Minneapolis-based Sun Country Airlines on Tuesday announced the launch of a new, co-branded credit card program in partnership with Synchrony, a financial services company based in Connecticut.

The Sun Country Visa Signature credit card allocates five rewards points per $1 of Sun Country purchases as well as two rewards points per $1 spent at gas stations and grocery stores.

It entices customers by “rewarding leisure travelers for both flights and everyday purchases,” according to a company statement. The airline has had a credit card program for several years. Under this new launch, it is switching bank providers. Previously, it had contracted with First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO).

Sun Country negotiated the preceding contract with FNBO in 2018. The airline has seen its cardholder base triple since then, according to chief marketing officer Colton Snow. The airline did not disclose specific member numbers.

Also in 2018, private equity concern Apollo Capital Management purchased Sun Country. The airline has since gone public (in 2021) and more than doubled the number of its non-stop routes out of Minnesota. (Those developments factor into a timeline of consistent profitability for Sun Country that TCB laid out in an Aug./Sept. feature story last year.)

The membership increase created an opportunity for negotiating a new contract, leading to a competitive search. “We had a number of banks participate, and throughout that process Synchrony rose to the top as the bank that we wanted to partner with going forward,” Snow says.

One new component of the reward program is the “plus” status, which members qualify for by taking 10 flights in a calendar year or spending $10,000 annually with the airline’s credit card.

Sun Country largely serves leisure travelers, a different target demographic than most other airlines, Snow says, which cater more to business travelers. Leisure travelers fly at relatively lower frequencies—say, one to three times a year, or even once every two years. With the “plus” status, the airline is looking to build relationships with customers who spend more and travel more often than Sun Country’s average flier.

“For our customers who find value in the airline, our co-branded credit card is the best way to maximize that value,” he says. “We want to make sure, for our most engaged customers, that Sun Country stays their first choice for leisure travel for years to come.”

The new card is usable for airfare at Sun Country as well as for everyday purchases. Various levels of reward points are earned on all transactions made with the card.

Other features of the program include a 50% discount on the first checked bag, 50% discount on “best” and “standard” seat selections, a free on-flight drink, and 25% off other food and drink purchases on flights. New card members earn 25,000 points when they spend $1,000 in the first 90 days of a new account.