Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the lender that sold half its most popular credit-card portfolio last year, will offer a new card that rewards users with loyalty points for doughnut chain Tim Hortons Inc. (THI)
The CIBC Tim Hortons Double Double Visa Card named after the chain's shorthand for a coffee with two sugars and two creams combines a rewards program for Canada's largest restaurant chain with a no-annual-fee card for the Toronto-based bank. Tim Hortons, based in Oakville, Ontario, has 3,610 outlets in Canada and 870 in the U.S.
The card will offer "first-of-its-kind technology" with lighted buttons that allow users to choose between the Visa Inc. credit card and the rewards program, the companies said Friday. CIBC will begin offering the card on July 2.
CIBC has been rolling out new offerings, starting with its Aventura rewards card in October, to woo customers after agreeing to sell half its Aerogold Visa portfolio to Toronto-Dominion Bank. CIBC sold about C$3.3 billion ($3.1 billion) of receivables in December after Aeroplan loyalty-program owner Aimia Inc. (AIM) chose Toronto-Dominion as its primary partner, ending a 22-year exclusive relationship with CIBC.
The deal helped propel Toronto-Dominion to Canada's top card issuer by outstanding balances for 2013, according to the Nilson Report, a card industry newsletter. CIBC had been the No. 1 issuer since at least 2005.
