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MBNA Corp. and American Express Co. launched in November the first of the credit cards planned from their much-ballyhooed partnership, marketing the cards as MBNA Affinity Rewards American Express to over 1,000 affinity groups. Within one week over 300,000 cards were approved for members of alumni organizations, professional groups, and others, according to MBNA.
The cards carry a variety of rewards, deals, and services that AmEx cards typically feature. In addition, the cards offer automatic enrollment in the MBNA WorldPoints reward program, double points for travel and dining purchases until 2006, cash rewards, travel with no blackout dates, VIP access to certain travel-and-entertainment merchants, and a Web site devoted to the program.
Both Kenneth I. Chenault, AmEx chairman and chief executive, and Bruce Hammonds, MBNA's chief executive, told CCM sister publication CardLine that the alliance was proceeding nicely, as proven by the initial response to their new product.
"We are well on...