“Get an upfront discount on tires, then have monthly charges waived by meeting spending targets” ... Kumho Tire to launch co-branded card on the 6th

[Financial News] A new co-branded card lets customers receive an upfront discount of KRW 400,000 or KRW 800,000 when buying tires, then avoid paying that amount if they meet card-spending requirements for 40 months. The “Kumho Tire × LOCA” card, developed by Kumho Tire and Lotte Card Co., Ltd., will officially begin offering services to customers on the 6th.
Kumho Tire said on the 3rd that the Plan Discount applies to tire purchases at participating Kumho Tire offline dealers and the Tirepro online mall. The plan runs for 40 months, with the discounted amount billed in monthly installments. If customers meet conditions such as the previous month’s card spending requirement, that month’s bill is waived. Under the KRW 400,000 plan, the monthly bill is KRW 10,000 and is waived if the previous month’s spending was at least KRW 400,000. Under the KRW 800,000 plan, the monthly bill is KRW 20,000 and is waived if the previous month’s spending was at least KRW 800,000.
Additional cash back is also available with the card’s launch. It is for customers who have had no spending on a Lotte personal credit card in the past six months. Customers on the KRW 400,000 plan receive KRW 10,000 per month, while those on the KRW 800,000 plan receive KRW 5,000 per month, for 40 months. If they meet the conditions throughout all 40 months, the KRW 400,000 plan offers benefits of up to KRW 800,000, combining a KRW 400,000 discount and KRW 400,000 in cash back; the KRW 800,000 plan offers up to KRW 1 million, combining an KRW 800,000 discount and KRW 200,000 in cash back.
If customers do not meet the previous month’s spending requirement, that month’s Plan Discount amount will be billed and no cash back will be paid. If they cancel the card before the end of the plan, they must pay the remaining Plan Discount amount all at once. The annual fee and card charges are separate. Eligibility and payment conditions for each benefit, as well as spending calculations and excluded transactions, are subject to Lotte Card Co., Ltd.’s product guide and promotion terms.
Customers who do not use the Plan Discount can receive benefits of 1% at domestic merchants and 2% at overseas merchants, subject to conditions such as previous-month spending. Interest-free installment payments over two to three months are also available.
The two companies signed an MOU on the co-branded card at Lotte Card Co., Ltd.’s headquarters in Jongno District, Seoul, on the 26th of last October. Attendees included Kim Seong, executive director of Kumho Tire’s Korean Sales Division, and Choi Mun-seok, head of Lotte Card Co., Ltd.
A Kumho Tire representative explained, “Even as raw material prices and logistics costs rise and competitors raise prices for replacement tires in Korea, we are temporarily postponing price increases.”
The representative added, “We plan to use this card to ease customers’ purchasing burden and strengthen mutually beneficial ties with dealers, while pursuing sales growth and a recovery in market share.”
[email protected] Kim Dong-chan Reporter