Bank One Corp. will offer the first Walt Disney Co. Visa credit card next year, the bank said Tuesday, and will offer Disney fans the chance to earn reward points for Disney trips and merchandise.

Bank One's credit-card unit, the third-largest credit issuer in the United States, will issue the Disney Visa card sometime during the middle of next year. Credit customers can earn points toward vacations at Disney theme parks, Disney videos and other Disney goods, the bank said.

The bank and Burbank, Calif.-based Walt Disney have signed a five- year agreement to have Bank One issue the Disney card.

"We believe the Disney-branded Visa credit card, with its world- renowned branding and attractive Disney rewards, will be immensely popular with families and other Disney fans when it is launched next year," said Phil Heasley, chairman of Bank One's credit-card division.

As part of the agreement, Visa will create promotions solely for Disney card holders at amusement parks and Disney Stores.

The card will be the first one for Disney with an affiliation with Visa. Disney currently offers a private-label card to customers of its Disney Stores Inc. The new Disney Visa will replace that card, Bank One spokesman Tom Kelly said.

Kelly declined to speculate how many new customers Bank One could gain from the Disney deal.

Bank One, which had 54 million credit cards issued as of March 31, also has exclusive so-called co-branded cards with United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and British Airways. It's the third-largest credit card issuer behind Citibank and MBNA.

Copyright The Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.