"We are Farmers! Ba ba ba dum bump bum bum bum!" If you've heard Farmers' jingle before, you know how it goes and just how much of an earworm it can be. Farmers wants that though, and now they want you to hear it every time you open your wallet, as the company is launching its own credit card.
While mainly known for being an insurance giant, Farmers does offer a few financial services such as college savings and retirement savings plans. Now it's adding to those offerings with its new Farmers Rewards Visa card, which is a points-based rewards card that allows you to earn more rewards for buying Farmers' other products and products in categories that relate to Farmers' home and auto insurance.
"The card's value-added features bring the Farmers brand of smart to customers in a whole new way," said Mike Linton, chief marketing officer for Farmers Insurance, in a statement. "This program recognizes customers for their loyalty and provides an easy way for them to earn rewards points for what they are already doing – paying their Farmers products, buying gas, and enhancing their lifestyles with home improvement purchases."
Typical of rewards cards, this Visa offers one point per dollar spent on purchases wherever Visa is accepted. However, the card can be even more appealing if you have other accounts and policies with Farmers because it offers triple points for every dollar spent on Farmers products. Cardholders can also earn triple points on home improvement purchases and when buying gas for their cars.
Cardholders can also earn bonus points in a couple of different ways. The first type of bonus point category is a welcome bonus of 3,000 points when they spend $500 on non-Farmers products within the first 90 days of opening the card account. Secondly, they'll receive 1,000 Thank You bonus points on the anniversary of their account opening.
The points program structure includes the ability to earn unlimited points that never expire. Cardholders can redeem points in a variety of ways, including applying them as a credit toward their statement purchases or other Farmers accounts and using them for travel purchases, merchandise and gift cards.
The card comes with no annual fee and a 0 percent introductory APR for the first twelve months the account is open. Thereafter, the card has a variable APR of 13.24 to 20.24 percent, based on the Prime Rate and the cardholder's creditworthiness.
Farmers has partnered with Alliance Data Systems to offer the card. Alliance's Card Services business will issue the card. "Farmers is committed to providing industry-leading products and first-rate services, and we have partnered with the insurer to enable their customers to experience the Farmers brand of 'smart' through a valuable new card program with features and benefits designed to increase loyalty among existing policyholders," said Melisa Miller, president of Alliance Data's Card Services business, in a statement.
Rewards cards are popular with a majority of credit card users. A recent survey by the American Bankers Association (ABA) found that 83 percent of them have rewards-based credit cards.
"The increased prevalence of rewards cards speaks to their importance among consumers who appreciate being rewarded for their loyalty," said Molly Wilkinson, executive director of ABA's Card Policy Council. "Cardholders find it easy to take advantage of the best deals based on the type of rewards they value the most. The wide variety of rewards programs and the fact that they're user-friendly are just two of the many reasons they are so popular in today's marketplace."
Farmers plans a small, targeted rollout of the card this summer, focusing first on customers in the Ohio, New Jersey and Washington markets. Farmers intends to expand the program nationally this fall and will continue adding new features and capabilities during the first year of the program.
