December 3, 2008
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News: Citi Rewards Customers with Amazon Shopping
Good news for Rewards seekers. Citigroup has just partnered with Amazon.com to greatly enrich its credit card holders with a much larger selection of possibilities. Frustrated with the limited options previously available to redeem Rewards points, holiday shopping choices just got brighter. Most of the major credit card lenders have devised their own versions of rewards programs in ploy to bring in new customers and encourage them to use their credit cards frequently and responsibly.
Some are better than others. For example, Bank of America even went so far as to place real currency into customers credit card accounts with no strings. Other credit card issuers have offered gift cards. Very nice. But others have left customers a little frustrated with their choices. Not everyone is interested in flying or cruising around the world, staying in five-star resorts in Newark or buying $5,000 broaches while the family is going hungry.
So, Citi's recent partnership with Amazon.com may turn out to be one of the sweetest amenities so far. Their loyalty program called "ThankYou Rewards Network" will allow faithful credit card holders to shop Amazon.com by searching and browsing online quickly and specifically, using Citi's own ThankYou.com online interface. This new and sophisticated online interface, which was inspired by ‘best-in-class' websites, empowers members with the ability to find selection lists based on ‘Rewards' point ranges, product categories, and specific products and brands. These categories can range from books, to music, to movie DVD's, to electronics, sports, home products, and much more. Purchases would be fulfilled through Amazon.com.
Since 2004, this rewards program has done well. Today, it has grown to 13 million members. New affiliations like Citi's Smith Barney and Expedia have been added. It is hoped that this new expansion will fuel even greater opportunities for credit card shoppers in the near future.