UP Athletics partnered with Consolidated Community Credit Union (CCCU) in November 2025 to launch university-branded cards: the Pilots Debit Card and the Pilots Rewards Credit Card.
Senior Associate Athletic Director Jason Brough says the co-branded cards aim to bring visibility to the university and honor its long-term partnership with CCCU, which is a longtime sponsor of UP.
“One of the main purposes of athletics is to showcase the university to a wider audience,” Brough said. “CCCU is one of our bigger, more relevant partners. [This collaboration is] a great opportunity to get the University of Portland brand outside of [our] bubble.”
The cards are available now by applying with personal information and a five-dollar deposit.
While students and alumni alike can enjoy the cards’ benefits, like free online banking and free bill pay, President and CEO of CCCU Larry Ellifritz says that the debit card is designed for students.
The credit card is aimed at helping alumni through its reward program, offering 1% cash back on all purchases and a 11.40% to 15.90% interest rate, which comes in below the current national average of 23.72%.
“It’s [for card users from] each end of the spectrum,” Ellifritz said. ”If you're just starting out, or if you're really well established, we tried to create accounts that would meet the needs of different kinds of consumers at different ages.”
Users are not charged a monthly maintenance fee when using the Pilots Debit Card, unlike some checking accounts from other banks, and the Pilots Rewards Credit Card has no annual fee.
Aside from this collaboration, the CCCU holds annual financial education seminars for UP student athletes, providing important information on budgeting, credit cards, credit scores, loans and interest rates, according to Brough.
Leadership Giving Officer Andrew Keippela says he wanted to support the CCCU and show Pilot pride by applying for the new card. He says he started using the debit card in the fall of 2025 and has had a positive experience with it thus far.
“It's been really good because it hasn't changed anything for me,” Keippela said. “It operates exactly like any other debit card. They have their full online banking suite and all those things. I have my auto loan through them as well. It makes it a really easy process to pay my auto loan bill.”
He also says that he prefers to handle financial matters with a credit union for its local presence and customer flexibility, as opposed to using a national bank.
“When you're dealing with a national bank, there's not a lot of decision-making power that's happening at the local level,” Keippela said. “[My family] was a longtime U.S. Bank member, and we decided that we wanted to be with a company that feels like it has ties and roots in the community.”
As a member of staff, Keippela says that using the card on or off campus has made him feel more connected to the UP community. He also says the novelty of the card has been a fun way to spark conversation about UP.
Reem Alshaban is a news reporter at The Beacon. She can be reached at alshaban28@up.edu.
