NextCard joins Priceline in custom card deal

Priceline.com, the online company that lets customers bid for airplane tickets, hotel rooms and groceries, is now offering users a chance to define terms on their credit cards.

Priceline and Internet credit provider NextCard said today that they have agreed to offer Priceline customers a means to choose their preferred credit limit, interest rate and reward programs, such as frequent flyer miles, linked to their credit cards. The service will be offered through a co-branded area on the Priceline Web site during the second quarter of this year.

"Consumers receive a lot of junk mail from companies offering them credit cards that many times don't fit their needs," NextCard spokesman Dan Springer said. "We tried to turn it around and let the customers create the card they were looking for."

Stamford, Conn.-based Priceline is riding a wave of momentum a week after the company said it expected increased fourth quarter sales of roughly $168 million, higher than its original forecast. Venturing into the online credit card business, Priceline is joining the growing ranks of online companies stepping into the category. Last month, NextCard and Amazon announced they had joined forces to create a co-branded Internet credit card.

Priceline's credit card bidding service will feature NextCard exclusively, working in contrast to its other offerings, which include multiple companies for consumers to bid services from, Priceline spokesman Brian Ek said.

"We're very comfortable with NextCard," Ek said. "We never said that we would offer multiple vendors in all of our services."

Through the new service, Stamford, Conn.-based Priceline will look up a potential customer's credit rating via one of three credit bureaus. According to the company, the customer then receives an offer for a credit card in less than a minute that best matches their preferences.