Hidden in the Hype Is a Better Traveler’s Check

Another poll is hitting the headlines, this one purportedly indicating that “the move from the ‘Me Generation’ of the 1980s to the ‘We Generation’ of the 1990s is now being reflected in travel behavior.”

It’s the Gallup Vacationers Poll, and according to its sponsor, American Express, the big find is that people are spending more time together on vacations than they did in the past, and lots more than their parents did.

This is a little interesting. What’s more interesting is that the poll is being promoted to back up a traveler’s check redesigned for people who want to spend more time apart.

Marketing being what it is and polls being attention-getters, many people will still end up believing that American Express is selling togetherness and sharing instead of just a bit more convenience. In fact, the most interesting thing about the poll is that it adds little to the product but price.

The product is American Express Traveler’s Cheques, 100 years old and not real exciting in a day when plastic cards do more and more. But they have many loyalists besides Karl Malden--people who are fearful that machines won’t give back their card, or who want the security of easy replacement (an American Express forte), or who like having limits set on their vacation spending, or who hate coming home to bills.

Unfortunately, given the growth and spread of cards (American Express cards included), Traveler’s Cheque sales have been fairly static or even slipping for several years. Last year’s $23 billion in sales worldwide were back below the level of 1988--a softening only partly explained by war and recession.

Hence, something new--Cheques for Two, with space for two signatures in the upper left (Karl Malden and Mona Malden on the sample). The advantage: Two people can use the same checks, because either can countersign, “whether they’re together,” says American Express, “temporarily off on their own or accidentally separated.” The disadvantage: They’re expected to cost the consumer more, though the extra line adds no cost to handling them.

It’s a good idea, easily understood, readily appreciated. When couples travel, it’s a pain for each to purchase, sign and carry a separate cache of checks. Anyone could tell the company that. Indeed, many did; American Express researched this little innovation for several years, heavy on consumer studies.

What’s unclear is why they needed a big poll, particularly one showing that 39% of vacationing couples are spending more time together, and 51% more time together than their parents did. If anything, this suggests even less need for the two-person checks.

It’s also unclear why AmEx didn’t just turn the main point around, demonstrating something more relevant to this new product. The tabulation that showed the 39% spending more time together also showed that 59% spend the same or less time together--a better reason, one would think, for two-person checks.

Furthermore, 30% of respondents spent at least a fifth of their time apart, and 64% had favorite vacation activities they preferred doing alone. Not surprisingly, those include hunting, golf and shopping; people prefer being together for fine dining, outdoor activities and visits to museums and historical sites.

The poll did glom on to some mildly interesting changes in money-handling, apparently thanks to changes, says American Express, “in the roles and relationships of men and women today.” Almost two-thirds of those polled said that in their parents’ generation, one person--usually the man--handled the money on vacation. Now, 77% of people traveling together, including married couples, “share control.”

Apparently unsure of both its product’s appeal and its own consumer research, American Express is even adding an enhancement--a free travel planner for people who may be new to shared control, new to travel, maybe new to basic thought processes. It outlines trip planning needs--for example, whoever books a flight should note down the airports involved, the airlines, the flight numbers, the flight times.

It also offers some stunning tips for the New Age twosome. People who want a snapshot that includes both of them must ask someone else to take it. If they separate “temporarily,” agreeing to meet later, they should try to be on time. If they do go off separately, each should have a hotel room key.

Maybe it’s a crowded market out there. Maybe it’s hard to get attention, to establish credibility. Here’s the thing about the new American Express traveler’s checks: Underneath the poll and the palaver is a real nice little product improvement. Maybe consumers can remember what it is.