Bryan Sims, President of brassMEDIA, Inc., recently helped The Credit Union Journal with the article Citi-MTV Card Threat to CUs, Says Analyst, where he discusses Citibank’s aggressive push for the young adult credit card market. Bryan’s brass|CU publication exists to help CUs reach out to young adults, and he’s doing great work making that magazine both attractive and informative.

When you take a look at Citi-MTV’s website, there’s certainly reason for CU concern. The rewards coupled with the MTV brand clicks with their target market. And even though the disclosures are easy for potential customers to find, do they really understand what a default APR of 30.24% means?

The first credit card ever stamped with my name was the GTE Visa. During college, one day I noticed a booth outside of our student union, where tons of other students had flung their “free” t-shirts over their shoulders. It was right at the beginning of the calling card craze, and you could earn calling card minutes by using the card for purchases. As if that free t-shirt wasn’t enough to hook me.

It was a credit card that I’d use for years, and in store after store, I’d frequently hear from behind the counter, “I got that same card in college.”

By the way, the eventual card issuer for the Verizon Visa (the card that was once the GTE Visa) is none other than Citibank. I wish it would’ve been a credit union instead.