Card company goes beyond the limitations of rewards programs

Credit card companies recognize rewards programs as an important means to entice more cardholders and generate greater card usage. With only five percent of the total "cardable" population having credit cards, the rewards feature, among others, is seen as a great tool to develop and enhance customer loyalty.

Yet how often do credit cardholders actually monitor the rewards points they earn? A common complaint among consumers of most credit card brands involves the difficulty of accumulating enough points, so much so that they already tend to ignore the accrued amounts indicated in their monthly statements.

Most cardholders also dislike the limitations of having to choose from a catalog of items. "What typically happens with these catalogs is that either you don’t have enough points to get the items you want, or the items are no longer available when you do get the required number of points," said Irene Taylo, marketing and sales group head of Bankard, a pioneer in the credit card industry.

As competition intensifies, credit card companies are beginning to find ways of going beyond these usual limitations of rewards programs to offer cardholders greater flexibility and convenience.

"Cardholders are beginning to look for bigger and better ways to be rewarded, so the challenge for credit card companies is to meet these expectations and also entice holders of other card brands to switch over to their brand," explained Taylo.

Bankard was among the first to offer true innovation when it started offering a program called Infinite Rewards. This innovative rewards program consists of a Rewards Vouchers that can be exchanged for gift checks at department stores, be paid for direct purchases at numerous participating merchant establishments, or be used to pay for the Bankard cardholder’s membership fee.

"This arrangement gives Bankard cardholders the freedom to choose any items from nearly any establishment they want, hence the name ‘Infinite’," said Taylo.

Accumulating points in Bankard Infinite Rewards is much easier compared to other card brands. Bankard cardholders gain one point for every P25 charged to their credit card, compared to a minimum of P30-P50 required by other card brands. Each Infinite Rewards point translates to the equivalent of a one percent rebate on one’s spending compared to only 0.38 percent to 0.60 percent given by other credit cards. A P50,000 worth of purchase charged to a Bankard credit card, for example, already earns P500 in value. More points can be earned when charged purchases are converted to installment.

As if this weren’t enough, the Infinite Rewards redemption is made even easier because Bankard cardholders can already receive a Reward Voucher worth P200 for just 800 worth of accumulated points, which is the equivalent of justP20,000 charged to their card. Redeeming Rewards Vouchers is also very convenient, with just a single call to the Bankard Customer Service hotline at 888-1-888.

These valuable benefits are complemented by easy access to state-of-the-art, customer-friendly services such as a 24-hour, 7days-a-week customer service facility, flexible Pay-Easy-Plan (PEP) installment feature, convenient online payment and statement viewing facility and many others.

Overall, Bankard’s innovative approach to rewards program has resulted in a feature that’s more sensible, easier to understand, and more convenient to use – in short, a truly rewarding difference. Bankard Infinite Rewards is available to cardholders of Bankard MasterCard, Bankard Visa, and Bankard JCB.