LANSING, Mich.–Michigan State University FCU used Amazon Prime Day to teach some lessons about using credit responsibly.
Amazon Prime Day, held this year on July 10-11, has become an annual shopping holiday held by Amazon since 2015 and has become one of the largest shopping days of the year. The company said that this year’s sales event was its "biggest day ever," with sales this year surpassing its 2016 Black Friday and Cyber Monday results. According to Amazon, Prime Day sales grew by more than 60% from the same 30-hour window in 2016, with a "record number" of Prime members shopping across 13 countries, Amazon said.
According to the Michigan Credit Union League, the impact of the day was “not lost” on MSUFCU, which provided members with the chance to win $500 for using their MSUFCU Visa debit or credit cards on Amazon Prime Day. The credit union’s promotion encouraged card-holding members to learn about and responsibly use their debit and credit cards while offering a fun and engaging promotion, accordind to the MCUL.
The popularity of the event motivated MSUFCU to incent members to use the credit union’s cards over cards they may have from a bank with higher rates, the MCUL said.
“We know our members shop at Amazon, and while some use our cards (debit or credit), others use another financial institution’s card,” MSUFCU Chief Marketing Officer Deidre Davis was quoted by the Michigan league as saying. “We offer a credit card with an APR far below the national average, so we feel it is in the best interest of our members to encourage the use of MSUFCU cards, due to our low APR on credit cards and the financial education we provide.”
The league reported that in comparing Amazon’s 2016 Prime Day to its 2017 Prime Day, MSUFCU members’ purchases on Amazon with the credit union’s cards increased 59% for debit cards and 47% for credit cards, surpassing the promotion’s goals in both categories.
“Historical data has shown that our members make purchases at Amazon, regardless of whether or not we have encouraged the use of an MSUFCU Visa debit or credit card,” Davis told the MCUL. “So, we thought Prime Day would be a perfect time to remind our members of the many benefits of using an MSUFCU card, from 1 percent cashback, to no annual fees, to a lower-than-national average APR.”
MSUFCU’s Visa cards offer rates as low as 8.9% APR, have no annual fees, no application fees, no balance transfer fees, 1% cashback on all purchases, $0 fraud liability and chip card technology for enhanced security.