Student Advantage purchases Compus

Next year, the Student Advantage card will be the only student savings card accepted by Philadelphia merchants. The company acquired the local and Washington, D.C., business of its primary competitor, the Compus Card, culminating a process that began last fall. Recent College graduate Ari Strommen, a regional manager for Student Advantage, is coordinating the merger. In its fourth year of operation, Student Advantage has divisions in many cities across the country, encompassing 200,000 members at more than 750 colleges and universities. The Compus Card, sponsored by Passport, Inc., was the only student discount card offered in Washington, D.C., and did business with several hundred sponsors. "Our prime motivation in acquiring Compus is that we felt it was in the interest of good business," Student Advantage President Ray Sozzi said. "We wanted to expand our business into Washington, D.C., because it is an extremely important market and Compus was our only national competitor." Student Advantage is now the only national and regional student discount card program offered. "We inherited a strong program in D.C., and now Penn students can use their Student Advantage cards there," Sozzi added. Every business that formerly served Compus will now join Student Advantage, and a few more businesses in Philadelphia have decided to begin accepting Student Advantage. "Participating businesses welcome the emergence of one strong program as opposed to competing ones," Strommen said. Sozzi added that universities, students and participating merchants will all benefit tremendously from the acquisition. Fingers Wings and Other Things Manager Shazika Dennis said more people use Student Advantage than Compus cards at the restaurant. "The cards have brought in a little more business, but haven't had a profound effect," she said. An employee at Cavanaugh's Restaurant said Compus is generally used more than Student Advantage, although the restaurant has had some conflicts with the competing card companies. As an incentive to encourage students to renew their Student Advantage cards, the company is offering a free companion ticket on Amtrak to those who sign up before June 1. Current Compus holders can also transfer their membership to Student Advantage by renewing their cards. College freshman Brad Taisher said he is very pleased with his Compus Card, but will be happy to switch to Student Advantage next year. And College freshman Jessica Ward said her Student Advantage card has been very useful, especially on Amtrak. The only question remaining in Student Advantage's acquisition of Compus is the current price discrepancy between the two cards. Student Advantage costs $20 a year for membership, while Compus sold for $25. In addition to taking over the Washington, D.C., market, Student Advantage will continue to open new markets on the East Coast, including New York, New Jersey and Delaware.

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