L.L. Bean severs ties with credit card issuer

An L.L. Bean spokesperson has confirmed reports that the multichannel merchant will end its relationship with Bank of America, the company that issued the L.L. Bean Visa Card.

The current card will no longer be valid after June 30. The retailer-provided rewards associated with the card, such as free shipping, free monogramming and "coupon dollar" rewards points for L.L. Bean merchandise, will no longer be available to holders of the cards after that date.

Cardholders will have to apply for a new card. L.L. Bean has not identified the new issuer yet, although the company has said it is a US-based bank and that all customer service will be handled domestically.

The move is being made in an effort to improve customer service and at the request of customers, who have expressed an interest in a revised program.

Approximately 20% of L.L. Bean customers have one of its co-branded Visa cards.

L.L. Bean began its rewards program 12 years ago, through an agreement with the MBNA Corp. Bank of America purchased MBNA in 2006.