May 1, 2009
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News: NWA and U.S. Bank Settle Suit
The recent merger between Delta and Northwest Airlines left over one million Visa WorldPerks credit card customers hanging with thousands of unused points. After an agreement between American Express and Delta which designated AmEx as the exclusive provider of the newly formed company’s miles program, many wondered what would happen to their Visa WorldPerks credit card. American Express had previously announced they would honor the miles for a limited time period as the Northwest brand is slowly phased out; however, WorldPerks customers would be required to apply for a new Delta SkyMiles card if they want to earn points in the future. Meanwhile, U.S. Bank the exclusive provider of the Visa WorldPerks card, wasn’t ready to relinquish those customers quite so fast. Instead, they launched their new Visa FlexPoints credit card as an alternative. The new FlexPoints card would have offered generic miles which could be used to purchase tickets on a number of different airlines including Delta and Northwest.
Northwest now a subsidiary of Delta Airlines, filed suit against U.S. Bank claiming the FlexPoints name was too similar to the WorldPerks brand and the new credit card violated a long standing agreement between the two companies. The two settled their dispute last week and U.S. Bank will be allowed to continue offering the new FlexPoints card to their customers. FlexPoints cardholders will be able to earn points for reward travel; however, it will not include Northwest or Delta Airlines. Within the next few weeks, U.S. Bank will be notifying their Visa WorldPerks credit card customers of the switch and to expect receipt of their new Visa FlexPoints card in their next billing cycle. Furthermore, after receiving their new card, for a one month time period, they will earn both WorldPerks and FlexPoints rewards regardless of which U.S. Bank card they're using. After the one month time frame, the WorldPerks card will no longer be valid and customers will only be earning FlexPoints.
The transition from U.S. Bank’s Visa WorldPerks card to the new Visa FlexPoints card should be completed by the end of June. Consequently, WorldPerks credit card customers are sure to be the target of some massive marketing strategies as both American Express and U.S. Bank pursue their business. The bottom line is that for WorldPerks customers, the choice will be theirs.