The legal battle between outgoing credit card partners Northwest Airlines and U.S. Bank ended Friday, but neither side revealed how they resolved their dispute over the lucrative cards.
Northwest, which was acquired by Delta Air Lines in October, sued the bank a week ago to block it from transferring Northwest WorldPerks credit card customers to U.S. Bank's new FlexPerks Visa card.
U.S. Bank developed the FlexPerks Visa to try to hang on to Northwest customers. In December, Delta chose American Express to market a Delta SkyMiles credit card to Delta and Northwest passengers, who will be combined into one frequent-flier program.
Access to the airline consumers is coveted by both U.S. Bank and American Express.
That was apparent last year when American Express paid Delta $1 billion upfront after the airline signed a five-year agreement to extend its card partnership.
Northwest attorney Andrew Luger notified the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis on Friday that the parties had resolved their legal conflict, and he withdrew Northwest's motion for a temporary injunction against U.S. Bank.
Both sides released the following statement Friday:
"Northwest and U.S. Bank have many ongoing relationships with one another, and were able to resolve our differences on mutually agreeable terms."
