JPMorgan Taps Private Credit Firms to Ease Co-Brand Card Partnerships

JPMorgan Chase is exploring ways to ease tension with its credit-card partners by allowing private-credit firms to underwrite rejected applications for co-branded cards.

The bank has sent requests to over a dozen entities, including Blue Owl, Blackstone, KKR, and Sixth Street, to discuss second-look applications that would allow them to take on the risk of approving applications JPMorgan denies.

This move could signal another level of acceptance into mainstream finance for private-credit firms, which have been wading into consumer debt. A partnership with JPMorgan would be a major milestone for these firms, as it has some of the largest co-brand partnerships in the industry, including with United Airlines, Amazon, and Marriott.

JPMorgan's rejection rates have been a source of strain with its partner United Airlines, one of its biggest card issuers. The airline has previously conveyed its interest in finding an additional lender that would approve the applicants JPMorgan rejects.