Bank of America Renews Three Major Affinity Card Relationships

Nearly 25 years after it pioneered affinity marketing by offering credit cards to customers who share a strong common interest, Bank of America today announced the long-term extensions of three of its longest and most successful affinity marketing agreements with the National Education Association (NEA), Ducks Unlimited and the American Automobile Association (AAA).

“These agreements demonstrate the confidence our affinity organizations have in Bank of America’s ongoing commitment to delight their members by providing innovative products and the very best service available,” said Bank of America Card Services Business Development Executive John Cochran, who developed the affinity marketing concept in 1982 as chief marketing officer of MBNA, which Bank of America purchased earlier this year.

The NEA and Ducks Unlimited partnerships were first signed more than 20 years ago. Since then, Bank of America has provided credit cards, personal loans, lines of credit and more to more than one million NEA and Ducks Unlimited members. Additionally, the endorsing agreement with Ducks Unlimited has yielded more than $60 million in contributions for wetland and associated habitat conservation.

The AAA agreement has provided the association’s 40 million plus participating U.S. members access to a host of the most innovative credit card programs available, offering everything from gas rebates of 2% to 5%, to cash- back programs, to the superior WorldPoints rewards program for travel, cash, and merchandise.

“These programs show the strength of affinity marketing,” Cochran said. “We listen very carefully to our customers and because we market to specific groups of people with a strong common interest, we can more effectively tailor our products to meet their needs. In addition, by using our products, customers identify themselves as part of the group and support the group’s goals. Our groups know that by endorsing us and entrusting the reputation of their organization to us, they will receive our absolute commitment to each of their members.”

Since introducing affinity marketing to the credit card industry, Bank of America has established thousands of partnerships and is the worldwide leader in providing financial services through affinity marketing.

“Endorsing a credit card program was a new venture back then, but it has really paid off for our members, who have received terrific financial service products from Bank of America for more than two decades,” said Gary Phoebus, President of NEA Member Benefits. “It was really an easy decision to extend this partnership because of the consistently outstanding service that Bank of America provides, their world-class products, and their non-stop efforts to understand and meet our members’ needs.”

“More than 150,000 Ducks Unlimited members in North America presently hold Ducks Unlimited Visa, MasterCard or American Express cards — and that is a direct testament to the quality and value of the program,” said Ducks Unlimited Executive Vice President Don Young. “This relationship sets the standard for corporate support of wetlands conservation. Bank of America is certainly an exceptional partner that cares about the success of our mission to conserve, restore and manage wetlands that benefit waterfowl, as well as other wildlife and people.”

“We have been partners with Bank of America since 1999 and our members have long appreciated the exemplary service and the variety of programs available to them,” said Mark H. Brown, Executive Vice President, Association and Club Services of AAA. “We look forward to continuing to build this relationship with Bank of America in the future.”