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You may have noticed that name of the case author is identical to that of the "viewpoint character." It is indeed a case I was prompted to write by my own experience. This page provides a view of the case from my point of view in July 2002.
Here's an example of one of the "great bargains" I got from using the Amazon card. On June 21, 2002, I placed an order for five books and a CD, which would normally have cost $68.22 including shipping. I had a $50 certificate, generated by using the Amazon Visa, and Amazon was at the time offering free shipping. This offer was subject to restrictions, but none of them applied to the June 21 order. The cost to me was $9.28. I didn't mind paying less than $10 for the six items, especially since I paid with my Amazon Visa, and using this card at Amazon's site generated triple points.
I'd known for a while that NextCard had been in trouble. They hadn't been accepting applications for new credit cards, to the disappointment of a friend who, like me, spends too much money on books, and was interested in a card that would earn Amazon points. In fact, Amazon do not currently (this is as of July, remember) offer a credit card from NextCard or any other firm. They do offer what they call a credit account, but it can only be used at Amazon.com, and does not earn Amazon points. Thus it contrasts unfavorably with my credit card, which could be used anywhere that takes Visa, and did earn points. (Update: as you can see from the case, Amazon now offer a credit card.)
As a consumer, I'll miss my Amazon Visa card. It earned me discounts at Amazon.com. It had no annual fee. Since I paid my bill in full every month, I didn't pay interest. I note that there is a Barnes & Noble MasterCard, issued by MBNA; the terms and rewards of this card sound similar to those of the Amazon Visa.
As a professor of Strategic Management, I wonder about NextCard as a firm. I know that they were a provider of internet-oriented credit cards. At first glance, that doesn't seem like a bad position; e-commerce, although it has seen many firms fail, has been growing. As a professor, then, I wonder about questions such as the following. What went wrong for NextCard? What they might have done differently? It is on questions like these that the case focuses.
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