American Express is to add a new attractive product to its range of services in cooperation with market-leading bonus programme PAYBACK: The “PAYBACK American Express Credit Card”, combines the services of an American Express credit card with the benefits provided by a PAYBACK loyalty card. The new card is the first joint product issued by American Express and PAYBACK in Germany since the loyalty programme became part of the American Express group. “It was an obvious step for us to make use of the synergy effects between PAYBACK and American Express. The cooperation is beneficial for all parties. As well for our merchants who can reach new customers via the new card”, says Thomas Nau, Country Manager for American Express in Germany. American Express is able to offer customers many PAYBACK benefits and profits by the huge reach of the German loyalty market leader – more than 20 million customers use their PAYBACK card actively. At the same time American Express increases the number and intensity of business relationships with retail and other partners. The high-spending customers from American Express as well as the image and services of the strong international brand are in turn a great asset for PAYBACK. According to a recent survey amongst 500 PAYBACK customers, the service portfolio of the issuing institute is important for 91 percent of the respondents to choose a loyalty card. “With the new credit card, our customers cannot only pay for their purchases and accrue points extra-quickly, but also have access to exclusive services,” says Bernhard Brugger, CEO of PAYBACK Central Europe. Consumers can earn points at the most attractive rate
One special feature of the co-branding card: On the one hand, cardholders can collect PAYBACK points and on the other hand, it is a global payment instrument. The card meets current needs of consumers: Among the surveyed PAYBACK customers, 81 percent would like to collect bonus points when they shop abroad. In addition, 82 percent of respondents want to use their cards with so many different partners as possible. The co-branding card offers a unique benefit: In addition to the points customers can collect from PAYBACK partners, cardholders receive points for their American Express transactions. Points are awarded at a highly attractive rate for credit card transactions, with one PAYBACK point for every two euro spent. Furthermore, each cardholder can nominate two partners of his choice – one point-of-sale and one online partner – where purchases attract double points, meaning that every euro spent with these selected partners translates to one point for the cardholder. Convenience and attractive services
Along with the special service American Express is famous for, the new credit card provides a whole host of attractive extras in store for customers: All holders of the new card can access American Express’ pre-selling service for special events, such as rock and pop concerts. And on top of all this, they get the chance to take part regularly in sweepstakes for exciting highlights including meet-and-greet events with celebrities or film premieres. The service package of the new co-branding card includes a purchase insurance that offers a longer return policy. 69 percent of the surveyed PAYBACK customers have rated this service as particularly attractive. An information and help line, which can be contacted wherever customers are in the world, is available 24 hours a day. A replacement card is provided in case of theft or loss. The PAYBACK American Express Card is free of charge in the first year, with an annual charge of EUR 40 thereafter. Furthermore, a free additional card with the same product features is offered for famliy and friends. All transactions of the supplementary card are made over the main cardholder’s account. American Express is responsible for all the credit-card-specific processes, from processing the application to issuing the account statement. It notifies PAYBACK of the number of points to be awarded each month.
Applications are now available from American Express (<link www.americanexpress.com/de/content/payback-karte/>www.americanexpress.com/de/content/payback-karte/</link>) and PAYBACK (<link www.payback.de/amex>www.payback.de/amex</link>). For press images in high-res please click <link 32 - internal-link>here</link>.
You can order the new credit card <link www.payback.de/pb/id/487932/ - external-link-new-window>here.</link>