Credit cards from Amazon and ADAC may be of no use

Over 2 million customers affected
Credit card from Amazon and ADAC may soon be useless

The contract between Amazon and Landesbank Berlin (LBB) will end at the end of 2022. The contract between ADAC and LBB will then end in 2023. This affects around one million Amazon customers and 1.3 million ADAC customers, as reported by the finance portals “Finance Forward” and “Finanz-Szene”.

For the time being, the end of the cooperation will have no impact on customers. Basically, if the provider changes, the conditions can also change, such as the debit interest or the credit line. Customers should therefore pay close attention to this. One should also keep an eye on the advantages of such credit cards, such as possible insurance or bonus programs. If the conditions change, there is a right to special termination.

Amazon and ADAC credit cards should remain

Amazon and the ADAC want to continue offering their Visa card. It is not yet clear who will be the new partner. The banks, DKB or Commerzbank, are traded. Solarisbank, Railsbank or Starling are also conceivable. However, a cooperation with the German Barclays is more likely.

As long as it is not yet known when the change of provider will take place, customers do not need to do anything. According to the ADAC, the end of the contract with LBB does not mean any changes for its customers. “We are planning to continue the previous services seamlessly and to further expand the program in the new partnership,” says Jörg Helten, board member of ADAC SE. Amazon has not yet commented on the upcoming end of the contract. However, the online mail order company should be able to continue the contract for a while. The Visa provider has no influence on this. He only provides the bank with the payment system.

Reason for end of contract unclear

The reason for the imminent separation is also unclear. Did Amazon and ADAC initiate the end of the contract or just LBB? The companies are silent about this. What is certain, however, is that LBB will lose its two most prominent and largest customers. In the annual report of LBB from 2020 there was talk of a “growth strategy” with Amazon.

However, the bank is preparing a change within the group: The structure of its three business areas, Berliner Sparkasse, the large bank business operated as LBB and the commercial real estate financier Berlin Hyp is to be changed. The latter is to be abandoned. It is not yet known what the future of the Amazon and ADAC credit cards will look like after the end of the cooperation.

Sources: Finance Forward, Finance scene, ADAC, FAZ