New AAA Credit Card Offers Cash Back With No Annual Limits on Rewards

LOS ANGELES, CA -- (MARKET WIRE)
-- May 31, 2007 -- The Automobile Club of Southern California is introducing a new credit card that will allow users to earn 1% cash back on all their purchases, with no annual limits on cash rebates and no annual fee.

"Our members have overwhelmingly indicated to us that cash rebates are the preferred type of credit card reward," said Wendy Sabins, senior vice president for marketing products and services. "Cardholders will earn one point for every dollar spent on net retail purchases using the AAA Cash Rewards MasterCard® credit card and will be eligible to redeem their first reward, after collecting 2,500 points."

The AAA Cash Rewards credit card will give cardholders cash back for their everyday purchases including grocery store, restaurant and gasoline purchases; providing members with multiple options to save money as they accumulate points on everything they buy.

Members may obtain applications for the AAA Cash Rewards MasterCard credit card, provided by Bank of America, in all 75 Auto Club offices throughout Southern California, or members can apply by calling (800) 545-7899 and providing the priority code: FABCKT.

The Auto Club will continue to offer its AAA Gas Rebate Visa® credit card, which provides monthly cash rebates of up to 5 percent on all gasoline purchases made at the pump with the credit card. AAA Gas Rebate Visa cardholders have the option to keep their current credit card, request the Cash Rewards credit card and use both cards, or request the Cash Rewards credit card only.

The Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest member of the AAA federation of motor clubs, has been serving Southern California since 1900. Today, the Auto Club's members benefit by roadside assistance, insurance products and services, travel agency, AAA credit cards, automotive pricing and buying programs, automotive testing and analysis, trip planning services and highway and transportation safety programs. Information about these products and services is available on the Auto Club's Web site at .

For information about the rates, fees, other costs, and benefits associated with the use of this credit card, visit AAA.com/CREDITCARD or call 800.545.7899. The Auto Club Credit Card is issued and administered by FIA Card Services, N.A. The 5% rebate for total gasoline purchases paid for at the pump during a billing cycle is capped at 2% of your total retail purchase transactions made during the same billing cycle. Additional terms apply. MasterCard is a federally registered service mark of MasterCard International Inc., and is used by the issuer pursuant to license. Visa is a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association, and is used by the issuer pursuant to license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Bank of America is a registered trademark of Bank of America Corporation.

Credit Card Mergers Do Not Affect Card Usage, Says Cardbeat

WESTBURY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In the past few years, the credit card industry has witnessed landmark
mergers between issuers such as Bank of America and MBNA, JPMorgan Chase
and Bank One, and Barclays and Juniper Bank, among numerous others.
Two-thirds of cardholders whose issuers have been a part of a merger
have not changed the ways they use their credit cards post-merger,
according to research recently published in Cardbeat®,
the syndicated market research report by Auriemma Consulting Group (ACG).

“These consumers were pleased with the
customer service, card pricing and rewards of their credit cards, and
chose to continue using them because the products and features did not
change after the merger,” says Megan
Bramlette, managing editor of Cardbeat.

Overall, consumers are neutral on bank mergers, with 68% expecting
little change to their opinion of their credit card company if their
card issuer was bought or sold.

“Consumers care less about the bank that
issues their card and monthly statements than the benefits they receive
from that relationship,” Bramlette says.
Falloff in activity occurs when card rewards are not as rich post-merger
as they were before, or when interest rates and account fees on the
portfolio rise.

“Merging banks need to consider how consumers
will react to their products post-merger,” she
continues. “Our research shows that most
consumers are confident about the ongoing independence of their current
credit card issuers and have made it clear that they will remain loyal,
even after a merger, as long as cardholder benefits and service levels
remain the same.”

The information in this release includes data from 401 credit card users
surveyed in February 2007. The findings were originally published in the
February 2007 issue of Cardbeat.

ACG is a management consulting firm in the payments and lending
industry. Cardbeat is a syndicated market research study from ACG that
provides insight into how consumer perceptions impact credit card
acquisition and usage.

N.Z. Dollar May Gain Versus Australia's on Interest-Rate Gap

New Zealand's dollar may gain against
Australia's currency on speculation that nation's central bank
will leave interest rates unchanged today.

New Zealand's official cash rate is 1.5 percentage points
higher than Australia's 6.25 percent cash target rate. There's
just a 2 percent chance the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise
the benchmark rate at 9:30 a.m. today in Sydney, according to a
Credit Suisse index based on overnight trading in interest-rate
swaps.

``If Australia doesn't go then people will lean toward the
New Zealand'' dollar Alex Sinton, currency dealer at ANZ National
Bank Ltd. in Auckland. ``It's all about the relativity of
interest rates.''

The New Zealand dollar has advanced 7 percent against the
Australian dollar in the past 12 months. That's the biggest gain
of any major currency against the Australian dollar in that time.
New Zealand's 7.75 percent benchmark rate is the second-highest
after Iceland's among countries with the top rating at Moody's
Investors Service, helping swell demand for the local dollar.

New Zealand's dollar bought 89.56 Australian cents at 8:41
a.m. in Wellington, from 89.41 cents in late Asian trading
yesterday. It may rise to 89.80 cents if Australia's central bank
does not increase rates, Sinton said. It fell to 74.07 U.S. cents
from 74.28 cents yesterday.

RBA Governor Glenn Stevens will leave the overnight cash
rate target unchanged today at a six-year high, according to all
26 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Bollard's Strategy

There is a 12 percent chance on the Credit Suisse index
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Alan Bollard will boost
rates at his next monetary policy review on June 6. Bollard
boosted rates twice by a quarter-point in March and April, and
did not warn of further increases at his last review April 26.

The local dollar may extend its drop against the U.S. dollar
today as signs of more economic growth in the world's biggest
economy stokes demand for its currency, Sinton said.

The dollar rose from near an all-time low against the euro
and touched a two-week high versus the yen after a private report
released yesterday showed U.S. manufacturing strengthened last
month by more than economists forecast.

New Zealand government bonds rose after the yield on the
benchmark 10-year note fell 0.04 percentage point to 6.05 percent,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The country's one-year swap spread over the U.S. rate
dropped 0.01 points to 2.86 percentage points today. The one-year
swap over Japan is at 7.33 percentage points, from 7.32 yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Emma O'Brien in Wellington at