In a deal that could earn it a staggering half-billion dollars over five years, America Online will become the exclusive online marketer for the First USA credit card, the companies said Wednesday.
The companies called the deal the largest advertising and marketing partnership in the Internet's short but dramatic history.
Under the agreement, AOL (AOL) customers are going to have a hard time avoiding the words "First USA" over the next several years. The Bank One (ONE) subsidiary will sell its products on AOL and all its related services -- CompuServe, AOL.com, AOL Instant Messenger, and AOL Digital City.
The deal provides unspecified payment guarantees to AOL and marketing commitments to First USA, and "is anticipated to generate up to US$500 million if expected thresholds are met," the companies said.
AOL and First USA have actually been partners since 1996, offering the AOL Visa card. Under that deal, AOL customers using the card could earn co-branded reward points and view billing information online.
"The renewal and expansion of our current agreement proves the real power and value that the interactive medium offers to key marketers and advertisers dedicated to reaching the mass-market consumer," AOL's marketing president Jan Brandt said in a press release.
