New Card Update

Companies: Simon Property Group, Inc. [SPG] www.simon.com Indiana Pacers San Antonio Spurs Type of Card: Simon Pacers Giftcard and Simon Spurs Giftcard. The companies have launched new professional sports co-branded affinity gift cards. Special Features: The Simon Pacers Giftcard and Simon Spurs Giftcard will offer basketball fans a new way to show their team loyalty. The Simon Giftcards are Visa prepaid cards that can be used at Simon shopping centers nationwide and anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. The Buzz: Simon anticipates this to be the next wave of co-branded gift cards. Simon will sell the Simon Pacers Giftcard at its Indianapolis malls and the Simon Spurs Giftcard at the company's San Antonio malls. A portion of the handling fee on the sale of each Simon Pacers Giftcard will be donated to the Pacers Foundation and the Simon Youth Foundation. By Summer, 2004, Simon Pacers Giftcards will be available for purchase at the Pacers Home Court store at Conseco Fieldhouse. Companies: Providian Financial [PVN] (Providian Financial Corp., Alan Elias, 415/278-4189, or Beth Haiken, 415/278-4889.) Type of Card: Providian Real Rewards. The company has launched a new credit card program. Special Features: The Providian Real Rewards program allows cardmembers to earn points faster by rewarding them for more of the ways they are already using their card: making purchases, maintaining a balance, and making payments on time. Customers can also redeem points for rewards at restaurants and retailers, or for cash back in the form of statement credits, and can use points to manage their account, including lowering their purchase APR, or to get a late or over-limit fee credit. The Buzz: Real Reward Levels and Offerings include: 1,000 points for $10 Barnes & Noble Gift Card or $10 Mrs. Field's Gift Certificate, 3,000 points for $30 Chili's Gift Card or a Late or Over-limit Fee Credit, 5,000 points for $40 Statement Credit or $50 Off Any Airline Ticket, and 10,000 points for $100 Macy's Gift Card or three Percentage Points Off the Purchase APR for 12 consecutive billing cycles. Companies: Providian Financial [PVN] (Providian Financial Corp., Alan Elias, 415/278-4189, or Beth Haiken, 415/278-4889.) TransUnion Fair Isaac Type of Card: Providian Real Information. The company has launched a new credit card program. Special Features: Providian Real Information program provides customers with free on-line access to their FICO credit score and a supporting credit information summary. Customers will have access to a "score simulator" to see how behaviors, such as paying late or on time and paying more than the minimum due, can affect their credit score. They will also be able to view a snapshot of where and when they are using their credit card, and get information and tips on managing their credit. The Buzz: As part of the new offering, the company also unveiled a series of on- line financial tools and resources to educate consumers about building and maintaining good credit. Companies: U.S. Bank (U.S. Bank, Teri Charest, 612/303-0732, or Steve Dale, 612/303-0784.) Visa Korean Air Type of Card: SkyBlue SKYPASS Visa Credit Card. The company has launched a new credit card as an addition to the other SKYPASS Visa cards: Platinum, Classic or Secured for personal use or Business Platinum for business needs. Special Features: The SkyBlue card will reward customers with miles on Korean Air for every purchase made with the Visa card. There is no annual fee. Customers earn one mile for every two dollars spent. And the accumulated SKYPASS miles never expire and can be redeemed for free travel rewards on Korean Air and its SkyTeam partners. The Buzz: U.S. Bank and Korean Air are sponsoring the SKYPASS Visa Sweepstakes between Feb. 15 and June 30, 2004. Entry is automatic for new cardholders making a minimum qualifying purchase or purchases totaling $25 or more. Also all new and current cardholders will receive an entry into the sweepstakes for each dollar charged on their SKYPASS Visa card through June 30. The winner will receive two round-trip Korean Air business class tickets from the United States to any of the locations serviced by Korean Air and $10,000 in spending money. Companies: University Bank, St. Paul, Minn. (University Bank, 651/ 265-5600.) Type of Card: University Personal Cash Card. The bank has introduced a new Stored Value Card serving the un-banked, under-banked, and consumers looking for safer e-commerce transactions. Special Features: The card includes features of traditional cash and credit cards, without the requirements needed to open a traditional account, such as a valid ID or minimum balance. The card func-tions like a pre-paid gift card; it can be used one time and discarded, or money can be re-loaded into the account for continued use. The card can be issued on the spot when a consumer comes in to University Bank, unless they request the Visa/Mastercard logo on the card, which takes about a two weeks. Transactions take place in real- time and consumers can access their account on-line or with a toll-free number to check balances and statements. The Buzz: The card is aimed at: individuals without traditional bank accounts due to lack of proper ID, not enough money to provide a minimum balance, a language barrier or discomfort in dealing with a financial institution, college students who need money for books and basic living expenses, but whose parents don't want the hassles of high interest rates associated with credit cards, and individuals who want to purchase items on-line but don't want to be susceptible to identity theft by giving out credit card or banking account information. Companies: Visa USA (Todd Brockman, 415/932-2185.) Magic Cards International a subsidiary of, Celebrity Cards International, Inc. (Jackson Spalding, Eric O'Brien, 404/724-2511.) Type of Card: MAGICCash Card. The companies have launched a new prepaid Visa card. Special Features: The card is targeted towards the under-banked and credit challenged in America. Features include: no credit approval or credit history required, only a valid U.S. address and appropriate ID is needed, no interest charges, and easy to purchase and easily re-loadable with immediate accessibility. The Buzz: The company says that the MAGICCash Visa prepaid card will help lift the underbanked and un-banked Americans out of the 'cash-and-carry' world. The projected advertising budget is well in excess of $10 million for mass-market television exposure in the first year. The commercials will appear in both English and Spanish and feature Magic Johnson.