San Francisco-based NextCard, Inc. made initial public offering of 6,000,000 shares of newly issued common stock. The shares are being traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "NXCD". NextCard was launched in Dec. 1997 with the introduction of "The First True Internet VISA".  Since then more than 1.7 million consumers have applied online for the 'NextCard Internet VISA'. The company says being unconstrained by legacy technologies has been a key to its success. Meanwhile Bankrate.com, formerly known as Bank Rate Monitor, and now owned by Intelligent Life Corp. also went public. The initial public offering of 3,500,000 shares of its common stock is being traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "ILIF". Intelligent Life also owns theWhiz.com, Consejero.com and CPNet.com. Bankrate.com and Bank Rate Monitor were formerly owned by banking journalist Robert Heady.