Fifth Third Bancorp has agreed to offer Visa Inc.'s Signature credit card for affluent customers through its more than 1,300 branches.
The Cincinnati company issues all its debit cards and several credit cards on the MasterCard Inc. network.
The deal was announced Tuesday. Visa Signature cards have no preset spending limit. Their perquisites include access to advance ticket sales and preferred seating at concerts and sporting events and a 24-hour a concierge service to help with things like travel arrangements.
In addition, Fifth Third offers a "rewards accelerator," which lets cardholders earn more points per dollar the more they use their cards. Since last year the banking company has let customers combine reward points earned on its credit and debit cards, a feature developed by MasterCard's advisory unit.
According to Fifth Third's Web site, its Visa Signature card carries no annual fee. Applicants who do not qualify for the card will be considered for the Fifth Third Optimum card, which is issued by a Nevada bank owned by HSBC Holdings PLC under a joint marketing agreement between the companies.
