MBNA, barnesandnoble.com Develop Co-Branded Credit Card

Credit card issuer MBNA America Bank and
barnesandnoble.com on Wednesday
inked a wide ranging marketing deal that includes the development of a
co-branded credit card, which card holders will be rewarded for using at
barnesandnoble.com or at Barnes and Noble stores.

The agreement represents the first time that such a marketing deal spans
both the online presence and the traditional retail outlets of a major US
retailer.

The deal gives MBNA the exclusive right to market credit cards to
barnesandnoble.com’s customers, and gives barnesandnoble.com the right to
market its products to millions of MBNA’s customers.

Another part of the agreement calls for barnesandnoble.com to be featured
on MBNA’s three Web sites — MBNAnetaccess.com, MBNAwallet.com and MBNAoffers.com. MBNA will also become
an affiliate of barnesandnoble.com.

“This relationship marks an important step in leveraging the power of our
multi-channel network, which reaches tens of millions of customers, and
through the rewards program, to give them great reasons to come back and
shop with us again and again,” says Carl Rosendorf, senior vice president
of barnesandnoble.com.

MBNA has been one of the most active credit card companies on the Internet,
forging a co-marketing deal with Infoseek and working on a digital wallet
with CyberCash.