Regardless of whether you see it as a corporation going green or simply a corporation trying to save itself money, you can still win a hybrid vehicle or other "green" prize from Citi by switching to online account access in its EcoSweepstakes, which runs through May 14. |
Discover Financial Services announced today its purchase of the Diners Club credit card brand from Citigroup for $165 million. The move will help Discover expand its footprint outside of the United States, where it has struggled to make headway and compete on an equal footing with the likes of Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Citigroup, for its part, raises some cash as it continues its attempt to right the ship after being stung in the subprime debacle. |
Bank of America today launched the U.S. Olympic Team Worldpoints Visa Credit Card as part of its "U.S. Olympic Team Banking" package, which also includes Olympics-themed checks and check cards. You do not have to choose the whole "suite" of services, but can instead sign up for the credit card or other products independently. |
Anheuser-Busch has launched the Budweiser Rewards Visa Platinum Card, which will reward users with points toward Budweiser-themed merchandise but, alas, not beer. |
WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard B. Cheney announced today their intention to acquire the United States Judicial Branch for $35 million, or $2 per share, and announced that the Federal Reserve would provide up to $35 million in guaranteed financing should the Judicial Branch prove to be worth less. |
uTango, a company offering a loyalty rewards program with a unique twist, launched the uTango Visa earlier this month, allowing members to increase their uTango points accrual with each purchase. Similar in function to other loyalty programs that offer points or cash rebates when you shop with their partner merchants, uTango's distinct proposition is that its points can only be accrued by single or newly married (less than 3 years) couples, and that its points can earn both small yearly rewards and the promise of bigger rewards if couples stay in the program for 10, 20 or 30 years - and also stay married. uTango claims that some couples could even earn an ultimate payout of $1 million - provided they stay in the program 30 years and meet spending tiers. |
After hitting a two-year low last week, average credit card rates moved even lower this week, thanks to the three-quarters of a point rate cut delivered by the Federal Reserve. (About 70% of credit cards have variable rates that move up or down in response to Fed interest rate changes.)
The average credit card rate for non-reward consumer credit cards fell to 13.16% this week, down from 13.29% last week, setting another new low-water mark for the last two years. The average rate on credit cards with rewards fell to 15.09%, down from 15.15% last week, and also hitting a new two-year low.
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Ameriprise Financial, the financial planning company that was once part of American Express, announced Monday the launch of new MasterCard credit cards that will be issued by Barclays PLC. |
Via its Security & Exchange Commission filing today, Visa announced its intention to raise nearly $19 billion in its upcoming initial public offering of stock, which would make it by far the largest IPO ever. (The largest to day was AT&T Wireless' $10.6 billion IPO in 2000.) |
Citi announced yesterday that it has become the exclusive credit card partner to Live Nation, the concert promoter that is now getting heavily into ticket sales as well. While specifics of what benefits this brings to Citi cardholders were few, Citi did promote this as an expansion of its Private Pass program and said "potential benefits include access to presale and preferred tickets, box seats at select venues, premium seats, exclusive merchandise and a variety of unique VIP experiences." |
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