KFA’s credit card partners fidget; draw back-up plans, alternatives

Banks and credit card issuers such as American Express and ICICI Bank which have co-branded cards for its valued customers with Kingfisher, are busy drawing up back-up plans for and offering alternative value propositions. Though they have no immediate plans to pull out their co-branded cards from the market, the companies are being flooded with queries from worried cardholders.

SBI Card — a joint venture between SBI and US conglomerate GE — too has a tie up with the airline, under which it offers free flights to its valued customers and regular credit card users. The companies, however, said they were closely monitoring the current situation and the current crisis would not dent their brand value.

“We are hoping that Kingfisher steers out of the crisis soon but we have also started working on providing alternative plans for our customers,” a senior executive of American Express told Hindustan Times.

Card holders who have won enough “reward points” could even get back cash in exchange of their accumulated reward points. Amex has already held a meeting to take stock of the situation on Friday.

A spokesman for ICICI Bank said that though customers would be provided with other equivalent benefits, there was no immediate cause to worry, ” he said.

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