Zynga Partners With Citi For Another Rewards Program

Following its American Express partnership, Zynga has teamed up Citi to offer gift cards and exclusive content for its social games to Citi's ThankYou Rewards members. The financial services company's ThankYou Rewards program gives members points when they make purchases at select businesses with an eligible Citi credit card or debit card. Members can then spend those points to receive free flights, electronics, and consumer goods. With this Zynga deal, Citi can also now offer exclusive virtual goods for the developer's titles (e.g. a Red Pinto Horse in FarmVille, a Pink deer in FrontierVille), as well as gift cards that can be used to purchase digital items in a variety of the firm's social games. Zynga announced a similar deal last week with American Express, which also offered exclusive virtual goods and prepaid cards to members of that company's Membership Rewards program. At the time, American Express and Zynga called the partnership "an industry first." "Citi is continually looking for opportunities to provide our millions of ThankYou Members with new and exciting ways to use their points," says Citi's EVP of North American Cards Terry O'Neil. He adds, "Partnering with a leading social gaming provider like Zynga to add new, exclusive gaming content to ThankYou not only helps to keep our reward collection highly relevant and exciting but it also meets an expressed demand for products in the social games category."