TNB Promotion Increases Credit Union Cardholders in Promotion

With the flexibility of multiple promotional rates to choose from, credit unions participating in TNB’s Fall Acquisition Promotion were able to tailor the promotion to suit their specific members’ needs.

For the $175 million Abilene Teachers Federal Credit Union in Abilene, Texas, pre-qualified members were offered a Classic or Gold Card with an introductory rate of 6.9 percent for six months and up to 9.9 percent thereafter. The credit union achieved a 1.54 percent response rate, pushing its total number of cardholders beyond 3,700.

“We offer one acquisition promotion each year, so we have high expectations for the number of new accounts we acquire,” said Jon Caudle, vice president of lending for Abilene Teachers Federal Credit Union. “In 2006, we received a 33 percent increase in the number of new accounts over the 2005 promotion. By pre-qualifying our members, we were able to hand-select the members that were best suited for our card, offering them an attractive rate they probably couldn’t get elsewhere.”

The acquisition promotion was the first of its kind with TNB for Bashas’ Associates Federal Credit Union of Tempe, Arizona. The 7,000-member credit union’s introductory interest rate of 3.99 percent generated a 2.39 percent response rate from the promotion. “We know that our members are price conscious, so we offered a low rate to demonstrate our desire to support them,” said Brenda Roberts, operations manager for Bashas’ Associates FCU. “While the rate was attractive and enticed some members, many of our members accepted the offer because they wanted a card from someone they know. They can walk into any of our branches and talk to someone about their card. You can’t do that with a national issuer.”

After several years between acquisition promotions, in 2006 AMOCO Federal Credit Union of Texas City, Texas, decided it was time to actively solicit new cardholders again. After a successful promotion in the spring of 2006, AMOCO participated in the fall promotion as well, generating a 1.44 percent open rate.

According to Vicki Walker, credit card manager of AMOCO FCU, “The acquisition promotion has been the most cost-effective way for us to add new cardholders. TNB made it easy to implement, and the customization is what really made the promotion work. We were able to determine the rate and terms, allowing us to tailor the promotion to our specifications.”