Sooner State Cooperative Earns Record One Card Rebate

East Central Oklahoma Electric Cooperative just earned a record rebate from the CFC and NCSC U.S. Bank One Card program for the most recent plan year, which ended August 31. The six-figure rebate—$134,082—was delivered to the Okmulgee, Okla.-headquartered cooperative last month.

East Central General Manager Tim Smith said he was surprised at the size of the rebate—especially since the cooperative just joined the commercial credit card program last year.

“We decided to join One Card after hearing the experiences of other cooperatives already in the program,” Smith explains. “The program is simple and a great way to generate additional revenue without charging our members.”

Their Keys to Best-Ever Success

The cooperative focused its purchasing activity on high-cost items, generating an average transaction size of more than $9,700. “We reviewed the program and decided to use the One Card for all large purchases,” Smith describes. “All of our electric and broadband material purchases are put on the card.”

For the current plan year, Smith said East Central Oklahoma will expand its One Card activity to include vehicle-related purchases in hopes of increasing its annual rebate.

In addition to the rebate opportunity, Smith said he appreciates how the program makes accounting easier through the convenience of writing just one check per month. And the customer service that US Bank provides to One Card members is “really good, courteous and helpful.”

“This has been a great experience for ECE,” Smith concludes. “I suggest each co-op should evaluate the One Card program to see if it will work for you like it has for us.”

Make the One Card Work for Your Co-op

Introduced in 2001, the One Card program now has more than 400 CFC and NCSC members enrolled. Members earned $1,236,022 in rebates for the most recent plan year, which ran from September 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. (See “One Card Users Earn Best-Ever $1.2 Million Rebate Payout,” in the October 21, 2019, issue of Solutions News Bulletin.)

To learn more about the One Card, contact Program Manager Amy LaVigna at 800-732-1050 or onecard@nrucfc.coop.