American Express announced it will buy dining and event reservation company Tock for $400 million. The cash purchase will be the credit card company’s latest foray into the dining sector, following its acquisition of Resy in 2019.
The Resy and Tock apps cater to higher-end restaurants, which will expand their reach to American Express’s more affluent user base. Amex hopes to secure these fine dining establishments to be fully American Express exclusive or to offer preferred rewards to Amex customers.
The move is part of a growing push by credit card companies to expand beyond traditional points-based rewards programs and offer cardholders additional perks. In a similar vein, American Express also announced the purchase of Rooam, a mobile payments app that has gained traction in stadium, arena, and restaurant applications.
“Dining and entertainment are critical features of credit card rewards programs,” said Ben Danner, Senior Credit and Commercial Analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research. “American Express will certainly leverage Tock’s dining reservation platform and Rooam’s payment platform to provide bonus offerings for its card members, which tend to be affluent and likely to use these promotions.”
A More Fitting Clientele
The move comes after recent news that eBay will drop American Express as a payment option. The online marketplace said it made the decision because Amex has high interchange fees and there are many other payment options available.
American Express is likely a better fit with clientele-focused, fine dining apps like Resy and Tock. Amex leadership said that since the acquisition of Resy, the number of engaged users has tripled, the number of restaurants on the platform has increased fivefold, and there’s been a solid rise in diners seated.
Sought-After Dining
Chicago-based Tock, which was acquired by Squarespace in 2021, books reservations and tickets for around 7,000 restaurants, wineries, and venues. Some of the sought-after restaurants on its platform include New York’s Scandanavian restaurant Aquavit and Northern California’s Chez Noir bistro. These restaurants will now be a part of American Express’s dining platform.
“Now, we can connect even more premium customers with the most exciting restaurants, while providing merchants and restaurants more technology to help their businesses thrive,” said Howard Grosfield, President, U.S. Consumer Services at American Express in a prepared statement. “We will be able to offer restaurants the tools to deliver more personalized hospitality, facilitate pre-paid experiences like tasting menus, and provide more convenient ways for customers to pay the bill.”
