COLUMBIA, S.C.-Carolina Collegiate FCU here is among those taking advantage of Leap Day on Feb. 29 with a special promotion.
CCFCU is allowing members to "leap over" the first two monthly payments for any car loan (purchase or refinance) approved on Feb. 29.
"Marketing is all theater of the mind," said Bo McDonald, marketing manager. "If you say 'Leap Day Sale,' I wouldn't expect numbers to get all that excited about."
What members can get excited about, he said, is the one-day-only element of its promotion.
In Garland, Texas, America's CU has seen members flocking to its branches for a Leap Year-themed lending promotion. January and February are normally slow months for the credit union, but 67 loans totaling $1.3 million have been approved in the last six weeks-about nine loans per week averaging $19,400 each, according to VP of Marketing Bill Berland.
Berland said that the extra day could mean a bonus of an additional $30,000 in loans. Rates on the promo start at 1.99% for both new and used vehicles.
But Sue Douglas, SVP of e-delivery/risk management at North Carolina's State Employees CU and chair of CUNA's OpSS Council, summed up the attitude of many credit unions: "It's just another day-some months have 28, some have 30 and some have 31. You just truck on."
Similarly, Sean McDonald, director of business development at Mid-State FCU here, said he's heard of few Leap Year tie-ins in 2012. Instead, he noted Valentine's Day seems to have gotten much more attention from credit union marketers.
