Choice (credit card)
Choice was a
MasterCard, and American Express
, but proved unsuccessful, and was withdrawn in 1987. Citibank has continued to use the "Choice" name on some of its Visa and MasterCard cards.
The card was introduced in 1977, when Citibank bought NAC, a regional credit card based in
Washington, DC
, area.
[2] With a view to nationwide expansion, the test market was expanded to include Colorado.
Despite the success of
Sears' Discover Card, which offered many of the same features as Choice when it was introduced in 1985 (such as a rebate on purchases and no annual fee), Citibank decided Choice could not compete with Visa and MasterCard in the longer term, and the card was reissued as a Visa at the end of 1987, aimed at entry level customers and those with poor credit.[3]
It was also said that Citibank's owner, Citicorp, was not willing to accept the eventual estimated costs of establishing another national credit card, after Sears had spent an estimated USD$80 million creating its Discover Card.[4] Its fate was similar to that of Citibank's first credit card, the "First National City Charge Service" (or "The Everything Card"), introduced on the East Coast in 1967 to compete with BankAmericard (today's Visa) but which became part of Master Charge (now MasterCard) in 1969.[5]
References
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
- ^ Monci Jo Williams (February 4, 1985). "The Great Plastic Card Fight Begins". Fortune magazine. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- ^ Rachel Golden (April 29, 2005). "A Bountiful Harvest: John Hollerbach is reaping the rewards of persistence and hard work". Gazette.net. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- ^ Eric N. Berg (August 11, 1987). "Citicorp to Convert Choice Card to Visa". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- ^ "Citigroup History: Citibank N.A." Citigroup website. Archived from the original on 2008-06-13. Retrieved 2008-08-22.