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American Express Snaps Up LoungeBuddy In Its Second Acquisition For 2019

You may not be able to get more leg room on your flight, but at least you can stretch out before boarding. As airlines have over the years, other companies are getting into the travel-experience space. Most recent example? On Monday, , a booking app for lounges, for an undisclosed amount.

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American Express has been partnering with LoungeBuddy since 2017, . Specifically, LoungeBuddy supplied information (such as lounge ratings and reviews) that could be accessed via the American Express mobile app. The acquisition will allow LoungeBuddy to 鈥渇urther deliver鈥 on these services, said co-founder and CTO of the startup, in the press release.

Since its inception in 2013, San Francisco-based LoungeBuddy had raised . In 2015, led its $3 million , which also included participation from a slew of others such as and . Other entrepreneurs and investors , , and also contributed to the round.

, a senior executive at American Express, said the acquisition shows the company鈥檚 commitment to enhancing travel benefits for its premium card members.

LoungeBuddy will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Express upon closure of the deal, which is expected to take place in April.

Notably, this is not American Express鈥檚 first foray into booking services.

, American Express acquired : Japan-based Pocket Concierge. That startup helps book in-demand restaurants and is similar to OpenTable. In 2018, it also acquired , an AI-powered personal travel assistant, and , a digital payments startup that wants to make it easier to pay at bars and restaurants, for .

iStockPhoto /聽Orbon Alija

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