MyCardBlog

Each credit card issuer will run some customer appreciation promotion some times per year. Perhaps the most popular ones are the American Express’ My WishList Promotion and Discover’s Mall Promotion. The latest Discover Card mall promotion was ended on September 7, 2008 (reported here). Today I noticed that Discover Card has released the detailed promotion plan for the next mall promotion starting from November 1, 2008.

The promotion rules are really simple (How to turn receipts into rewards?):

Get a $20 Discover Gift Card when you make $200 in purchases with your Discover Card at a participating mall between 11/1/08-1/4/09, while supplies last. To redeem the $20 gift card, the original receipts must be presented to a participating mall’s Customer Service.

Two noticeable differences from previous promotions are:

1. This promotion has expanded to over 160 malls nationwide.

2. The promotion period has been extended—over 2 months now!

The promotion page can be found at:http://www.discovercard.com/mallpromo/index.html

Following is a non-complete list of participating malls.

If you shop a lot at Amazon.com, the new Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card is a good choice for you. I have a brief introduction of this credit card back in this July. (Maybe this is the first report of the new Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card.) I also pointed out that you can get $100 off your Amazon Kindle with a new Amazon.com Visa Card. The new Amazon.com visa card will give you 6 points for every dollar spent at Amazon.com for the first 90 days. This is a great feature which will save you a lot for the first 90 days.

Today I receive an email from Chase Amazon.com Visa Card indicating that I can upgrade my Amazon.com Visa card for free! This upgrade offer is targeted to current Amazon.com Visa Card holders.

After upgrading your Amazon.com Visa Card:

For first 90 days, you can get 6 points for every Amazon purchase, 4 points for gas/drug store/dining purchases and 2 points for everything else. After 90 days, you can continue to get 3 points at Amazon.com, 2 points for gas/drug/dining and 1 point for everything else.

There will be no new card issued to replace your current Amazon.com Visa Card. There is no hard pull during upgrade process. All you have to do is call customer service at 888-247-4080 and simply tell them you want to upgrade your Amazon.com Visa Card. After you get approved, it will need 3 days to take effect.

I would say this is a good promotion since the Thanks Giving and Christmas are coming in 3 months. If you shop regularly at Amazon.com, you can save a lot during the 90 days promotion period.

I always use this Amazon.com Visa Card as my primary payment method. The other Chase credit card that I use frequently is the Chase Freedom Card. With a Chase checking account, you can get 3% cash back from 5 pre-set categories. It’s pretty easy to accumulate $50 and redeem it. A lot of MyCardBlog.com readers have this credit card. I you still don’t have one, you’d better get one. You will be surprised how fast you can accumulate your cash rewards.

The Discover More Card is a really cool credit card with many exceptional features. However, the most disappointing thing about this Discover More Card is it rarely offers sign-up bonus. Today when I received my new issue of SmartMoney magazine, there is a sign-up bonus code from Discover More Card which is offering $100 bonus after you make first $500 in purchases. I think this would be a great opportunity for those who want to apply for the Discover More Card.

To get the $100 bonus, you have to apply for a new Discover Card through apply.Discovercard.com and put the code: DBBA. Or you can call Discover Card at 800-206-4960 and mention the code to get this offer. This offer expires on December 2, 2008.

Besides the $100 bonus, there are other great benefits from the Discover More Card.

1. Get 0% APR on balance transfer until October 2009.

2. Get 5% cash back on regular categories which are change every quarter like travel, groceries, restaurants and more.

3. If you visit China, the Discover Card is accepted anywhere that accepts the China UnionPay credit card which is the largest credit card network in China. Currently, the Discover Card is the most widely accepted American credit card in China.

However, the cash back calculation method for the Discover card is kind of complicated.

You can earn a full 5% cashback bonus on category purchases throughout the year by signing up for each program. In addition, earn full 1% unlimited cashback bonus on all other purchases after your total annual purchases exceed $3,000; other purchases that are part of your first $1,500 earn 0.25% and other purchases that are part of your second $1,500 earn 0.5%. Warehouse purchases earn 0.25%. (Sam’s Club for example)

You only need $20 cashback bonus to start to redeem your cash back rewards. The other reason that I like the Discover Card a lot is the excellent ShopDiscover Program. The cash back rates at ShopDisover are unbeatable. You can get 5% cash back from BestBuy, Apple Store, Dell Home etc. It’s a good choice to make online purchases at ShopDiscover. You can earn extra cash back.

Today a reader sent me an email about the damn hot deal from Chase Sony Card. Of course, this deal is only attractive to those who want a Sony DSLR camera.

From now on, if you apply for a new Chase Sony Card through the following link: http://www.sonyrewards.com/en/gateway/?offerlink=snal, you can get a new Sony DSLR A350K for only $449! The retail price for the Sony DSLR camera is $799. So with a new Sony Card approval, there will be a $350 discount applied to this camera! If you are waiting for a camera, this is a good deal to catch.

The Sony A350K features:

Live View LCD Monitor: The camera features a Live View mode which allows you to use the camera’s LCD monitor to take photos similar to a point-and-shoot camera. As far as I know, this is the first DSLR camera that has the live view function. This camera uses a 2.7″ Clear Photo LCD Plus screen with 230,4000 pixels and adjustable brightness.

14.2 MP Super HAD CCD: A large 23.5 x15.7mm APS-C size imager with Sony’s advanced design allows more light to pass to each pixel, increasing the sensitivity and reducing noise. With 14.2 MP resolution, the picture can provide greater detail when you make big prints.

Super Steadyshot In-Camera Image Stabilization: The in-camera image stabilization technique allows you to shoot pictures in low-light situation. You can also spend less money on the lens because all of VR/IS lenses are very expensive.

Anti-Dust Technology: This feature can help you to keep the CCD imager clean for better pictures. This camera utilizes both static-free anti-dust coating on the CCD filter and ant-dust vibration that automatically shakes the CCD to dislodge dust each time the camera is shut off.

There are more features that can be found at SonyStyle.com. If you are seeking for a digital camera, I would suggest you consider this offer. The picture quality from a DSLR camera is much better than a general digital camera.

These days I have seen a lot of sign-up promotions from many US banks. Here are some new banking bonuses other than I previously posted two days ago.

The first one is the $50 checking account bonus from Wells Fargo. The second one is $100 checking account bonus from Provident Bank. And the third one is $150/$100 from Sovereign Bank.

I only reported one banking bonus from Wells Fargo Bank in 2007. And this one is similar to the one in 2007. The $50 bonus is a really easy free money. Because Wells Fargo doesn’t require you to maintain minimum balance with this checking account. At the same time, you don’t have to make direct deposit to this account to receive the $50 bonus. There is no monthly fees associated with this account.

To get the $50 bonus, you have to open a new Wells Fargo checking account with a minimum initial deposit of $100 (not including the $50 bonus) by October 17, 2008. The $50 bonus will be deposited to your account in 45 days after account opening. To apply online, you can go to here. Or you can call 866-245-3452 to open a new checking account.

Please note that: The $50 bonus is available with all Wells Fargo checking accounts, including non-interest-earning checking accounts, except for Wells Fargo College Checking^®, Wells Fargo Teen Checking^SM and Wells Fargo Opportunity Checking^® accounts.

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Provident Bank has a $100 checking account bonus for opening a checking account with direct deposit. The new checking account should be opened before Nov. 21, 2008. And you must have direct deposit and a Provident Master Money debit card by 12/31/08. The minimum opening deposit is $25. Offer only available to residents at DC, MD, PA, VA or WV.

The promotion page can be found here. Please remember that you have to make direct deposit to qualify for this offer.

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The Sovereign Bank is also running 2 checking account promotions.

If you open an Interest Checking Account with at least $10 and making a direct deposit into the account within 90 days of account opening. You will receive $50 bonus. If you use their visa check card and make 6 purchases, you will be awarded with another $50 bonus. The Interest Checking Account doesn’t requrie minimum balance but you have to make direct deposit to avoid monthly fees.

If you open a Premier Checking Account with a combined balance of $15,000 in 90 days, you will be awarded $100. Another $50 is awarded when you make 6 qualifying visa check card purchases within those same 90 days. The Premier Checking has a $25 monthly fee if your combined balance falls below $15,000. Please consider this before you pull the triger.

Many of us may still not know that credit score actually can help you earn some free money. Some of you might be worried that if you apply too many credit cards, your credit score will be dramatically affected. My opinion is: credit score is nothing if you’re not using it. If you are not going to buy a house (or apply for a mortgage) in the next two years (Credit inquiries will disappear from your credit report after 24 months.), you are free to use your credit.

My post”Earn ThankYou Points for A Free Trip To Europe and Asia” was a very popular post (update). Actually, there are many frequent flier programs out there. You may get a free flight ticket from any airline company. Following is a comprehensive list of frequent flier mile/point sign up bonus.

Recently, I have seen some great banking bonus offers from some major US banks. Does this mean that the economy is becoming better? I hope so.

US Bank is offering $75 bonus (gas card) for opening a free checking account in branch and using the check card associated with the account to make gas purchases. This promotion is listed in the Oakland Tribune.

Here is how to get the $75 bonus:

• Visit your local branch by 9/26/2008 (I suggest you print out the ad and take it with you. The ad can be found here.)
• Open a new Checking Account
• Spend up to $75 at pumps with your new check card

The Free Checking Account at US Bank has a $50 minimum opening deposit requirement. No minimum balance requirements. And no monthly maintenance fees. Yes, you don’t have to alter your direct deposit which is often required by some prmotional offers.

You have to pay attention on the specific requirements of the promotion offer:

• The gas purchases must be non-PIN
• The gas purchases must take place within 30 days of the new checking account opening
• Gas receipts must be brought into the branch where the account was opened by 10/31/2008

You will receive the $75 bonus in your checking account after you give them the gas receipt as required.

There is another banking bonus which I think might be of some interest to the residents at Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California.

Bank of the West is offering $100 bonus for competing a series of checking account activities.

In order to earn the full $100 bonus, you have to:

• $25 for opening a new free checking account
• $25 for using your debit card 10 times
• $25 for signing up for direct deposit
• $25 for using online bill pay

This offer requires a monthly direct deposit higher than $100. The checking account must be opened before Novmber 1st, 2008 with $100 initial deposit. This is an in-branch only offer. The pomotion page can be found here.

The Chase Sony Card is running another promotion in September. I received a mail from Sony Card stating that I could get $25 credit if I spend more than $100 during 09/12/2008 and 10/09/2008. This is a good deal since I can get about 25% cash back for the first $100.

My friends who also have this card also received the offer but in email. They have to sign up through the link in the email. Personally, I think the Chase Sony Card is a good credit card to own. Because it always offers some great deals to its cardholders. The most recent one is the “10 Below” from Sony Card. If you sign up a Sony Card according to this post, you can get $150 credit for purhcase of $299 or more.

Following is the content of the mail:

You already know that you Sony Card gives you the financial freedom you need to take care of whatever life brings your way. It’s also the only card that rewards you with the best of Sony, including electronics, CDs, DVDs, movie tickets and live entertainment. And when you use your card right now, you can also receive $25.

It’s easy to receive your statement credit-just use your card. As long as your purchases add up to $100or more from September 12 through October 9, 2008, you will automatically receive your $25 statement credit. And since every purchase counts-from a week’s worth of groceries to a weeklong getaway-chances are you’ll reach $100 in no time!

I don’t know whether this is a targeted offer or not. But you should keep an eye on this offer.

I should also admit that the Sony Card is good to keep but it’s not the card we should use daily. My top choice credit card in my daily life is the Chase Freedom Card which offers 3% cash back (or 3.75%) on everyday purchase. Another credit card from Chase is the BP visa card which is offering 5% cash back on gasoline purchase at BP locations (10% for the first 60 days).