Anheuser-Busch and US Bank have paired up to offer a Budweiser Rewards Visa Platinum Card, available as of March 31.
Users earn points, redeemable for Anheuser-Busch merchandise, for every dollar they spend on the card. The Budweiser Rewards card allots three points for every dollar spent on Anheuser-Busch products — including online and catalog merchandise, brewery tours, theme parks tickets and resort stays — and one point for each dollar spent elsewhere. New customers receive 1,000 points as a first-purchase bonus.
“We have an existing relationship with Anheuser-Busch,” pointed out Jackie Sperl, assistant VP of retail payment solutions for US Bank. “We have ATMs at [Anheuser-Busch property] Sea World currently, so it’s just adding to our partnership with them. This is something that Anheuser-Busch wanted to do, and we jumped at the opportunity to partner with them.”
Anheuser-Busch could not be reached for comment.
The cards will be marketed on both the US Bank Web site and Anheuser-Busch sites. Card applications will also be available in US Bank branches and in Anheuser-Busch brewery gift stores.
Sperl said direct mail and e-mail might also be leveraged to market the cards. In that case, mailings would be targeted to existing customers of Budshop.com and the brewer’s merchandise catalogs.
Each time a cardmember earns 2,500 points, a $25 Anheuser-Busch Merchandise Rewards Gift Card is automatically mailed to them. Gift cards can be redeemed for apparel, gifts and other items from Budshop.com and Budweiser Genuine Collection catalogs.
This program is limited to applicants 21 years of age and older. US Bank has a screening system in place that will offer Affinity Select Rewards Visa Platinum Cards to underage applicants.
Anheuser-Busch holds a 48.5% share of US beer sales, with brands that include Budweiser and Bud Light.
US Bancorp, the parent company of US Bank, reports that it is the sixth-largest consumer bank in the country.
