American Express has teamed up with Plenti, a loyalty coalition, to offer a new cobranded credit card that allows cardholders to earn Plenti rewards points. Members of the Plenti rewards program can use these points at a variety of retailers around the U.S.
The American Express card comes with no annual fee and allows cardholders to earn one Plenti point for every dollar spent on eligible purchases. If you use the card at a retailer that's part of the Plenti program, these points would be additional to those you'd earn through each retailer's point-earning opportunities through Plenti's loyalty portion of the program. No matter where you earn Plenti points, you can redeem them for savings at any retailer in the program.
"With the new Plenti cobrand card, card members can collect, combine and redeem even more points for savings," said Eva Reda, SVP, cobrand partnerships at American Express, in a statement. "The card is great for people who are loyal to Plenti partner stores and want the service and trusted security of American Express."
Additionally, those who hold the American Express card also belong to its Membership Rewards program, which allows you to earn points on virtually all types of purchases, whether or not the merchant is part of the Plenti loyalty program. You can then convert the American Express loyalty points into Plenti points, although the points can only be redeemed in sets of 500, and they aren't an equal 1-to-1 transfer: American Express points only equals 400 Plenti points.
The Plenti rewards program is like a bundled loyalty program. It has a roster of several retailers that participate in the program, including Macy's, AT&T, Exxon, Mobil, Rite Aid, Nationwide, three different car rental agencies, Direct Energy and Hulu. Several supermarket chains also participate in the program, and you can earn rewards by shopping for groceries when you link your grocery loyalty card to your Plenti card. With a Plenti card, you can earn points for purchases at these retailers, and they're bundled into one pool of rewards points that you can redeem as future savings at these retailers.
This free-to-members program itself may be helpful in terms of potentially reducing the number of rewards programs you'd have to join or the number of loyalty cards you have to carry around with you. It may also be useful in that redemption simply allows you to save money. However, each retailer has its own stipulations as to how you earn rewards with Plenti's program. Some retailers have a straight dollar-to-point earnings factor. Other retailers have regularly changing special offers, and the way to earn points is buy taking part in the offer of the moment. Plenti also offers point-earning opportunities through its online marketplace featuring hundreds of retailers.
The Plenti American Express card anticipates helping Plenti members become more deeply involved with the program. The card comes with a 0% annual fee for the first 12 months, with a variable 14.99% to 24.99% rate thereafter, depending on your creditworthiness. Additionally, while some American Express-branded cards require you pay off the balance in full every month, you may carry a balance on the Plenti credit card. Other features of the card include roadside assistance, car rental loss and damage insurance and travel accident insurance. Additionally, you can get extended warranties, purchase protection and return protection on products you buy with the card. Plenti American Express cardholders also have the chance to participate in American Express' entertainment access program that gives you exclusive access to ticket sales, as well as special card holder-only events.
Apply for the card online at American Express' website.
