L.L. Bean Inc. has decided not to renew its cobranded card-issuing contract with Bank of America Corp.
According to a notice posted on the Freeport, Maine, catalog retailer's Web site, L.L. Bean "has decided to discontinue its relationship with Bank of America, the company that issues the L.L. Bean Visa Card, on June 30."
The retailer-provided rewards associated with the card, such as free shipping, free monogramming, and "coupon dollar" rewards points for L.L. Bean merchandise, will no longer be available to holders of the cards after that date.
Laurie Brooks, a spokeswoman for L.L. Bean, said by e-mail that it has replaced B of A with "a U.S.-based bank" that she could not identify for contractual reasons. "All customer service will be handled domestically," she said, and "information about the new program offerings will be available in a few weeks." Consumers will be able to apply for L.L. Bean cards from the new issuer beginning July 1.
Ms. Brooks said the retailer "began investigating alternative issuance opportunities in 2006 knowing that our contract was ending in 2008. Over the years, our customers had expressed interest in a revised program and we've had a great deal of interest from other banks due to the size and quality of our program."
Betty Riess, a spokeswoman for B of A, said the Charlotte company will retain the current cardholders' accounts and will be introducing a "competitive rewards card program" to replace the L.L. Bean-affiliated rewards. "We've notified customers about the change and told them they'll be receiving a new card," she said.
L.L. Bean's decision will end a 12-year relationship with the card issuer. In May 1996 the retailer signed an agreement with MBNA Corp., which B of A purchased in 2006.
Charles Cawley, then the president and chief executive of MBNA, told American Banker in 1996 that he had signed L.L. Bean only after his Wilmington, Del., company moved some operations to Maine. Ms. Riess said that B of A continues to handle some cards-related operations, including customer service, in Maine. Ms. Brooks said that under L.L. Bean's new program, "additional jobs will be generated here in Maine."
B of A has lost several one-time MBNA clients since acquiring the card company, including banking companies like Wachovia Corp. and TD Banknorth Inc., which both returned to issuing cards themselves. On the retailer cobranding side, Barnes & Noble Inc. switched from MBNA to Barclays PLC in 2006.
