CATHOLIC KNIGHTS UNVEILS AFFINITY CARD

Card Wire

January 6, 2004

Milwaukee-based Catholic Knights last week rolled out the We Share affinity credit card that donates 1% of the value of purchases to the Catholic parish or school of the cardholder's choice. Las Vegas-based M&I Bank FSB, a subsidiary of Marshall and Isley Corp., issues the Visa card. The card charges no annual fee in its first year, and is free thereafter if the cardholder makes three purchases each year, says Allen Banoub, the Knights' chief marketing officer. Otherwise, it costs $15 a year. The card offers a choice of four designs including one with a church steeple ew cardholders qualify for a $10 donation to their charity if they use the card within 30 days. Catholic Knights estimates that a parish could earn $10,000 in one year if it signs up 200 parishioners that each charge $4,000 and donate the initial $10. An average parish has 2,000 households, according to Banoub. "Everyone gets a card offer in the mail, this one puts it where your heart is," says Banoub. The card was tested at 25 parishes in the northern Midwest this year. Catholic Knights is a 118-year-old non-profit with 70,000 members nationwide. It raises about $1.5 million each year. Milwaukee-based Marshall & Isley owns processor Metavante Corp.

For more information visit http://www.thomsonmedia.com

Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by FluentMedia, a service of Tribune Media Services. Copyright (c)2003 by Tribune Media Services