Mad at your credit card company? Tell its affinity partners exactly what you think.

You are probably a member of something, or a graduate, or a customer of one type of organization or another that may have what’s known in the credit card industry, as an “affinity card.”  Airlines, universities, retailers, charitible organizations with which you are already familiar or perhaps even associated – if they are of any size — probably have an affinity card.  In a nutshell, affinity cards are a type of joint marketing venture or partnership between a business or other type of organization, and a credit card company.

If you happen to be a customer of a business, or a member (constituent, etc.), of an organization that has an affinity card, tell the credit card company’s affinity partner exactly what you think.  This strategy will be especially effective if you feel the business/organization that is partnering with the credit card company is being run by ethical leaders (and I hope you are right).

If you have been mistreated by a credit card company (and, I would presume mad at the credit card company), don’t bother with the credit card company’s so-called “customer service” staff.  They tend to be unempowered, or outsourced, or rude (judging by what I have found in constructing this site’s growing list of “Rant-roll” links, documenting their abusiveness).  Instead, find the name of a high-up executive in the affinity partner’s organization, and inform him/her that the credit card company “affinity partner” is conducting its business in such a way that it tarnishes the brand of the organization (being involved with “unethical scum, such as this” might be a good phrase to insert, but make up your own — or use it, if you feel it is applicable).

If you take the approach suggested above you may be able to “leverage” your complaint.  If a person of authority with AARP, Disney, or Southwest Airlines, or Jeff Bezos with Amazon writes a Chase executive, conveying that he/she is “unhappy,” I’ll bet that he/she does not get a response like the one I discussed in the post linked here!  By the way, it does not have to be the “President,” or “CEO”; you can also try to identify the person in charge of marketing, or member services (or even investor relations, if you are a shareholder).

Here’s a page with links to some affinity cards on the ChangeInTerms site to get you started.