Affinion Group Celebrates Ruby Anniversary

STAMFORD, Conn., Oct. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Affinion Group, the global leader in enabling companies to connect and engage with their customers, thereby creating rewarding relationships and enhancing brand loyalty, recently surpassed 40 years of operational history. The company has seen significant transformations in its history, but today, is the provider of choice for many of the leading companies in the world in financial services, retail, etail and healthcare.

The world has changed significantly since Affinion's founding in 1973:

• Prior to the launch of operations, just 16% of US families had credit cards. Today, more than 2 out of 3 families have that access.
• In 1973, credit cards points programs were nearly a decade away from launching in the US. Today, points are the largest currency in the world.
• In the year of Affinion's founding, the New York Yankees were sold to George Steinbrenner, for $10 million. Today, estimates have the team's valuation at $2.3 billion.
• A half gallon of milk cost under $.60 at the time of Affinion's beginning.

"Throughout our history, we've consistently made significant investments in new business lines and markets across the globe to respond to these changes and the opportunities they presented," said Todd Siegel, CEO of Affinion Group. "We've generated a leadership position in a wide array of markets, including discounts, travel, insurance and points."

Since beginning its operations, the company has:

• Expanded its geographical presence from just the US to 18 other countries across Europe, Africa and South America.
• Built the first commercially available product to help consumers mitigate the impacts of identity theft.
• Grown to become one of the largest leisure travel agencies in the US.
• Accumulated a customer base of more than 180 million worldwide customers.

"In the coming years, we'll look to identify additional opportunities that are in line with our achievements," continued Siegel. "We're extremely proud to have achieved 40 years as the global leader in customer engagement, and we intend to adapt to the next 40 years of changes with equal measures of agility and responsiveness."

Affinion Group has offices in Connecticut, Minnesota, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia. For more information, visit www.affiniongroup.com

About Affinion Group

As a global leader with 40 years of experience, Affinion Group enhances the value of its partners' customer relationships by developing and marketing loyalty solutions. Leveraging its expertise in customer engagement, product development and targeted marketing, Affinion provides programs in subscription-based lifestyle services, personal protection, insurance and other areas to help generate increased customer loyalty and significant incremental revenue for more than 5,740 marketing partners worldwide, including many of the largest and most respected companies in financial services, retail, travel, and Internet commerce. Based in Stamford, Conn., the Company has approximately 4,300 employees and has marketing capabilities in 19 countries globally. Affinion holds the prestigious ISO 27001 certification for the highest information security practices, is PCI compliant and Cybertrust certified. For more information, visit www.affinion.com.

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SOURCE Affinion Group