Arriva Card: Rewards For Cash Advances

As of September 11, more than 1,000 gaming patrons have become Arriva Card cardholders. To date, the average cash advance done on an Arriva Card is nearly twice as large as those done on non-Arriva credit cards. Arriva Card gives casino patrons with strong credit and in-casino cash advance histories more access to cash - and at better terms - than they'd typically have with traditional credit cards.

"It's very exciting to see how many experienced, responsible gaming customers with strong credit ratings have applied - and qualified - for an Arriva Card during the initial few weeks of our direct mail marketing effort. It really shows that savvy gaming customers know they don't need to be penalized by traditional credit cards' terms for cash advances and are eager to embrace an alternative that treats them better," said Todd Smith, vice president for card services at Global Cash Access, Inc., parent of Arriva Card, Inc.

Most credit cards charge higher rates for cash advance transactions than they charge for retail purchases; begin charging interest immediately after the cash advance transaction (as opposed to giving a grace period as with retail purchases); don't give reward points for cash advances; allow cash advances of a portion of the credit line; and generally don't apply monthly payments against cash advance transactions until the retail purchase balance is paid off.

"Since Arriva Card is primarily used for cash advances, and only within the 800-plus U.S. casino locations that are GCA customers, and since we're only marketing cards to people with both good credit and a track record of responsible in-casino cash advances, we're happy to break away from the pack and treat our customers and the casinos' customers as entertainment purchasers, not as the typical non-casino cash advance user, who is often seen as risky," said Mr. Smith. "We're happy that we're filling a need for established, responsible gaming patrons."

"Arriva Card has a very different business model from typical credit cards. While many traditional bank cards want customers to revolve balances, carry high balances and pay a lot of interest, we want our cardholders to pay down their balances quickly. This benefits us and our casino customers because it allows more available credit for future use of the card," said Mr. Smith.

Accordingly, Arriva is marketing cards to customers who have an apparent track record of paying off credit card balances. Also, unlike typical credit cards, there are no user incentives to revolve and accumulate high, ongoing balances: Arriva has one of the highest minimum payments in the credit card business, and Arriva doesn't offer balance transfers from other cards, or convenience checks.