Spending volume on American Express commercial cards grew $136 billion in the first quarter as large and global clients are beginning to show signs of business travel recovery. Total Travel & Entertainment (T&E) spending across the network was 88% of 2019’s first quarter levels, but U.S. consumer T&E spending was 20% above 2019’s first quarter levels.

“T&E spending did show a dip in January and early February due to the [Covid-19] omicron variant, but spending rebounded tremendously, reflecting pent-up travel demand, and essentially reached 2019 levels for the first time since the start of the pandemic in the month of March,” CFO Jeff Campbell said. “Overall, we are pleased with the growth momentum we see across the board in our spending volumes, which is tracking in line with our expectations for both the year and for our long-term expectations.”

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