Plastic makes perfect: Beirut banks boost

Money talks,” thus reads the clever ad for the Alfa Blom MasterCard. And money talks all right, as this particular card co-branded with the mobile phone operator offers the card holder 60 minutes of free talk time upon issuing the card and an additional 5 minutes for every $100 spent. The Blom initiative is but the latest addition to Lebanon’s ever growing number of credit cards and incentive schemes. As general conditions and interest rates among credit cards rarely vary, banks increasingly rely on loyalty programs and consumer incentives to reward existing card holders, and attract new clients. Air miles, chocolate boxes, wine bottles, coffee pots, hair dryers, watches and cash paybacks: you name it, banks offer it … As long as you just use that card. For nearly 5 years, Blom has offered a more regular loyalty program: as the card holder uses his card to purchase goods, he