Spending on American Express commercial cards grew to $136 billion in the first quarter of 2022, exceeding 2019 levels, as business travel shows more signs of recovery.
Small and medium-sized business spending accounted for $115 billion of this volume, an increase of 30 per cent year-on-year and up 26 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2019.
The $21 billion in spending by Amex’s large and global clients marked an increase of 42 per cent on 2021, although this was still down by 34 per cent on volumes for the same period of 2019.
Total T&E (travel and expense) spending across the American Express network was 88 per cent of the levels seen in the first quarter of 2019, when adjusted for foreign currency exchange fluctuations.
American Express chief financial officer Jeff Campbell said signs of growth became more apparent for that group towards the end of the quarter.
“T&E spending did show a dip in January and early February due to the [Covid-19] Omicron variant, but spending rebounded tremendously, reflecting pent-up travel demand, and essentially reached 2019 levels for the first time since the start of the pandemic,” added Campbell.
“Overall, we are pleased with the growth momentum we see across the board in our spending volumes, which is tracking in line with our expectations for both the year and for our long-term expectations.”
Across T&E categories, spending on airlines was up 245 per cent year-on-year in the quarter but 34 per cent below 2019 levels. Accommodation spending was up 108 per cent compared with 2021 but down 22 per cent on 2019’s figures.
Campbell said business travel was driving some of that increase, with more spending on premium cabins and higher-end hotels.
“Your average business travel purchase is, of course, much higher than the average consumer purchase,” he added.