Card Perks and Live Events

My first game at SoFi! No, this is not the VIP section.

I’ve been attending a couple of events over the past few months, and it started me to think about how financial services companies, specifically those with debit and credit cards, are connecting their brands to live events. While the networks (Visa and Mastercard) have long promoted usage at major venues to tie emotional experiences (like going to a baseball game or the Olympics) to cards, the specificity of what a card membership can actually get you is increasing. 

While the networks (Visa and Mastercard) have long promoted usage at major venues to tie emotional experiences (e.g., going to a baseball game or the Olympics) to cards, the specificity of what you can get as a card member is increasing. 

American Express has member-only entrancesat several venues and events, from the U.S. Open to the Hollywood Bowl. Amex’s Venue Collection includes special access tickets, dedicated lanes, and a 10% discount on concessions as a statement credit.

What will they collect next? Airlines? Oh, wait...

I went to my first game at SoFi stadium the other week. I noticed that SoFi members had access to shorter ticket lines and 25% cashback rewards on concessions and merchandise (not to mention express entry and VIP access during NFL season)! Had I known about that beforehand, I would have absolutely picked up a SoFi card before going. I do wonder, though, why the deal doesn’t apply to credit cards.

The Chase Lounge at New York’s Madison Square Garden offers free food and soft drinks, as well as advanced ticket sales, preferred seating, and special offers at the team stores. Many local banks and credit unions offer similar privileges at various local stadiums, like how Wescom Bruin Edge Visa Credit cardholders get VIP entrance for UCLA home games at my backyard venue, the Rose Bowl.

Speaking of the Rose Bowl, The Weeknd announced a one-night-only show at the venue, where Cash App Visa cardholders will have access to premium tickets and 20% off merchandise purchased at the show. This deal is already blowing up on Reddit, so we'll see how long those premium tickets last. 

Each card and its unique benefits speak to the continuing trend of cards as lifestyle choices, not just financial tools. If you are a sports superfan and go to a venue many times a year, these benefits could turn the tide for your card choice. For others, like myself, the cards may be a simple nice-to-have if and when I attend a specific venue. Either way, we’re all receiving many more benefits from our cards than we used to.

A New Eddie Bauer Card

Choosing which card to use will be like a game of duck, duck, goose!

Fintech credit card provider Imprint continues to expand, most recently with the announcement of a new card with retailer Eddie Bauer. The new Eddie Bauer World Mastercard earns 3x points at Eddie Bauer, 2 points on dining and gas, and 1 point everywhere else. It has a modest signup bonus of 15% off your first online purchase, plus 500 points. The card ties into Eddie Bauer’s existing “Adventure Rewards” program, whichearns 5x points at Eddie Bauer, so cardholders can earn a total of 8x points per dollar. Shoppers also get free return shipping, which apparently isn’t something Eddie Bauer normally offers.

These retail cards get a big “meh” from me. They’re cookie-cutter offerings for a very small and specific group of users. Are there enough Eddie Bauer super fans that want a credit card? I don’t know. I also don’t see Imprints cards as having the kind of deep brand integration modern tech platforms can provide; instead, I see these looking a lot like what Synchrony and Comenity have been offering for decades. Even the card website is on imprint.co, not eddiebauer.com. I’m not the target demographic here; I don’t recall the last time I purchased something from Eddie Bauer, but I’m not impressed.

Not Cards: What's the Deal with ACH Fees?

Pay-by-bank, which is just a fancy way of saying ACH and checks, has began to challenge the dominance of credit cards. I mean really, aren't all payments via a bank? Credit cards are issued by banks after all.

As more and more consumer and end-user focused pay-by-bank options come into play, I have been astonished by the costs providers are charging. QuickBooks charges 1% for ACH payments, on a cost I presume is something like a flat $0.02 - $0.10 per transaction. Other platforms may charge 0.5% with a cap of $5-10, which feels more reasonable. ACH is a preferred payment for larger charges (think of purchases like home contractors at $5,000-$10,000 and up vs. small payments).

If the ACH providers and pay-by-bank platforms want to win, I think they need to be super aggressively inexpensive. And I don't mean 1% rather than 3%, but 0.5% with a $5 cap aggressive. Consumers and merchants alike give up a set of protections and processes (e.g., disputes, zero liability fraud, guaranteed payment, etc.) that ACH doesn't provide. Unless that 1% starts to include all of these features, it's just a rip-off. And the insurance, so to speak, of the credit card makes the cost worth it.

CardsFTW

CardsFTW, released weekly on Wednesdays, offers insights and analysis on new credit and debit card industry products for consumers and providers. CardsFTW is authored and published by Matthew Goldman and the team at Totavi, a boutique consulting firm specializing in fintech product management & marketing. We bring real operational experience that varies from the earliest days of a startup to high-growth phases and public company leadership. Visit www.totavi.com to learn more.

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