Dell pushes new credit card to increase holiday buying
(and announces new Mobil contract)
From Austin American-Statesman, Wednesday, November 25, page D1
Inducements also include gift certificates, easier lease terms
By Jerry Mahoney, American-Statesman Staff
ROUND ROCK-In a new bid to increase sales to consumers during the holiday season, Dell Computer Corp. is offering gift certificates, a Visa credit card and easier terms in its leasing program.
Dell said Tuesday that the Platinum Visa cards will be issued in association with First USA, a national credit card company that has a call center in Northwest Austin.
The card offers a 120-day grace period with no payments and no interest on the initial purchase from Dell's Home Systems group. After that, the card has a fixed annual percentage rate of 9.99 percent for purchases and 19.99 percent for cast advances.
Consumers can apply through Dell, which offers Dell Dollars toward future Dell purchases each time the card is used. In that regard, the card is similar to cards with which consumers gain frequent flyer miles or points toward purchases each time they use them.
The gift certificates, which come in $100 increments, can be purchased online.
"Rather than being strapped for money this holiday season, these new payment options give customers flexibility when buying technology products," Dave Hood, vice president and general manager of Dell Home Systems said in a release. D
Dell financial services, the company's leasing arm, is cutting rates by up to 10 percent for leases in December.
Dell, which recently has been announcing contracts with some of its biggest customers, also said Tuesday that Mobil Corp. agreed to a three-year, $75 million contract to buy Dell desktop computers, notebooks and servers.
Dell, in the third quarter, had a 29.8 percent market share in sales to companies with at least 500 employees, according to a recent study by ZD Market Intelligence.
Compaq Computer Corp. had dominated that market for at least two years. Its share declined from about 27 percent in the second quarter to 23.6 percent, ZD Market Intelligence said.
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