American Express and Fanatics — a global sports platform spanning events, merchandise, entertainment content, and more — have announced a massive partnership that will include a Fanatics co-branded credit card.
“Nearly 80% of surveyed U.S. American Express Consumer Card Members identify as sports fans, and this partnership with Fanatics will deliver unforgettable fan experiences and expanded access at some of the world’s most popular sporting events,” said Elizabeth Rutledge, chief marketing officer at American Express.
Let’s take a look at the details of this exciting new venture.
Amex and Fanatics Partnership — What We Know
Announced today, May 20, 2026, American Express and Fanatics will team up in a strategic partnership that will make the issuer the payments partner for select Fanatics venues, a presenting sponsor at the annual Fanatics Fest, and more.
Additionally, it will bring a new credit card, the Fanatics American Express® Card, which will launch later this year.
Here’s a closer look at the details of the partnership:
- Amex will become the Official Payments Partner at “select Fanatics online and retail locations globally.”
- Amex will be a presenting sponsor at Fanatics Fest, an annual event held in New York City, which has added a fourth day of programming this year in response to demand. Amex will offer fan experience, cardmember perks, and more.
- Amex and Fanatics will deliver co-branded experiences at select sporting events throughout the year.
Perhaps the most exciting news to come out of this new partnership, however, is the upcoming Fanatics American Express card. An Amex press release says more card details will “be shared in the coming months,” but here are some of the perks and features you can expect on the new product:
- Cardmembers will earn FanCash, the rewards currency of Fanatics, which can then be redeemed for merchandise, tickets, trading cards, collectibles, and other Fanatics experiences.
- Cardmembers will gain access to exclusive benefits and “elevated tier status” in the Fanatics ONE loyalty program.
- Cardmembers will have access to the American Express network and many of its offers, benefits, experiences, and protections.
That’s not all, however. “Within the next year,” Fanatics will become an American Express Membership Rewards transfer partner, which will open up the ability to convert Membership Rewards points earned from eligible cards into FanCash.
We don’t know anything at this point about transfer ratios or earning rates, but we can expect to learn more as we get closer to the card’s launch and to the integration of the Fanatics ONE program into the Membership Rewards program.
Final Thoughts
While there’s still much to learn about this new partnership between American Express and Fanatics, it’s likely to benefit both companies and sports fans everywhere. Amex data shows that an overwhelming majority of its cardmembers are sports fans, so there’s room for the issuer to expand its sports-centric offering and position itself as the leading player in that space.
We’ll be back to update you as soon as we learn more about the forthcoming Fanatics American Express card and the new transfer relationship, both of which will likely be very compelling for sports fans.