Credit Card News
Ness Launches for Health and Wellness-Focused Credit Card
A new premium credit card that puts a heavy emphasis on health and wellness is now launching a public beta. This week, Ness announced the debut of the Ness Card, partnering with a number of top wellness brands in the process. The card is issued by The Bank of Missouri and will operate on the Mastercard network.
Starting with rewards, the Ness Card will earn 5 points per dollar spent on purchases from qualifying Health & Wellness Merchants (including select grocery stores/markets, healthy restaurants, nutrition support brands, vitamins/supplements, select meal delivery services, and more) as well as 2x points on all other purchases. These points can then be redeemed for “premium products, services, and experiences” in the Ness marketplace.
Speaking of Health & Wellness Merchants, cardholders can also earn up to $200 in statement credits per year on purchases from qualifying companies. Elsewhere, Ness notes that customers will have opportunities to earn up to 20,000 points per year by doing healthy activities like working out, walking, practicing mindfulness, and more.
Although the card currently carries a $349 annual fee, cardholders can take advantage of a number of credits from partner brands. This includes a $300 annual credit for Parsley Health, $100 in credits annually ($25 per quarter) from Seed Health, $200 in credits annually ($50 per quarter) for Exhale Spa, $200 in credits annual ($100 every six months) for Fyt, $180 in credit annually ($15 per month) for Glamsquad, and $100 in annual credits for HigherDOSE. Additionally, Ness notes more than $1,000 in “additional benefits” from brands such as Magic Spoon, SOOT Method, Modern Age, and more. Plus, when cardholders spend $75 at Sweetgreens, they’ll earn a $15 statement credit (available up to two times per month).
To mark the launch of the Ness Card, the company is also offering a welcome bonus. For a limited time, new cardholders can earn 50,000 bonus points (worth $500) after spending at least $6,000 in purchases on the card within their first 90 days from account opening.
Commenting on the launch of the Ness Card, Ness’s CEO and founder Derek Flanzraich said, “It’s clear health and wellness is the new lifestyle identity of this generation. With the first Ness Card, we reward and incentivize doing healthy things with more healthy things, and we’re grateful to partner with amazing brands like Sweetgreen to drive even more value to cardmembers.”
Overall, the Ness Card is definitely a specialized product, but it does seem to take a page from a growing premium credit card trend. In recent years, products such as the American Express Platinum Card have simultaneously increased their annual fee and added benefits in the form of credits from select brands. Although this “coupon book” strategy has been criticized by some, Amex has seemingly found success with it — which is why it makes sense that Ness might want to try something similar. Ultimately, the value consumers get from the Ness Card will vary wildly based on how much they currently frequent the brands featured, making it hard to recommend generally. However, those interested can check out the Ness Card site for more information and to request an invitation.
