CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The University of Illinois Employees CU has signed with the UI Alumni Association to provide its 625,000 members with an affinity credit card.
The credit union will offer five credit card designs for alumni association members. One features the Alma Mater statue, another depicts UI football great Harold "Red" Grange and a third features the Block "I" logo. The other designs highlight the UI's Chicago and Springfield campuses.
For the first 12 billing cycles, the UI card will offer an introductory annual percentage rate of 3.9% to 12.9%, depending on the card holder's creditworthiness. After the first year, the rates will range from 10.9% to 17.9%, again depending on creditworthiness.
Card holders can opt to take part in a rewards program. Those who opt for the rewards program – which offers points toward air travel or merchandise – add an extra 2 percentage points to their rate.
The card has no annual fee, and there's no fee for transferring balances from an old card to the new card.
Under the deal a portion of each purchase made with the credit card will support alumni association programs.
The alumni group had been served for the past 19 years by MBNA, a unit of Bank of America.
