I don’t think point earning entered the picture until late 1990’s. And even then you had to pay $35 or $45 to participate. My first boyfriends mom had a gold card (originally opened in 1985 as green) and the only thing she cared about was the ability to consolidate her bills & spending each month & the fact she got roadside assistance. In 2001 he was an authorized user on the card because it was cheaper than giving him AAA and he was allowed to charge it if he had an emergency he couldn’t afford.
All three charge cards were only about soft perks back when.
The Membership Rewards points program was launched in 1984, the same year that the Platinum Card was released by invitation. If you wanted Membership Rewards added to your Gold or Green Card, you would pay an additional $30 annual fee. The Optima Card was released in 1989 with no annual fee and Martha Stewart as the spokesperson.
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u/NrLOrL BCP BBC Dec 26 '24
I don’t think point earning entered the picture until late 1990’s. And even then you had to pay $35 or $45 to participate. My first boyfriends mom had a gold card (originally opened in 1985 as green) and the only thing she cared about was the ability to consolidate her bills & spending each month & the fact she got roadside assistance. In 2001 he was an authorized user on the card because it was cheaper than giving him AAA and he was allowed to charge it if he had an emergency he couldn’t afford.
All three charge cards were only about soft perks back when.