A new credit card for web shoppers
New
York-based J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has launched a new credit card aimed
at Internet users. Chase’s I-Card will give cardholders a 1% cash reward on
each purchase made with the card. The program doles out cash in the form of
web certificates instead of a check. And instead of having to wait until the
end of the year to collect the reward, like other cash-back programs, Ecount,
the company operating the rewards program for the Chase I-Card, will send cardholders
an e-mail each time they reach $10 in rewards. The e-mail will direct cardholders
to a cobranded Ecount/Chase web site where cardholders can access their web
certificate. Ecount’s Webcertificate product is a reloadable, prepaid online
debit card that cardholders can use to shop online anywhere MasterCard is accepted.
There is also an option on the web site that allows cardholders
to receive a physical debit card that they can use in offline stores as well.
Cardholders can add value to the debit card with funds from the Chase I-Card.
“Consumers may want to buy something that costs more than what is on the card.
So they can add more funds in order to make their purchase,” says Paul Raden,
chief marketing officer at Ecount. The I-Card has no annual fee and an introductory
interest rate of 2.99% for six months on purchases and balance transfers.
