tl;dr – Avelo becomes the first US-based airline to partner with Cardless.
Houston-based Avelo Airlines, a US budget carrier, announced the launch of a new credit card, powered by card-infrastructure fintech Cardless.
This is an interesting development – one that I pointed to in my 2025 predictions – but admittedly, I was still off. I predicted that in 2025, either Wells Fargo would be the sponsoring bank for a new Avelo credit card, and that 1) didn’t happen last year, 2) here in 2026, Cardless has now stepped up to be the partner bank.
Here’s the LinkedIn post from Cardless CEO Michael Spelfogel:
No current word on a signup bonus, but as far as card benefits, here’s what you can expect:
“The Avelo Airlines Mastercard integrates seamlessly with Avelo’s other offerings and gives cardholders 5% in Avelo Cash back on Avelo purchases, 2% in Avelo Cash back on all other purchases, and unique benefits like a free carry-on bag, priority boarding, and standard seat selection capabilities.”
Avelo, for its part, operates mostly short-haul routes to destinations on the East Coast, Midwest, and Appalachia, though the airline also does fly to San Juan, Puerto Rico:
If nothing else, this is a promising development for Avelo loyalists, providing an easy avenue to skip on some bundling costs (bags, seat selection) that typically comprise a healthy portion of a budget carrier’s revenue.
