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Hard Rock International Introduces Co-Branded Rewards Card
An iconic brand is launching a new co-branded credit card in support of its recently added loyalty program.
About the Unity by Hard Rock Mastercard:
This week, Hard Rock International announced the Unity by Hard Rock Mastercard Credit Card. With this new offering, guests can earn points for the brand’s Unity program, which debuted this summer. The new card is issued by Comenity Capital Bank, which is a subsidiary of Bread Financial.
First, the card earns 5x Unity points on purchases made at participating non-casino Hard Rock properties and 4x on non-gaming spending at participating Hard Rock casino locations. However, this is a combined total of points, with the Unity by Hard Rock Mastercard site stating that customers must present their loyalty member card for all Hard Rock/Seminole Gaming transactions and that the credit card does not replace the loyalty card.
Meanwhile, the card earns 2x points at restaurants and 2x at grocery stores. All other purchases earn 1 Unity point per dollar spent. Earned Unity Points can be redeemed “like cash” at participating Hard Rock and Seminole Gaming locations, allowing guests to use them toward food, gaming, stays, and more.
With the Unity by Hard Rock Mastercard, customers can also earn tier credit and/or increased status. Cardholders at the base Star status tier will automatically be upgraded to Legend status when they open their account. Customers who have already earned Legend, Icon, or X tier status will instead receive 3,000 Tier Credits when they use the card within 30 days of opening their account. Cardholders who spend at least $5,000 on their Unity card annually can also earn an extra 5,000 Tier Credits.
To celebrate the launch of this new card, Hard Rock is also offering a welcome bonus. Currently, new cardholders can earn 10,000 bonus Unity Points after spending at least $1,000 outside of Hard Rock properties within 90 days of account opening.
What they’re saying:
Announcing the new co-branded card, Seminole Hard Rock Support Services SVP of Loyalty and CRM Penny Goodwin said, “We’re proud to introduce the Unity by Hard Rock Mastercard which is designed for our most loyal guests to earn even more points for doing what they love at Hard Rock. This innovative card empowers members to earn points with every purchase at Hard Rock properties and through their everyday spending, enabling them to reinvest those points into memorable travel, entertainment, gaming and culinary experiences.”
My thoughts:
I’ll be honest: when I think of Hard Rock, I think of the cafes, the casino in Florida, and the recently acquired (and currently shuttered) Mirage in Vegas. In other words, I had no idea that the company had so many hotels and other properties around the world. Thus, hearing about this new card was pretty eye-opening.
With that context, I can say that I don’t have any interest in this card whatsoever. That’s not only because it just earns Unity Points that must be redeemed for purchases at Hard Rock but also because I find the whole “combined point earning” scheme that requires paying with the card but also presenting the loyalty card to be a bit deceptive at worst and annoying at best. Maybe I’ll change my tune if the reopened Mirage (or whatever it will be called) turns into my favorite Vegas spot — but, short of that, I’ll personally be skipping this one.
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