Amex Links Spending to Farmville Rewards

American Express has found a way in to the world of the millions of social game players by offering in-game incentives for everyday spending.

Here’s how it works: Players of the game FarmVille, who cultivate their farms by plowing, planting and harvesting crops and trees, can plant a “Serve Money Tree” on their farms. Once the tree is placed, the player will be prompted to take four steps. The first calls for joining the loyalty program, Zynga Serve Rewards, by registering for a co-branded prepaid Serve card. The player then needs to add money to the account and activate the card. The card can then be used for purchases that will trigger in-game rewards in real time.

During the launch phase, only the first five purchases of $25 or more on the card will earn Farm Cash rewards. As the program expands, all purchases will receive in-game rewards tracked through an in-game dashboard.

Later this year, the Zynga Serve Rewards program will include new kinds of loyalty incentives, tying everyday spending to Game Cash in ways that go beyond the initial first five purchases.

American Express plans to launch similar loyalty programs in additional games such as CastleVille and CityVille over the course of the year.