AT&T Universal Card Services has added bait-$30 in free phone calls-to its direct-mail offers for small-business credit cards.
The free calls and a previously offered 10% discount on long distance are attached to a no-fee credit card with a $15,000 credit limit and interest rates ranging from 14% to 18%.
The $30 in calls represents another attempt to attract customers in an increasingly crowded field. Visa and American Express offer discounts on business products to their cardholders.
AT&T's latest offer also shows how the company is marketing cookie- cutter small-business credit cards in the same manner as long distance telephone service and consumer credit cards.
AT&T's business card competes directly with American Express and other corporate cards and indirectly with consumer credit cards.
American Express, which has several small-business cards, offers credit limits from $20,000 to $50,000 and a introductory rate of 8.9% which increases to 15.9% after six months.
Start-up businesses with limited credit histories and credit needs often use personal credit cards, which usually have lower interest rates and credit limits, to finance their businesses.
Banks such as Wells Fargo & Co. issue small-business credit cards that usually offer lower interest rates and higher credit limits. Those cards can be harder to obtain.
A spokesman for AT&T said the offer of $30 in free calls was the latest of several mail campaigns begun in April, when AT&T took its small-business card nationwide.
Les Dinkin, managing principal of NBW Consulting, said the free calls would appeal most to smaller, home-based businesses but could be hard to sell to larger companies. "If someone has extensive credit needs, the rate and the credit limit are not going to appeal to them," Mr. Dinkin said. "With the way credit card companies have been throwing offers at people, this may not be a compelling offer."
Since April, AT&T Universal has doubled to nearly 100,000 its small- business accounts from businesses with less than 25 employees, the company spokesman said.
American Express, which advertises its cards nationwide, also offers cardholders discounts on United Parcel Service shipping, Hilton Hotels, and Hertz car rentals.
