Credit Education Month
From the April 1999 Issue of CardTrak
“Credit Education ... Discover The Possibilities” is the theme of this year's National Credit Education Week, slated for the week of April 18. National Credit Education Week was established in 1945 by the International Credit Association to stress the need for citizens to understand credit and its importance in their lives.

This year CardWeb.com, Inc. calls attention to the vast resources of credit card information available via its Website. All information geared towards consumers is available free-of-charge. Here is a rundown of the online resources available to consumers via CardWeb, "The Payment Card Information Network":

CREDITPAGE

If you’re one of the millions of Americans that could use a lesson on managing credit, you’re in luck. There’s a new Web site that offers reliable, comprehensive and confidential advice about managing credit - all at the click of a mouse. CreditPage is intended to help consumers manage credit, examine their spending habits, access their credit record, and contact hundreds of money management and debt counseling advisors and agencies. This new Website is a collaborative effort, via the Internet, of financial education organizations, nonprofit consumer credit counseling organizations, and financial institutions.

BUSINESS CARDS

American Express has been the market leader in providing cards to small businesses, but VISA is moving up fast. A 1999 survey by the PSI Global Commercial Services Research Program indicates that American Express has 22% of the small-business commercial card market, VISA has 20% and MasterCard has 13%. In 1998, VISA had only 11% of the market, and MasterCard only 10%. The study also found: 49% of all small businesses in this category are using some type of business credit card, up from 37% in 1998; the average small business spends about $10,000 each year on a business card; and the average small business revolves about $2,000 monthly.

Meanwhile, American Express unveiled the Corporate Platinum Card for Senior Executives, at mid-sized and large companies, this month. AmEx says that although the annual fee of $300 sounds steep at first, the total value of the services, if the cardmember used each benefit only once, would be more than $5,000 if purchased separately. The new Platinum Card offers an elite group of the nation’s business travelers a package of premium services and upgrades. The program includes $500,000 coverage when common carrier tickets, such as a scheduled airline, boat, train, bus, airport limousine or scheduled helicopter, are charged to the Corporate Platinum Card.

American Express also introduced this month American Express a new credit card that will help Canadian small business. The new American Express AIR MILES Gold Business Card provides the small business owner access to up to $50,000 in credit financing and several other key benefits. The AIR MILES rewards are figured on one mile for every $20 in purchases, and can be used for both business and personal spending. Cardmembers who are already AIR MILES program enrollees earn miles even faster when using the Card at any of the 9,600 AIR MILES sponsor locations across Canada. AT&T Canada, UPS, Holiday Inn, NEBS Business Forms and Liberty Health are a few of the participating sponsors. Other key benefits include: a 6.9% introductory interest rate, then the standard 18.25%; membership in Membership Rewards; up to nine free supplemental cards for employees; company name on the card; and $100,000 Travel Accident Insurance. Business owners in Canada can contact American Express on 800-869-3016 to apply, or contact the AIR MILES program directly at 888-AIRMILES.

DINERS PHONE CARD

Diners Club International has joined with Carrier Services, Inc. to provide the Diners Club Global Phone Card to cardmembers, who only have to dial 1-888-PRE-PAID (888-773-7243) to activate the card. They’ll then have immediate access to AT&T prepaid service. Diners Club cardmembers can receive 200 minutes of AT&T long distance calling, with an additional 1000 Club Rewards points with every activation or recharge. The card provides flat-rate domestic calling as well as international access to over 200 countries worldwide.You can apply online for a Diners Club card on their Web site www.dinersclub.com, or by calling 800-2DINERS.

WILD KINGDOM CARD

Fans of Mutual of Omaha’s TV series, Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, can now have a First USA Platinum VISA card featuring beautiful wildlife photography in the spirit of the popular show. Wild Kingdom premiered more than 30 years ago, and was a landmark wildlife program on TV in the 60’s. The new Platinum VISA will have no annual fee, a 3.9% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers, followed by a low 9.99% annual percentage rate. you can apply for a Platinum VISA by contacting First USA at their Website www.firstusa.com, or by calling them on 800-FIRST-USA.

ONLINE LENDING

Nearly 39 million households in the U.S. are expected to be online by the end of 1999. Forrester Research Inc. has recently issued a report that estimates that consumers will obtain 8.9 million loans and credit cards over the Internet by 2003. By that time, online mortgages are expected to capture almost 10% of the total market. In the meantime, virtually every credit card issuer will be using the Web as a customer acquisition channel. Within five years, one out of every six credit cards issued will be obtained online. Other credit products, such as auto financing, home equity loans and student loans won’t be far behind. Over 80% of the institutions interviewed indicated they will offer online credit applications by early next year, and more than 60% will approve or deny applications online before the end of the year.

PRICELINE BONUS

First USA has joined hands with priceline.com to enable customers to use their VISA credit card to make their purchases online. Customers can increase the amount of their priceline purchase offers by specified amounts, by applying for a First USA credit card or using a First USA credit card to complete their online transaction. As an example, a customer offering $200 for an airline ticket who applies for or uses a First USA credit card might have $40 instantly added to the their purchase offering, increasing their chances of getting a ticket at no additional cost.

WHAT'S NEXT?

NextCard, The First True Internet VISA, is introducing customized, money-saving digital coupons on their NextCard GoShopping! site. NextCard cardholders can now register with e-centives to receive promotions and offers from leading online stores such as: Music Boulevard; Sports Superstore Online; eToys and egghead.com. The new program allows cardholders to take full advantage of the purchasing power of the Internet with a simple way to collect, store and personalize their preferences for easy online shopping. In addition, cardholders can also tailor their coupons to their own personal interests, such as sports, travel, music, etc., and simply click to redeem the coupons, or store them in their personal account to redeem later. The GoShopping! site also provides cardholders with the Bargain Finder and the Shopping Guide, both easy-to-use specialized online tools.

GLOBAL SERVICE

MasterCard's Global Service said this month it has serviced more than one million card-related requests, and has achieved a 96% satisfaction rating by cardholders. The program was introduced in 1995 worldwide, and provides toll-free access to service 24-hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year, in the cardholder’s language, almost anywhere on the planet. In 1998, the program was used in 196 countries, in 46 languages. During 1999, it is expected that more than 600 million people will travel internationally. That number is expected to double in the next 15 years. MasterCard wants its cardholders to know that if they are among the 600 million international travelers this year, they can count on the MasterCard Global Service program to provide a high level of efficient service in case of emergency.