The reply

The following is the message I got in return from Working Assets:

Dear mc,

Thank you for your comments about the Working Assets Credit Card. We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns regarding our new relationship with MBNA America.

Since Working Assets is not a financial institution, we require the assistance of a bank to issue our credit card. Due to the size of our customer base, only large banks are able to handle our credit card program. Thus when our prior issuer, Fleet Bank, put our credit card portfolio up for sale, and MBNA emerged as the only bidder, we accepted an arrangement with MBNA as a way to maintain our ability to offer the credit card product.

All of us at Working Assets are doing our best to make social change happen while remaining a viable business. We believe that the tens of millions of dollars channeled to progressive non-profits through our credit card and long distance programs more than offset the inevitable compromises required to operate our business.

Sincerely,
Chastity
Customer Relations Representative

Hmmph. Stupid complicated world that makes angry consumer gestures all complicated and messy and stuff.

Anyway, my latest thought is that (a) I was planning to cancel this card anyway; (b) I've been working on eliminating my credit card debt, too; and (c) fewer finance charges mean more money for me to give directly to happy liberal causes. At this point on a long Monday, that's the best I can do.