American Express acquires TheFork for $700m to build out its dining empire

American Express acquires TheFork, the European restaurant-reservation platform, from Tripadvisor for $700m in cash. The payments company announced the proposed deal on Monday, adding a booking network of more than 50,000 restaurants across 11 European countries to a dining business it has been quietly assembling for years.

The structure is an all-cash put-option agreement, a common European setup: Amex grants Tripadvisor the option, an employee works-council consultation runs, and once Tripadvisor exercises it the two sign a definitive purchase agreement. The companies expect it to close before the end of 2026, subject to that consultation and regulatory approvals.

For Tripadvisor it is a planned exit, not a surprise. It said in February it was exploring strategic alternatives for TheFork, and is selling to concentrate on its Experiences business, Viator. Goldman Sachs advised Tripadvisor.

This is not really a restaurant play. It is a loyalty play. Amex makes its money keeping affluent cardholders engaged and spending, and a hard-to-get dinner reservation is one of the stickiest perks a card can offer.

TheFork is the third piece. Amex already owns Resy and Tock, the US and global booking platforms, and it says the three together will push its dining network past 75,000 bookable venues. The logic is to own the reservation layer end-to-end, in the US and now across Europe, so that booking a table, paying for it, and earning rewards all happen inside the Amex ecosystem.

Restaurants get diners; Amex gets data and engagement; cardholders get access.

The price looks full but not wild. TheFork turned over $232m in the year to the first quarter of 2026 and made $28m in adjusted earnings, so $700m is roughly three times revenue. That is a premium for a profitable European platform, and a sign Amex is buying reach and relationships, not just cash flow.

The deal fits a broader shift at card networks toward selling experiences, not just credit. Travel, dining and events are where premium cards justify their annual fees, and where Amex competes with Chase and others for high-spending customers. Buying the booking platforms outright, rather than partnering with them, gives Amex control of the funnel and a moat that is hard to copy.

There are open questions. European regulators will look at a US payments giant absorbing a major regional booking platform, and restaurants wary of being locked into one network may push back. TheFork’s diners and partner restaurants will also want to know whether the service stays open to non-Amex customers, as Resy largely has. But the direction is clear: Amex is buying its way to owning where, and how, its customers eat.