Campaign Overview

Disclaimer: This campaign outline is provided for illustrative purposes only and is intended to offer a high-level overview of the upcoming campaign. It does not constitute a final or comprehensive representation of the campaign's terms, conditions, or deliverables. Full offer details and terms and conditions will be made available prior to campaign launch.

Offer Details 

The 2027 First-Year Fee Rebate Campaign will feature a limited-time offer providing a first-year annual fee rebate on eligible personal and business credit cards. This partner-led campaign provides participating credit unions and financial institutions with an opportunity to support credit card acquisition, increase cardholder engagement, and showcase the value available across the Collabria credit card portfolio.

Newly approved card accounts will receive a rebate of the first-year annual fee on the primary card, following activation of their card and the completion of their first purchase transaction.

Campaign Period

This campaign can be selected by the partner to run during Q1, Q3 and/or Q4:

• Q1 offer availability: January 1 to March 31, 2027
• Q3 offer availability: July 1 to September 30, 2027
• Q4 offer availability: October 1 to December 31, 2027

Q2 is covered by the National Marketing Calendar Premium Consumer campaign and is funded through the National Program Marketing Calendar marketing envelope.

Target Audience

Personal

• New-to-card members
• Members seeking rewards, benefits, and payment flexibility
• Members interested in premium card benefits without the first-year annual fee

Business

• Business owners
• Incorporated professionals
• Small and medium-sized businesses
• Non-profit organizations
• Business members looking for enhanced expense management and rewards solutions

The Offer

New cardholders will receive a rebate of the first-year annual fee on eligible personal and business credit cards. The offer provides members and business owners with an opportunity to experience the benefits of their selected card without paying an annual fee during the first year.

Eligible cardholders will gain access to rewards, insurance coverage, travel benefits, expense management tools, and purchasing flexibility while saving on first-year card costs. The fee rebate removes a common barrier to adoption and encourages members to explore premium credit card products with confidence.

Why This Campaign Matters

Many consumers and businesses are interested in the benefits, convenience, and rewards offered through credit cards but may hesitate when considering annual fees. By rebating the first-year fee, participating partners can remove that barrier and encourage both personal and business members to experience the full value of a Collabria credit card.

The campaign is designed to:

• Drive acquisition of personal and business credit cards.
• Increase awareness of premium and entry-level credit card benefits.
• Encourage members to experience premium card features without an upfront annual fee.
• Support growth in new cardholder accounts.
• Increase adoption of business credit cards among eligible business members.
• Strengthen member relationships through value-added financial solutions.
• Increase card activation and long-term engagement.

Identifying Members for a Premium Card Offering

Use your knowledge of the member and their overall relationship with the credit union to identify members who meet at least one of the following qualifying criteria:

• Personal annual income at or above the established premium card income requirement, confirmed through account records, applications, or recent member interactions.
• Household annual income at or above the established premium card household income requirement, available through member records, applications, or verified conversations.
• Assets under administration at or above the established premium card asset threshold, including investment accounts, registered plans, managed portfolios, and other eligible assets held within the member relationship.
• Annual credit card spending at or above the established premium card spend threshold, based on recent spending patterns.

Strategy Considerations – Always-On

While campaign-based promotions can deliver strong results during specific promotional periods, partners may also wish to consider an always-on premium card acquisition strategy that keeps premium card conversations active throughout the year. This allows advisors and member-facing teams to consistently identify and engage members who meet premium card qualification criteria, rather than limiting outreach to designated campaign windows.

For partners participating in an always-on strategy, any quarter that includes a premium card campaign funded through the NCCP Marketing Calendar provides added value: during those campaign periods, participating partners will not be charged the applicable annual fee rebate costs for eligible premium cards acquired through the campaign offer.

Benefits of an always-on strategy include:

• Capturing opportunities when they occur rather than waiting for the next campaign period.
• Supporting natural advisor conversations when members experience life changes such as income growth, career advancement, retirement planning, or increased travel.
• Leveraging member relationship data to identify qualifying members based on income, household income, assets held with the credit union, or spending behaviour.
• Maximizing premium card penetration by continuously engaging eligible members throughout the year.
• Providing a consistent member experience for qualified members whenever they interact with the credit union.
• Building long-term card engagement and retention.
• Taking advantage of NCCP-funded campaign quarters, where eligible annual fee rebate costs are covered.

Early Planning Considerations

As you begin planning, consider:

• Identifying business members who may benefit from a dedicated business credit card solution.
• Reviewing opportunities to include the promotion in annual retail and business banking initiatives.
• Planning outreach activities that highlight the value of the first-year fee rebate and card benefits.
• Preparing frontline teams to discuss both personal and business credit card options.
• Developing messaging that emphasizes savings, rewards, travel benefits, insurance coverage, and payment flexibility.
• Incorporating the offer into digital, branch, business banking, and direct marketing activities.

Timing 

This campaign can be selected by the partner to run during Q1, Q3 and/or Q4 2027, as per the selected campaign dates.

Eligibility 

The following cards are NOT eligible:

Participating Partners 

• To be announced

Campaign Assets

The following marketing assets will be available in English and French the week of December 4, 2026:

• Digital Assets: Social media banners and website banners
• Screen Graphics: In-branch screens and ATMs
• Social Media Copy: Social media captions to support digital asset collateral
• Email Components: Including email banner for self-directed email campaigns
• Frontline Support Sheet: Campaign overview, offer, target audience and speaking notes
• Microsites: 'Offer Details' section on partner microsites
• Cheat Sheet: General overview of all in-market offers

If you have questions or issues accessing the CBNCS platform, please reach out to marketing@collabriafinancial.com.

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