What happened
Fanatics announced the Fanatics American Express Card on November 9, according to the company's press release. Cardholders can pick from more than 500 card designs styled after trading cards, featuring NBA, NFL, UFC and WWE athletes, with more leagues and players planned. Karl-Anthony Towns is helping launch it.
The card is issued by First Electronic Bank, runs on the American Express network, and requires a Fanatics ONE account. A waitlist opened with the announcement, and Fanatics says invitations to apply will go out later this year.
The collector angle
Beyond the designs, a few perks are aimed squarely at the hobby:
- Quarterly presale access to select Topps products, subject to availability.
- Rewards paid in FanCash, including 5% on Fanatics purchases and 8% or more in the Fanatics App, and 2% elsewhere, per the release.
- Early floor access and perks at Fanatics Fest.
- No annual fee.
Fanatics Financial Services president Greg Lisiewski said in the release that "this is not just another credit card."
Why it matters
Fanatics owns Topps and runs its own marketplace and live-breaking platforms, so tying a payment card to product presales is another way it is pulling collectors deeper into its own ecosystem. Presale access to hot Topps releases is the kind of perk that can matter when products sell out quickly.
What Canadian collectors should know
The release describes the card as available to fans in the U.S. only, and it says nothing about a Canadian launch. For now, Canadian collectors won't get the Topps presale access that U.S. cardholders do.