The anatomy of a rewards card & fringe benefits Birth of the charge card It’s 1949 on West 33rd St in NYC. Frank McNamara just finished his meal and realizes that he doesn’t have any cash on him. After his wife brings him cash for his bill, he sets off to spare that embarrassment on anyone else. Less than a year later McNamera launched the Diners Club Card. Despite its cardboard construction and limited acceptance in the early days, it was a novel idea and blazed a trail for the first officia...