MasterCard Sues AmEx and Advanta

MasterCard International sued American Express Co. and Advanta Corp. to halt a credit card program they launched as a joint venture. Advanta responded by suspending the marketing of the “Rewards Accelerator” card until at least Jan. 22 in return for MasterCard’s agreement not to take any disciplinary action before that time, MasterCard said. Despite the short-term truce, MasterCard’s lawsuit further escalates a legal battle pitting MasterCard and fellow credit card association Visa International against Advanta and American Express. At stake is the right of companies that issue cards bearing the Visa or MasterCard trademarks to form alliances with competing credit card brand names. Visa sued American Express--but not Advanta--two weeks ago for the same reason.