ABDEREEN, Md. -
Aberdeen Proving Ground Federal Credit Union believes it has found a way to reward members while leaving the stick outside.
Traditional rewards programs have been modeled after the airline industry's frequent flyer miles with points being awarded for the amount of business done by the account holder. Started on June 1, the Benefit Builder program is intended to reward members for financial activity they do on a normal basis, but at Aberdeen Proving Ground FCU instead of another financial institution.
"It's a way for our members to increase their participation within the credit union," Nick Bengel, research and development director, said.
APGFCU bills Benefit Builder as a method of rewarding members "who actively participate in the credit union with cash rebates, premium rates and discounted fees..."
APGFCU officials told the Credit Union Journal that Benefit Builder is a tiered program based on a household owning a checking account combined with the total monthly amount of deposits and loan balances.
A household is defined by APGFCU as all members at the same address with the same last name.
If a married couple has a child with the surname from a previous marriage, the household would need to make a request to be included in the Benefit Builder program.
Benefit Builder has three levels, bronze, silver and gold with varying levels of deposits, with or without a checking account.
Each category includes free online banking and bill pay. In the bronze group for example, members are rewarded with a household checking account combined with deposit and loan balances of at least $5,000. Without a checking account the total household deposit and loan balance must be at least $15,000.
"It allows us to reach more of our members. In a household of four, all of them will benefit from it," Megan Pullarn, senior marketing specialist, said. "It's very simple, which is good for our members to understand and also our staff to understand."
Bronze level benefits include: a $25 loan rebate; a $50 home equity loan/line rebate; $250 first mortgage loan rebate; a .25% personal loan discount (credit cards excluded); out-of-network ATM withdrawal fee discounted to $1.25 and out-of-network inquiry fee reduced to 75 cents.
Newly joined members are placed at the silver level for up to 60 days after account opening.
The cash levels of each household is calculated at the end of each month and printed on member statements.
Bengel said APGFCU spent the last two years researching various rewards programs with some charging new fees to use the services and some plans even charging fees to members who didn't qualify for rewards. APGFCU wanted a simple plan that built on its existing members, their loans and savings, plus didn't cost anything.
"We don't take anything away from members. We're only adding onto our current system," Bengel said. "The members don't pay anything more than what is in their accounts."
The $618-million Aberdeen Proving Ground FCU serves 78,311 members.
