ORLANDO, Fla.-Credit union membership has its rewards, and members of one central Florida CU are getting that message thanks to a new membership rewards program. Fairwinds Credit Union recently debuted a two-pronged promotion geared toward cultivating a deeper relationship with existing members and attracting new ones.
First, the $1.8-billion credit union re-launched a loyalty program that was first fired up in March 2006. Members are automatically enrolled in the program when they first establish their relationships with Fairwinds and then earn points for interest paid on loans, dividends earned and accumulated years of membership. They can use those points to earn higher deposit rates, lower loan rates and waive fees.
"We load a file every month of our members and it creates an account for you. So you simply log-in and you're set," said EVP of marketing Diane Owens
The program was never actually discontinued, but Owens and the rest of the Fairwinds staff believed that it needed to be refreshed and re-tooled.
"We really wanted more of a modern look and feel" to go along with website upgrades, she said. "And we still thought that there was a lack of awareness among the membership. The ones that do know about it, boy do they know about it and use it."
In this year alone, Fairwinds has seen about 13,000 member redemptions with 5,000 members having redeemed some or all of their points to get a CD interest rate bump and another 2,000 members using rewards points to lower loan rates.
"The fastest way to rack them up would be just to do more business with the credit union," Owens said. "The more of a relationship you bring, the more you are rewarded."
The program has always been "dynamic," as new ways to earn points are created and special promotions are run to generate awareness, enthusiasm and additional business. As part of the re-launch, all members automatically received double points and another bonus by opening up a customizable "Clear" account in the month of August. Also, in an effort to grow membership, Fairwinds is also offering a big bonus for referrals. Existing members receive 500 points and are entered into a drawing for two free airfare tickets for each new member they refer.
"We really do encourage member referrals. So if you refer three members, you get 1,500 points. We wanted to get the rewards back out there and say 'Hey, here is a way to earn more,'" said Owens.
August's promotion paid immediate dividends as the credit union saw 1,215 members access the program that month, compared to 467 in July.
