New Ryanair Partnership

Budget airline Ryanair has signed a deal with GE Money, the global consumer lending unit of GE, to provide co-branded credit cards across a number of European markets.

The partnership replaces Ryanair's existing co-branding alliance with MBNA, though MBNA is still issuing credit cards to Ryanair customers in Ireland.

The new Ryanair MasterCard credit card was launched last month in the UK and will be introduced later in the year in two additional markets, Poland and Sweden. The agreement also allows for roll-out of the card across other markets where Ryanair and GE Money operate. The card will be available through Ryanair.com and at selected airports, usually at the check-in lines.

Cardholders are offered a rewards programme, based on their usage and spend, which will allow them to redeem free flights across the Ryanair network, now amounting to over 500 routes. They can also transfer from an existing credit card provider to the Ryanair MasterCard card with a 0% offer for six months on all balance transfers and typical APR of 16.9%.

With the decline of its substantial UK store card business in recent years, GE Money has become increasingly active in co-branded credit cards, one prominent example being the programme with Migros in Switzerland (ECR, May/June 2006, p6), while its consumer finance arm operates throughout Europe.

“We are delighted to be selected by Ryanair as their partner of choice for its credit card,” says Des O'Shea, chief commercial officer of GE Money EMEA: “Our pan-European presence puts us in a unique position to offer partners, like Ryanair, best in class product knowledge and expertise with local market know-how. The development of these partnerships is a key platform of our organic growth strategy for the EMEA region.”   [European Card Review - September / October edition].