Korea's first lifestyle card, Hyundai Card Alphabet Card, is back after 11 years.
On the 16th, Hyundai Card unveiled five Alphabet Cards that offer discount benefits tailored to lifestyle. Hyundai Card D stands for Dining, Hyundai Card H for Home, Hyundai Card O for Oil, Hyundai Card S for Shopping, and Hyundai Card T for Travel.
After launching Hyundai Card S, a shopping-focused card, in 2004, Hyundai Card went on to roll out Hyundai Card W for leisure and Hyundai Card A and K for air travel. It was the first lifestyle card to match lifestyles symbolized by each alphabet to the products, and a case of putting individual product names at the forefront instead of the name of corporations.
The five Alphabet Cards that have returned feature enhanced convenience and benefits. First, all five are discount cards, adopting a convenient billing discount method in which uniform discounts are applied. They offer a high 10% discount rate and an annual maximum discount limit of 600,000 won for five lifestyles—dining out, hospitals and education, fueling, shopping, and travel. A key strength is that discounts are provided without performance conditions or limit restrictions. The annual fee is 15,000 won for all.
Hyundai Card D offers a 10% discount at general restaurants and on food delivery applications (apps). Hyundai Card H offers a 10% discount across both education and hospital categories. Hyundai Card O offers a 10% discount at all gas stations. Hyundai Card S offers a 10% discount for online and offline shopping, including online malls, supermarkets, and department stores. Hyundai Card T offers 2% off overseas and 0.7% off domestically without performance conditions or discount limit restrictions, and waives 100% of overseas fees.
With the launch of the five Alphabet Cards, Hyundai Card unveiled a plate made of "half metal." The half-metal plate has a stainless-steel front and a plastic back. It can be issued at a more reasonable expense (70,000 won) than existing metal plates.
Hyundai Card said it enabled general cardholders to experience metal plates, which had mainly been applied to premium cards. The front is stainless steel and the back is plastic, and it can be issued at a more reasonable expense (70,000 won) than existing metal plates.
The plates for the five Alphabet Cards also drew inspiration from "Dutch" design, translating geometric structures, bold colors, and sturdy typography into a modern look, and were released in one metal and two plastic options. This means Hyundai Card will carry on the heritage of its minimalist design, which began more than 20 years ago inspired by Dutch design.
In March, Hyundai Card launched three Hyundai Card Boutique products (Copper, Velvet, Satin), and in June it targeted the standard market by introducing Hyundai Card X Cut, Hyundai Card X Save, and Hyundai Card ZERO Up. Having expanded its product lineup from premium to standard, Hyundai Card strengthened its lineup from premium to standard to mass by adding the mass lineup with the five Alphabet Cards as a starting point.
On the same day, Hyundai Card also unveiled Hyundai Card Z everyday. Hyundai Card Z is a card that offers strong discounts in everyday, recurring spending categories. Hyundai Card Z everyday expands discount categories to nine areas—general restaurants, delivery apps, online malls, gas stations, hypermarkets, public transportation, and telecom bills—to offer a 5% discount.
In particular, on weekends it offers double (10%) discounts in three categories—general restaurants, gas stations, and hypermarkets. You can receive discounts of up to 600,000 won per year. The annual fee is 20,000 won. If you spend 500,000 won or 1 million won or more in the previous month, a monthly combined discount limit of up to 25,000 won or 50,000 won is provided. Detailed information on the five Alphabet Cards and Hyundai Card Z everyday is available on the Hyundai Card app and website.