March 24, 2008, By Justin McHenry

uTango, a company offering a loyalty rewards program with a unique twist, launched the uTango Visa earlier this month, allowing members to increase their uTango points accrual with each purchase. Similar in function to other loyalty programs that offer points or cash rebates when you shop with their partner merchants, uTango’s distinct proposition is that its points can only be accrued by single or newly married (less than 3 years) couples, and that its points can earn both small yearly rewards and the promise of bigger rewards if couples stay in the program for 10, 20 or 30 years — and also stay married. uTango claims that some couples could even earn an ultimate payout of $1 million — provided they stay in the program 30 years and meet spending tiers.

The uTango Visa can help members meet the tiers by awarding 2 points per dollar when the card is used at any of over 300 partner merchants and 1 point per dollar at any other merchants. In addition, 10,000 bonus points and a $10 gift card is awarded after a member charges their first $100 in purchases to the card.

Go to uTango for more information on the program and the new Visa credit card.

After hitting a two-year low last week, average credit card rates moved even lower this week, thanks to the three-quarters of a point rate cut delivered by the Federal Reserve. (About 70% of credit cards have variable rates that move up or down in response to Fed interest rate changes.)

The average credit card rate for non-reward consumer credit cards fell to 13.16% this week, down from 13.29% last week, setting another new low-water mark for the last two years. The average rate on credit cards with rewards fell to 15.09%, down from 15.15% last week, and also hitting a new two-year low.

The averages listed above attempt to take into account the multiple tiers that many credit card issuers offer, instead of accounting for only the lowest listed rates. However, IndexCreditCards.com also tracks the very lowest listed rates, those reserved for customers with the very best credit. This week those averages are at 9.86% for non-reward consumer cards and 12.57% for consumer cards with rewards.

Student credit card rate averages are threatening to slip under the 15% mark for the first time in our survey, with the average student card rate declining to 15.07% this week, down from 15.22% the week before.

Business credit card rates are also at two-year lows. The average rate for non-reward business credit cards is 11.11%, while the average rate for reward business credit cards stands at 12.49%.

Financial institutions represented in the survey include Advanta, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Discover, National City, Pulaski Bank, U.S. Bank, Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo and more.

By Seth Harbison

Ameriprise Financial, the financial planning company that was once part of American Express, announced Monday the launch of new MasterCard credit cards that will be issued by Barclays PLC.

The Ameriprise World Elite MasterCard, Ameriprise World MasterCard, and Ameriprise MasterCard will give customers different levels of rewards, with the greatest rewards coming on purchases of Ameriprise products and services. The annual fee generally associated with the “World” designated MasterCard will be waived for Ameriprise customers in its Achiever Circle loyalty program.