EXCLUSIVE— While millennials may not be quite as credit-shy as they used to be, gaining new credit users is still an upward battle for most of the major card issuers. Like many of these issuers, American Express is looking to attract new users by minimizing fees and maximizing rewards.
The card issuer is currently offering users such a deal on its Amex EveryDay Card: new users will receive 0% APR for 15 months, a $0 balance transfer fee, and an influx of rewards points should they hit the required purchasing amount, which is $1000 over the first three months.
Kunal Madhok, VP, product and acquisition at American Express, said of the offer in an emailed statement sent to Bank Innovation:
With this new offer, new Amex EveryDay Card Members can confidently transfer their balance with no fee and enjoy an extended 0% intro APR. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to earn points that they can redeem for the things they love, like travel, gift cards and dining.
Amex, which has typically offered rewards in areas like travel and restaurants (two traditional subjects for credit points) is branching out with its EveryDay card offer; appropriately, the card offers points in daily purchase areas, such as grocery stores, while also offering agnostic points for every “eligible dollar” a user spends on the card.
In this, Amex appears to be following a trend in the credit industry, with other competitors offering like products to entice customers to their brand.
Credit rewards, designed to entice customers away from debit, seem to remain the best choice to attract new ones: traditional banks like JPMorgan Chase have expanded on the concept with their Sapphire brand cards, while fintech startups like Deserve and Petal have also been running with more personalized, data-driven rewards.
To learn the latest developments on credit cards and consumer banking, join us on March 5-6, 2018 at the Parc 55 in San Francisco for Bank Innovation 2018. Click here to register.