Union Plus's Value

To the Editor:

In response to Fitz Reid's April 11 letter to the editor, I wanted to show why the Union Plus Credit Card continues to offer an excellent value for union members with competitive rates, fair terms and unique help for members facing financial hardship.

The average rate for the union credit card is lower on average than rates offered by the nation's top nine credit card issuers (13.67 percent vs. 14.85 percent). No union member has a retail rate higher than 19.99 percent, while nearly one-quarter of those with other cards have rates higher than 20 percent.

The Union Plus card caps delinquency pricing at 19.99 percent, while other cards charge penalty rates as high as 34.99 percent. Union cardholders can return to their original rate after six months of on-time payments, while holders of most other cards get stuck with that high penalty rate for as long as they carry their card.

The union credit card offers a 25-day grace period - which is five days more than the 20 days offered by other top issuers. Our program has not offered a card without a grace period for more than 10 years.

And, most importantly, the Union Plus Credit Card offers help to union members facing financial hardship including: $250,000 annually in grants for cardholders out of work due to disability, a Layoff Helpline, free credit counseling for members worried about their debt or financial situation, and skip payments for members who need them. Other credit cards offer no help at all.

All calls to the union credit card program are answered in the U.S. and are never "outsourced" to other countries. You never know where your call will be answered with other cards.

Union Plus includes monthly inserts about union issues to millions of union cardholders including AFSCME's Resurrection Health Care organizing campaign. You certainly would not find any other credit card including pro-worker and pro-union messages.

I hope you will agree that the Union Plus Credit Card offers working families a good value compared to other credit cards.

LESLIE TOLF, President, Union Plus