brands."
Whether funding experimental joint ventures in the 1980s or anchoring prime-time commercial slots in the 2010s, American Express has consistently used media to cement its premium brand status. As the company rolls out its latest travel perks, expect it to keep leveraging that high-end reputation to keep competitors at bay.