What is a Football Credit Card?

To be clear, in this article, the word 'football' applies across the board. Whether it refers to what Americans call 'soccer' (and everyone else in the world calls 'football') or American style football, the premise is the same: If you have a football credit card, you support your favorite team whenever you buy something with it. Sometimes the card issuer makes a donation to the football club when you use the card and allow you to accrue rewards points which can be exchanged for a number of goods and services. Some football credit cards offer football-specific prizes like special jerseys or the opportunity to watch your favorite team's training session.

Generally speaking, football credit cards have introductory offers on par with other reward credit card offers, meaning you probably won't get the best interest rate, but it won't be the worst, either. For many football credit card holders, the specifics of the terms of the card are secondary to supporting their favorite team every time they buy groceries, gas, or a new pair of shoes.

Points systems offer rewards for accrued 'points' earned when you use your card. For example, in 2007, 25,000 points would get you a trip to the New England Patriots cheerleader clinic, and 50,000 points would get you a workout with the New England Patriots strength coach.

Often times, cardholders have access to a free concierge service they can use to buy tickets to sporting events ' sometimes even events that are 'sold out.' In the UK, football fans can pay for their season tickets and club memorabilia at zero percent APR.

In the U.S., the National Football League gets something in the neighborhood of $25 per customer signed up, a percentage of every dollar a cardholder spends, and access to a marketing list, which is like gold to organizations like the NFL.

All this brings up the question of why anyone ' even the most fervent fan ' would want to give money to an industry where coaches and athletes make millions of dollars per year. It is certainly something to think about with a world economy in recession, and all the other options available for building up your own cash back rewards, or better still, having a charity card that gives a little bit of money to a non-profit charity each time you use it. But then again, there are many sports fans for whom being able to plunk down a credit card with their favorite team's logo on it is reward enough.