The platinum card market is heating up though. More issuers are jumping in while consumers are burning out on credit card solicitations. Overall response rates for mail offers are dropping, to about 1.0%, while the number of major platinum card issuers has increased 50% during the past six months. However the real payoff with platinum is not signing up new customers. The real bonanza is stemming attrition. In today's saturated credit card market keeping customers is more important than signing up new ones. Upgrading existing cardholders to a platinum card carries a high perceived value despite the fact that there is very little difference between a platinum card and a gold card.

Chase Manhattan will announce this month it is beefing up and simplifying its 'Shell MasterCard'. As of June 1, the $70 annual cap on rebates will be eliminated on gasoline and non-gasoline purchases. Chase and Shell also announced they have increased the rebate on Shell gasoline purchases to 5% from 3%. However the rebate for non-gasoline purchases will drop from 2% to 1%. The MasterCard program is the largest gasoline co-branded credit card in the market and ranks among the top 10 co-branded programs nationally. Chase indicated that more than $300 million in rebates have been earned by cardholders since the card's inception in Oct 1993. According to CardData there are an estimated 2.7 million 'Shell MasterCard' cards-in-force.

Following the launch of its biodegradable credit card in the U.K. last year Greenpeace announced this month it will offer the 'BioCard' in the U.S. through Household Bank. The card was issued in the U.K. through Cooperative Bank. The non-PVC plastic payment card is 95% biodegradable and can be manufactured with a chip. The plastic core and transparent clear overlaminates are fully biodegradable. The mag stripe, signature strip, hologram and printing inks are not known to be biodegradable. And oh yes, Greenpeace USA said it will market the product in recycled envelopes with dioxin-free paper.

Acme Markets and U.S. Bancorp rolled-out the 'Acme American Rewards VISA Card' this month. The new Visa will allow customers to earn free food at Acme supermarkets, free airline tickets from American Airlines, free ski lift tickets at Camelback Ski Resort in Tannersville, Pa., and other travel benefits. The rewards program will award cardholders with two points for every dollar spent at Acme, and one point for every dollar spent on the card at other retailers. Cardholders begin earning rewards once 1,500 points have been acquired. At that level, customers can earn $100 off select vacation packages with Apple Vacations, American Vacations or Delta Vacations Some of the other rewards customers can earn include certificates for $25 worth of free food at Acme for 2,500 points, or free American Airlines airline tickets at 25,000 points.

EarthLink Network and the Discover Card have teamed up. The service, called 'Discover Connection', offers exclusive features and awards to Discover cardholders who sign up for EarthLink's 'TotalAccess Internet' service. 'Discover Connection' will feature EarthLink's $19.95 monthly unlimited Internet service, which will be promoted through credit card billing inserts and on Discover's web site. Cardholders who register for an EarthLink account through 'Discover Connection' will also receive additional mailboxes, personalized and localized content through Planet Direct, and a five percent 'Cashback Bonus Award' from Discover Card. The Discover Card Web site allows Cardmembers to view their last six monthly statements and current transaction information online. Consumers can also apply for the card online.

Argentina's Congress is expected this month to move legislation forward to cap credit card interest rates. The action follows government research, released last month, that shows some credit card issuers charging interest rates as high as 55%. The proposed bill limits credit card rates to the Central Bank's implicit lending rate plus 20%. Currently there is no usury ceiling in Argentina.

American college students bounce checks, revolve credit card purchases and will rack an average of $15,000 in post-graduate according to recent survey conducted by Quicken. The survey found that 67% of college students now have credit cards with 71% of student cardholders revolving balances monthly. Almost half of the students surveyed admitted to bouncing a check during college. The Quicken survey found that less than half of college students balance their checkbook on a monthly basis, and almost three out of four students have called home and asked their parents for money. Yet, twenty-seven percent of students make a valiant effort of keeping track of their money by trying to record at least some of the checks they have written. Additionally, 10% of students leave their finances up to their parents and 9% leave balancing their checkbook up to fate. Most students estimate they will have an average debt of more than $15,000 upon graduation. Interestingly, incoming freshmen who are probably less familiar with the cost of college expect to have approximately $8,300 in debt upon graduation, while their senior counterparts expect to have accumulated more than $16,000 in post-graduate debt.

Credit card commercials from VISA and MasterCard will claim a spot in this month's 'Seinfeld' finale. VISA announced it will debut a new 30-second commercial targeted at 'Generation Xers'. VISA's commercial will be a slightly offbeat spot that features funky music, hip GenXers and popular vintage clothing. The spot, titled "Attic", is the latest installment in Visa's highly successful "It's Everywhere You Want To Be" campaign and is part of Visa's brand campaign featuring merchants. The ad, targeting the twenty- and thirty-year-old segments, features trendsetters strutting their stuff at The Attic, a stylish vintage clothing store that "does not accept American Express. Pumping lyrics accompany split-second images of bright boas, sharkskin slacks and go-go boots.

Meanwhile MasterCard will use the final Seinfeld episode to run its first-ever Internet-related broadcast ad. The commercial, a continuation of the new MasterCard "Priceless" campaign, promotes it brand new alliance with Excite's Shopping Channel. MasterCard International and Excite are forming a strategic marketing alliance aimed at building consumer awareness of the benefits of shopping online. The objective of the partnership is threefold: educating consumers that shopping on the Web can be fast, easy and safe; building consumer awareness of the Excite Shopping Channel; and promoting the MasterCard brand as the preferred way to purchase products and services on the Web. The multi-year alliance names MasterCard as the exclusive payment system sponsor of Excite's Shopping Channel.