CHICAGO, Nov. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- General Growth Properties
(NYSE: GGP), the nation's second largest owner, developer and manager of
regional shopping malls announced today that it will begin offering Visa Gift
cards, in lieu of paper gift certificates at its shopping malls.
Just in time for the upcoming 2002 holiday season, four of General
Growth's malls will pilot the gift card program with Bank of America as the
card program issuer. The General Growth portfolio totals 168 shopping malls
in 41 states. The roll-out for the remaining malls in General Growth's
portfolio is projected to occur in 2003-2004.
"Visa and Bank of America have been long-time GGP partners," said Wally
Brewster, Senior Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Communications.
"The Visa Gift card is a more effective method of payment for our shoppers who
want to give a gift, but aren't sure what to buy. We're fortunate to work with
two organizations who have the experience and reputation to turn this pilot
program into a complete success."
The participating General Growth malls include: North Point Mall, Atlanta,
GA; Spring Hill Mall, West Dundee, IL (Chicago); Florence Mall, Florence, KY;
Bellis Fair Mall, Bellingham, WA .
Shoppers at these malls can use the Visa Gift Card, a gift card similar to
prepaid phone cards, at any of the stores and restaurants in the participating
mall where Visa is accepted. The Visa Gift Cards provide greater options to
shoppers than paper gift certificates in a more convenient format that travels
on the Visa network. The Visa-branded cards can be purchased at the Customer
Service Center within each mall.
"Our longstanding relationship with General Growth Properties has provided
us with the opportunity to develop and test new products for their mall
shoppers, like the Visa Gift card," said Todd Brockman, vice president of
prepaid products at Visa U.S.A., Inc. "Through the Visa Gift Card, we will
continue to give cardholders greater choice by offering more and better ways
to pay. "
ABOUT BANK OF AMERICA
One of the world's leading financial services companies, Bank of America
is committed to making banking work for customers and clients like it never
has before. Through innovative technologies and the ingenuity of its people,
Bank of America provides individuals, small businesses and commercial,
corporate and institutional clients across the United States and around the
world new and better ways to manage their financial lives. The company enables
customers to do their banking and investing whenever, wherever and however
they choose through the nation's largest financial services network, including
approximately 4,400 domestic offices and 13,000 ATMs, as well as 30
international offices serving clients in more than 150 countries, and an
Internet Web site that provides online banking access to 4 million active
users, more than any other bank. Bank of America stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed
on the New York, Pacific and London stock exchanges. The company's Web site is
http://www.bankofamerica.com . News, speeches and other corporate information may be
found at http://www.bankofamerica.com/newsroom .
General Growth Properties is the country's second largest shopping center
owner, developer and manager of regional shopping malls. General Growth
currently has ownership interest in, or management responsibility for, a
portfolio of 168 regional shopping malls in 41 states. The company portfolio
totals approximately 145,000,000 square feet of retail space and includes over
16,000 retailers nationwide. A publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust
(REIT), General Growth Properties is listed on the New York Stock Exchange
under the symbol GGP. For more information on General Growth Properties and
its portfolio of malls, please visit the company web site at
http://www.generalgrowth.com .
SOURCE General Growth Properties
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Related links:
http://www.generalgrowth.com
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Company News On-Call:
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CONTACT:
David Keating, Manager, Media and Consumer
Relations, Mall Name-Corporate, of General Growth Properties,
+1-312-960-6325, or Fax +1-312-960-5484
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