Sooner State Cooperative Earns Second Record One Card Rebate

For the second year in a row, East Central Oklahoma Electric Cooperative 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 $193,416 rebate was a 44 percent increase on last year’s record rebate.

“We weren’t surprised by the amount of the rebate this year,” East Central General Manager Tim Smith said. “This was our first full year of participating in the U.S. Bank One Card program and we expected a larger rebate.”

Broadband Buildout Helped Increase Card Utilization, Rebate

The cooperative built on the success of the previous year by using the card to purchase high-cost items. “We’re in the second year of building our fiber network and that was the main driver,” Smith shared. “We will keep doing what we’ve done in the past, purchasing a lot of material for both our fiber and electric projects.”

The East Central board will consider what to do with the rebate later this year.

Co-op GM Shares One Card Program Tips

Smith recommended systems consider joining the One Card program if they are not earning rewards on their cooperative’s purchases. “The program offers a great way to be rewarded for everyday purchases you will make to run your cooperative,” he added.

If your cooperative is already using the program, Smith shared a few tips: “Follow the program guidelines, increase card limits to meet the load and ensure you have good internal controls for how charges are approved.”

“Overall, we are very satisfied with the One Card program because it lives up to the name of a one-stop solution for what we face every day,” concluded Smith.

Co-ops Earned Millions of Dollars in One Card Rebates Since Program Inception

Introduced in 2001, the One Card program now has more than 420 CFC and NCSC members enrolled. Members earned $1,198,470 in rebates for the most recent plan year, which ran from September 1, 2019, to August 31, 2020. (See “One Card Rebate Tops $1 Million for Second Straight Year,” in the October 19, 2020, issue of Solutions News Bulletin.)

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