Is Mastercard Really the Master Credit Card? (cont.)
Contributed by Kris Olds
Master Card Credit is Priceless
Perhaps the most well known aspect of the Master Card domain is their recent marketing tool of the "Priceless" commercials. These commercials show the costs of various purchased items. For example: Laptop computer: $900, personal dictionary: $25, cup of coffee: $3. The ability to write while sitting in a bookstore: priceless. The message being that people with a Master Card credit card have the ability to purchase items that, brought all together, will create a perfect moment.
There have also been quite a few spoofs on this ad campaign which have brought a few lawsuits on behalf of the MasterCard corporation. Nothing priceless about a lawsuit...
One wallet, five Master Card credit cards
How is it possible to have more than one Master Card credit cards? With most consumers carrying three credit cards, on average, odds are that at least one of those is a Master Card. Master Card International sells the name and branding rights to banks and lending companies that then provide credit cards that can be used at retail locations that list the Master Card logo.
The individual banks or lending corporations determine the percentage rates, the annual fees and any sort of reward program associated with the card. Master Card International isn't actually a bank where one can go and make deposits or withdrawals. The card is a corporate conglomeration that makes it possible for a consumer to purchase all the things in life that will make them happy and healthy. How priceless and masterful is that!
