American Express is targeting the gamer community through a tie-up with the developer of League of Legends which will enable players to earn in-game virtual currency through real-world spending.
The deal with Riot Games means players who sign up for and use an AmEx Serve pre-paid card earn Riot Points (RPs), the virtual currency used to purchase in-game items like extra customisation or boosts.
For completing registration, users get 1000 RPs, another 1000 RPs the first time they load $20 to the account, 10,000 RPs for using direct deposit for adding at least $20, and 1000 RPs for the first 10 purchases with the card.
Players also get a choice of customised League of Legends cards, picking one of four popular 'Champions' and original art from the game itself.
With more than 32 million active monthly players worldwide who log more than one billion hours of gameplay a month, League of Legends gives AmEx a potentially valuable foothold into a young, largely untapped market.
In November the card giant forged a similar partnership with Microsoft for Halo 4, although that agreement saw cardholders earn real-world rewards for completing tasks in the game.
Stefan Happ, SVP, US payment options, AmEx, says: "Together we've been able to create a great co-branded product with a unique rewards program that will help League of Legends players earn Riot Points whenever they use their Card to make qualifying purchases."