Capital One Financial Corp., Falls Church, VA, this week unveiled a partnership with Student Advantage Inc., Boston, that could enhance the credit card issuer’s ability to attract and retain college students.
The agreement allows Capital One, which issues both MasterCard and Visa credit cards and offers other financial services, to offer Student Advantage discount-club memberships to its student prospects and cardholders. In addition, Capital One will market its credit cards to Student Advantage members through the company’s quarterly print publication, Student Advantage Magazine, and on the “Buy & Save” section of its Web site, www.studentadvantage.com.
Although Capital One will not offer affinity or co-branded credit cards through the Student Advantage partnership, the Student Advantage membership cards it distributes will bear the Capital One brand. The Student Advantage card enables members to receive discounts on various goods and services from Student Advantage partners, such as AT&T, Tower Records, Amtrak and Greyhound.
“Obviously the tie-in works pretty well, because the benefits are about saving money,” said Raymond Sozzi, founder and CEO of Student Advantage. “The idea is, if you need to take a bus home, you’ll be able to show the Student Advantage card, get the 15 percent discount, and use your Capital One credit card to pay for the ticket.”
A spokeswoman for Capital One said it was too soon to determine exactly how the Student Advantage memberships would be marketed, although she did say that they would be offered to most student cardholders.
