"Extras" especially for "loyal customers"

These customer loyalty programs show up most clearly in the travel industry:  frequent flyers get a special line at the airport and free upgrades to first class; frequent renters at the car-rental agencies get upgrades and a car already running with the door open and a Wall Street Journal on the seat; frequent stayers at hotels get "guest packets" with cookies and free room upgrades.   Specials for special customers have become common in almost all service sectors, so it isn't a surprise that they would show up in sports, too, and Washington, D.C., seems like the symbolically-right place to start.

The Washington Redskins have a "special" this year for their faithful season ticket holders:  if you pay for your tickets with a credit card, you get to pay for them with a Redskins Extra Points Mastercard!  You can pay cash or check; but if you pay with a credit card, you pay with the Redskins' own credit card.  As Brand Autopsy comments,

From my perspective, the Washington Redskins decision to require season ticket holders who purchase seats by credit card to use a Washington Redskins Extra Points™ MasterCard® is more about entrapment than enrichment.

The Washington Post comments that in addition to providing the Redskins with additional information on their fans' spending habits, there is financial benefit to them:

The credit cards are part of the NFL's new Extra Points program, which began in the 2004 season. The NFL earns revenue from league sponsor MBNA Bank for the cards and distributes that money to the 32 teams. Also, each team can earn income based on the number of fans who sign up for the cards and the frequency of their use, according to the league.

And Tony Kornheiser, the sports columnist for the Washington Post, comments:

Season Ticket: $2,350 . . . Redskins MasterCard: Priceless    

Maybe if the Redskins were like the Patriots, and contending for the Super Bowl every year, this credit card thing wouldn't seem so smarmy. Or maybe if the Redskins were like the Packers, and making the playoffs every year, this credit card thing wouldn't seem quite so snarky. Heck, maybe if the Redskins were simply finishing above .500 once in a while this credit card thing wouldn't seem so totally cheesy.    

But the Redskins aren't winning.    

Year after year, they aren't winning.    

And while I'm not for a second questioning the owner's desire to win or his commitment to win, it just seems like this is not the time to tell your loyal fans that they'd better use a certain kind of credit card to pay for their season tickets.    

With a winning team you could say, "Ahhh, that's just business."    

With a losing team you say, "That's crapola."

The next step -- next benefit -- may be that any city that wants to keep their franchise team will not only have to build them a stadium from tax revenues but also finance it through the NFL's bank, State bond issues have to be floated by the NFL bank, and all flyers in the State are automatically part of the NFL's  "Extra Miles" program.

Maybe the NFL is onto something -- the word will spread about these kinds of perks and the "only NFL credit cards accepted" reward will not only ensure current customer loyalty but start attracting a lot of others, too.