March 26, 2007
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NEWS: Casinos Offer Instant Approval CardsIt's a gambling addict's fondest dream come true, and it's coming to 75 casinos across the U.S. It's an instant approval credit card, thanks to Arriva, the first credit card designed expressly for use in casinos. Arriva is marketing its cards to "responsible" gambling patrons with an attractive limit of up to $10,000 in instant gratification, but most people know that "frequent gambling" and "financial responsibility" do not go hand-in-hand all, or even most, of the time.
The Borgata, Trump and Hard Rock Las Vegas are among the 75 casinos where patrons can ask almost any member of the staff for an Arriva application. Taking advantage of a "proprietary online credit scoring system," Arriva offers casinos the highly attractive opportunity to offer more spending to patrons at no risk to the business. Those approved for Arriva cards can access their credit right away for more playing, and use their cards at over 800 casinos worldwide.
An Arriva representative stated that the most attractive aspect of an Arriva card to patrons is its fewer-strings-attached cash advances. Arriva's policy is to look at cash advances made on their cards as "entertainment purchases," not high-interest loans, like major credit cards. While most credit cards not only charge a higher interest rate on cash advances, institute caps on advance amounts, and deny a grace period on these purchases, Arriva takes a different approach. Their casino customers may have unlimited cash advances at lower interest rate and fee percentages, enjoy a grace period on these transactions, and earn rewards on cash advances – something traditional credit cards just do not do. So far, it seems like Arriva's strategy of catering to gamblers in their milieu is paying off – it can boast that its cash advance transactions at casino ATM machines are 115% larger, and "signature-based" cash advance transactions are 72% larger, than similar transactions with other cards.
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