Okay, gang, moral dilemma. I have one actual credit card, I gave up all of the others years ago, because I was an early "move your money" proponent. Closed my mega-bank accounts, went to a credit union, the whole nine yards, years ago. My one credit card, which I have kept through thick and thin has been because it's through Working Assets. Good deal, right?
Every card swipe generates ten cents towards good causes, and the causes are all good. From the $5 for coffee and oatmeal for my girlfriend, to the $150 motel room on the road, ten cents goes to the good guys. As you can see from the website link above, it all adds up; "$65 Million donated since 1985." Sixty five million dollars! And good causes.
Here's the rub; the credit cards are administered by Bank of America. So it's the merchant fees, and whatever that goes to BofA. I haven't done business with BofA for more than a decade, except for my Working Assets card.
Working Assets has contributed $85M at ten cents per transaction, in the mean time Bank of America has been making a lot more, I'm sure. Merchant fees, late fees, all of the "usual" profits associated with credit card administration.
Should I drop my Working Assets credit card? I emailed Working Assets to inquire, and received the reply below the fleur-de-kos
Hello XXXXXX,
Thank you for your email regarding our relationship with Bank of America.
We wish all companies we worked with shared our values. It is true that the Working Assets Credit Card, like a lot of other affinity credit cards, uses Bank of America. We're glad you are a person who considers the values of the companies you do business with.
We’re without flexibility around which bank issues the card, but please know that the donations still go towards fighting the right wing and promoting progressive change. We are dismayed by the bank's recent decision to charge a fee for debit transactions, and have written them to express our opposition.
We appreciate you being a Working Assets customer. If you conclude that you cannot keep your Working Assets card because of our affiliation with Bank of America, we will miss you as a customer and wish you the best. We will keep on trying to accomplish as much social change as we can, given the constrained choices we face.
Regards,
YYYYY ZZZZZ
Customer Liaison
Working Assets
So, there you have it. I don't use my credit card much, I don't have much income. At ten cents per transaction, I could just toss a couple of bucks towards any good cause I like and more than cover my Working Assets contributions.