BJ’s new membership card doubles as contactless credit card
22 August, 2007
category: Contactless, Financial
BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. has partnered with Barclays to launch the BJ’s Visa Card. The new credit card offers cardholders a faster, more consumer-friendly way to earn BJ’s Bucks, and introduces a number of new, convenient card features that provide additional value to qualified BJ’s Members. Barclays worked closely with BJ’s to develop a card program for its Members that would deliver greater value and convenience, including faster rewards accumulation, integrating the membership card with the credit card, and the addition of Visa’s payWave contactless payments.
New BJ’s Visa Card Features Greater In-Club Member Rewards, Convenient Visa payWave Contactless Payments, and Acts as a BJ’s Membership Card
WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 21 – BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc., today announced that it has partnered with Barclays (NYSE: BCS) to launch the BJ’s Visa Card. The new credit card offers cardholders a faster, more consumer-friendly way to earn BJ’s Bucks(R), and introduces a number of new, convenient card features that provide additional value to qualified BJ’s Members. Consumers can apply for the card at http://www.bjsvisa.com.
Effective August 1, new BJ’s Visa cardholders receive the following:
- Two points for every dollar spent on eligible BJ’s purchases
- One point for every dollar spent on all other purchases
- 1,000 bonus points after their initial purchase
- For every 2,000 points accumulated, the cardholder automatically will receive with their monthly statement a $20 BJ’s Bucks check, which can be used for BJ’s purchases
- The option to use their BJ’s Visa Card as their BJ’s Membership Card
- Fast checkout with Visa payWave, Visa’s contactless technology
Visa payWave allows consumers to pay for purchases by waving their contactless-enabled card within two-inches of a secure card reader. The reader lights up and beeps to inform consumers that their transaction is being processed through Visa’s secure network. Currently more than 32,000 retailers in the U.S. accept Visa payWave.
“Members shop at BJ’s Wholesale Clubs for the quality products, selection, convenience and overall value that a BJ’s Membership brings to their lives, and we wanted to deliver that same brand experience with our BJ’s Visa Card,” said Ed Gillooly, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. “We are always looking for ways to provide additional value to our Members and we feel that the BJ’s Visa Card provides exceptional benefits.”
“We worked closely with BJ’s to develop a card program for its Members that would deliver greater value and convenience, including faster rewards accumulation, integrating the membership card with the credit card, and the addition of Visa’s payWave contactless payments,” said Chuck Moore, Chief Marketing Officer, Barclays U.S. credit card business. “By making the BJ’s Visa Card a more rewarding and versatile card for consumers, we’re helping the company build a stronger, more loyal member base while helping consumers save even more money at BJ’s.”
Barclays also plans to issue a business credit card for BJ’s Business Members beginning in January 2008.
“The BJ’s partnership is a testament to Barclays ability to provide more customized and flexible offerings, greater loyalty opportunities, new technologies and unparalleled customer service to the nation’s best known brands,” said Lloyd M. Wirshba, CEO of Barclays U.S. credit card business. “As one of the most innovative credit card issuers in the world, Barclays can leverage the knowledge, expertise and proven marketing strategies of our global card operations to help our partners achieve maximum results from their co-branded credit card offerings.”
“We believe the new BJ’s Visa Card will help to address consumer desire to get more from every purchase through enhanced rewards, while offering a fast, convenient purchase process with Visa payWave,” said Jim McCarthy, Senior Vice President, Consumer Credit Products, Visa USA. “Working in partnership with Barclays and BJ’s, we can deliver BJ’s Members with a compelling purchase choice over cash and checks.”
For additional information regarding the terms and conditions of the BJ’s Visa, please log on to http://www.bjs.com.
About BJ’s Wholesale Club
BJ’s Wholesale Club is dedicated to providing its members with high-quality, brand name merchandise at prices that are significantly lower than the prices found at supermarkets, supercenters, department stores, drug stores and specialty retail stores. BJ’s offers low BJ’s Member Pricing on a huge selection of top-brand apparel and accessories, small appliances, consumer electronics, fine jewelry, groceries and other quality merchandise.
Headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. is a leading operator of warehouse clubs in the eastern United States. The Company currently operates 175 clubs and 99 gas stations in 16 eastern states. Learn more about BJ’s Wholesale Club at http://www.bjs.com.
About Barclays PLC
Barclays PLC is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services. It is one of the largest financial services companies in the world by market capitalization. With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs over 127,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for over 25 million customers and clients worldwide. For further information about Barclays, please visit our website http://www.barclays.com.
Headquartered in Wilmington, DE, Barclays U.S. credit card business has more than 50 partnerships with some of the country’s most successful travel, entertainment, retail and financial institutions including US Airways, AirTran Airways, Frontier Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Carnival Cruise Lines, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Travelocity, Gulf Oil, and others. The company employs more than 1,400 associates in Wilmington and Colorado Springs, CO, and was named a Top Five Employer in Delaware in 2007. For more information please visit http://www.barclaycardus.com.