BART Offers Rewards Credit Card
No, not Bart Simpson but Bay Area Rapid Transit. The card works like most other affinity cards on the market, you get the equivalent of 5% for BART purchases, 2% for entertainment and 1% for everything else. Given the crazy interchange fees that merchants are having to pay, expect to see these types of cards to become even more popular as merchants try to shield themselves by offering "house branded" cards. BART is the first major urban public transportation agency in the country to provide customers with a program like this.
Yet another card to clutter your wallet and credit record. How many will be in your wallet? Where do consumers draw the line? I do see a potential fly in the ointment, though. The target customer for this card would obviously be a frequent commuter. Now, many companies in the Bay Area offer "commuter checks" that give discounts for folks using rapid transit. In my case, my employer offers to see you $20 commuter checks for $10. The problem I see is that you can't buy BART tickets with commuter checks at the vending machines: you have to do it in person. From what I see in the terms of this card, you don't get the 5% off for those types of transactions, hence no double dipping of discounts. Greedy? Maybe, but still many frequent commuters do get these benefits and therefore wouldn't be able to make use of the card's 5% bonus.
Here's how the rewards break down:
- 2,500 points earns a $25 BART ticket
- 4,500 points earns a $48 BART ticket
- 6,000 points earns a $64 BART ticket
- 5,000 points earns a check for $50
- 10,000 points earns a check for $100
Obviously they are giving you a slight incentive to save up and buy tickets rather than elect for cash as the 4,500 and 6,00o point level rewards show. However, keep in mind that if you took the cash and then turned around and bought tickets at the vending machine, you'd get another round of points to somewhat offset the difference.
My question for BART? When are those archaic magnetic strip fare cards finally going to be replaced?
Still want the card? Click here.
1 comment:
Interesting share, I do some work with the Merchants Payments Coalition and I know how crazy those interchange fees can be sometimes - hopefully something will be done to shed more light on that problem soon because its hurting consumers now too and not just small businesses. Those hidden fees mean so much money to the credit card industry these days though that I think they will lobby hard against any positive change for the rest of us though. Man, they really get us with those fees and lure us with these rewards programs don't they?
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