Getting Credit for Tar Heel Pride

Want a co-branded card that makes you feel more literary?

Our State, a magazine about North Carolina, unveiled its own Visa credit card on Tuesday.

Customers can choose from among four iconic Tar Heel State images: a picture of a barbecue sandwich, Cape Hatteras, the Blue Ridge Parkway or the Dogwood flower.

The magazine partnered with NewBridge Bank, headquartered in Greensboro, N.C., which has also been an advertiser and sponsor with the magazine for several years. It's the bank's first co-branded credit card.

"A lot of people's credit cards these days are with banks that are out of state and with large institutions. This gives North Carolinians an option to use a credit card that's adding to the local economy," says Jillian Gibson, first vice president and director of marketing at NewBridge.

The monthly publication, which boasts more than 150,000 subscribers, joins the ranks of periodicals like the liberal Nation and the more niche Bicycle Magazine, both of which also offer their own credit cards.

The hope is that the card will help expand the magazine's brand, according to Bernie Mann, Our State's publisher.

"Anytime anyone uses it, it strengthens the power of my magazine," he says.