Good morning. Winning customers who stay with a brand for decades has become an important strategy for financial institutions and retailers.
For American Express, that means tailoring offerings to affluent, adventure-seeking customers in their mid-20s to mid-40s. In a new Fortune article, my colleague Shawn Tully spoke with American Express CEO Steve Squeri about enhancements to the company’s U.S. Consumer and Business Platinum Cards. Squeri also explains how he’s targeting Gen Z and millennials.
Dining was the fastest-growing travel and entertainment category in Q1 and Q2 this year for American Express. Subsequently, Amex recently introduced a new $400 annual credit for reservations made through Resy—a site acquired by the company in 2019, a year after Squeri became CEO. Amex customers can now get tables at top restaurants, which often reserve spots or prioritize cardholders over others who booked earlier.
Amex card members with Resy credit spend 25% more at U.S. Resy restaurants since the benefit launched. Resy CEO Pablo Rivero told Tully that Resy benefits were introduced to several other Amex cards in 2024.
Increasingly, that cohort includes Gen Z (up to age 27) and millennials (ages 28 to 44), a group Squeri has actively courted. Together, these generations account for 35% of all U.S. consumer spending for Amex, up from 19% in 2019. Gen Z and millennials also gravitate heavily toward acquiring fee-based cards like Gold and Platinum, Tully writes. (You can read the complete article here.)
I recently spoke with Scott Roe, CFO and COO of New York City-based Tapestry, parent of luxury brands Coach and Kate Spade New York. Millennials and Gen Z are increasingly choosing Coach, which drove a strong quarter ending June 28, fueled by these demographics. “By 2030, Gen Z and millennials will make up over 70% of the market,” Roe told me. Tapestry aims to capture their first luxury purchase.
“The long-term value of acquiring customers at this initial entry point is substantial,” he said. “While others speak to millions, we’re talking to billions of potential consumers.”
Gen Z’s spending power is expected to reach $12 trillion in the next five years, according to a global report by NielsenIQ and GfK in collaboration with World Data Lab. As a result, this generation will have a significant influence on the products manufacturers and retailers offer in the near future, according to the report.
Brands that connect with Gen Z and millennials now are positioning themselves for lasting customer loyalty and future growth.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Christy Schwartz was appointed interim CFO of Opendoor Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: OPEN), effective as of Sept. 30, replacing Selim Freiha, the company’s CFO, according to an SEC filing. Schwartz served as the company’s interim CFO from December 2022 to November 2024, and its chief accounting officer from March 2021 to May 2025. Before that, she served as Opendoor’s VP, corporate controller from August 2016 to March 2021.
Justin Robinson was appointed CFO of The Dot Group, a student living company. Robinson has more than 24 years of finance experience. He previously held CFO and senior adviser roles at Apollo Global Management, where he spent nine years working across European hospitality and mixed-use real estate. Before Apollo, Robinson held senior finance roles at Hilton Group and Jumeirah Hotels, after beginning his career at Credit Suisse and Deloitte.
Big Deal
Udemy, an AI learning platform, released its annual 2026 Global Learning & Skills Trends Report, which explores the top themes and in-demand skills shaping the future of work. The analysis is based on learning data from over 17,000 Udemy enterprise customers.
A key finding is that AI fluency skills are in demand. Udemy has seen 11 million GenAI course enrollments to date. Microsoft Copilot content consumption increased 3,400% year-over-year across business use cases, and GitHub CoPilot content consumption soared 13,534% for technical applications, according to the report. AI agents and agentic AI emerged as the top-consumed net-new AI skill.
Another key finding is that critical thinking, communication, and creativity remain essential as professionals navigate AI-driven disruptions and other innovations. Adaptive or soft skills learning has grown 25% year-over-year on Udemy Business, with critical thinking consumption up 37% and decision-making skills increasing 38%.
Going deeper
A new Deloitte report, “Safeguarding Medicare: Proactive care could unlock $500B in annual program savings,” finds that shifting from reactive to preventive health care could save the U.S. up to $2.2 trillion a year by 2040—without higher taxes or benefit cuts. The analysis shows that aligning incentives toward prevention, early detection, and healthier lifestyles could lower employer premiums by $7,000 per person per year and help reduce chronic disease rates. Most notably, investing in proactive care could save Medicare over $500 billion annually on medical and prescription drug claims.
Overheard
"In your next AI strategy meeting, consider automated reasoning. It could be the key to deploying AI with confidence across your organization and for your customers."
—Byron Cook, VP, distinguished scientist at Amazon Web Services, and a professor of computer science at University College London, writes in a Fortune opinion piece.
