MyCardBlog

The new semester will begin soon. American Express is pushing us to pay our tuitions with their credit cards. American Express is promoting the Back-to-School rewards program through September 31, 2008. Pay your tuitions with any American Express card now through September 30, 2008 and enjoy savings from 15 participating merchants in retail, travel, technology and more, available especially for students and parents during the back-to-school season.

It’s a great opportunity to enjoy some savings when you use your American Express credit card to pay your tuitions.

Here is how to get back-to-school rewards:

1. Visit your school’s website or tuition office and pay tuition using any American Express Card now through September 30, 2008.
2. Go to amexnetwork.com/tuition and click on “I Paid“.
3. Enter your school name, and your payment confirmation number. Instantly receive back-to-school offers and enjoy! (You can see your confirmation number after you submit your payment or you can see it from your credit card statement.)

The 15 offers as listed on American Express’ website are:

Save up to 50% at Sandals Resorts @ AMEX Vacations
Receive a full size 2.5 oz Ultra Facial Moisturizer® @ Kiehls
Save up to 20% off a truck rental @ Budget
Get 20% off your entire full price purchase @ Ann Taylor Loft
Save up to 30% on a Lenovo ThinkPad®
Get $20 off a purchase of $100 or more @ LNT
Get 20% off of single item @ Borders.com
Earn Triple points on JetBlue Airways
30% off on McAfee Internet Security Suite
10% off purchase @ Overstock
15% off on 75$ purchase or more @ Virgin Megastore
Get $25 off a purchase of $50 or more @ Loehmanns
Get $20 off a qualifying purchase of $75 or more @ Officedepot
Get 20% off first online order @ Pizza Hut
Get $100 off ABF U-Pack Moving® Services

Please note that: Tuition may be paid at any college, university, or K-12 school within the United States which accepts American Express Cards. The qualifying tuition must be a single transaction of $200 or more. Tuition includes tuition, room and board.

If you don’t have any American Express card yet, you can try the following easy to get American Express cards: Blue Cash from American Express, Blue from American Express, Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express, Gold Delta SkyMiles Card from American Express, Preferred Rewards Gold Card and One from American Express.

Following universities are listed on American Express website but I think if your school accepts American Express card, you’re eligible to receive the back-to-school savings.

Arizona State University
Baylor University
Baruch College
Binghamton University
Columbia University
Dallas Community College
Georgia Washington University
Georgia State University
Houston Community College
Hunter College
James Madison University
La Salle University
Maricopa Community Colleges
Michigan State University
Mississippi State University
New York University
Pennslyvania State University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rutgers University
Saint Mary’s College
San Jacinto College
Santa Clara University
Southern Methodist University
Stanford University
Syracuse University
Temple University
Texas A & M University
Texas Tech University
The College of New Jersey
Tulane University
University of California, Merced
University of Cincinnati
University of Dayton
University of Massachusetts
University of Minnesota
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Richmond
University of San Diego
University of San Francisco
University of Southern California
University of Texas at Arlington
University of Tulsa
University of Utah
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University
Vassar College
Xavier University

Today I got a mail offer from Chase for my Chase Freedom Card. This seems to be a targeted offer to select Chase Freedom Card members. I have a post about earning 5X Sony Rewards Points from July to September and this offer seems to be related to the the previously mentioned offer.

Details about the offer:

Your Chase Freedom credit card purchases just got a lot more rewarding. And all you have to do is use your card! Simply spend $100 each month in the travel and entertainment category between July 1, 2008 and September 30, 2008, and we will give you a $25 gas gift card!

Turn your purchases into free gas. Simply call 1-888-828-2104 or log on to www.chaserewards.com/rewards3 by August 31, 2008 to enroll. Then all you have to do is spend $100 each month on eligible airline, hotel, auto rental and fine dining purchases between July 1, 2008 and September 30, 2008.

If you travel a lot, it seems a good offer. Because you can easily spend more than $100 on travel and entertainment category. As I pointed out in my previous post, Chase is offer bonus points for many Chase branded credit cards. As you may find there, the Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card, Chase AARP Visa Card, Chase Disney Rewards Visa Card, Chase Freedom Card are offering bonus points for using the card during July, August and September.

The Chase Freedom Card is a really good credit card for everyday use. You can get 3% cash back from 3 categories. If you have a Chase checking account, you can actually get 3% cash back from 5 categories. If you accumulate $200 cash rewards in your account, you can actually get a $250 cash rewards check!

Chase Sony Card is one of my favorite credit card on hand. This cash back program is not so good but this card always offers card members some great promotion deals. For example, back to this March, this card offered 10,000 bonus points for spending over $500 on this card before April 1, 2008. For the 10,000 Sony rewards points, you can redeem 2 $50 gas cards or other gift cards. Or you can redeem them for a  Sony walkman video MP3 player.

My latest post indicated that Sony card is offering 5X rewards points opportunity for targeted card members. Today I received a mail offer from Chase Sony Card. This time the promotion is titles “10 BELOW”.

What’s “10 BELOW”?

“10 BELOW” is the new Sony Card member benefit that empowers Sony Card members to set your own redemption price on any Sony product based on the price you find at any Sony authorized retailers. Once you determine what product and price you want to redeem your points for, you will also get an additional 10% savings on that Sony product. Of course, this program is free to any Sony Card members.

Here is how it works:

1. Enroll in 10 BELOW, please go to www.sony.com/sonycard/10below.
2. Use your Sony card as you normally would on both Sony Products and everyday purchases.
3. After you enroll in 10 BELOW, accrue an additional 5,000 Sony rewards points by December 31, 2008, and you are ready to go 10 BELOW.
4. Once you accrue 5,000 Sony rewards points, you will receive an email from Sony Card that will provide simple steps to set your point redemption price and go 10 BELOW. (Including instructions and a claim form for you to fill up and submit to Sony Rewards.)
5. Once you have made your decision, let us know the product and requested price visa the 10 BELOW program and you will get an additional 10% off.

Note: Your claim form and proof of claimed price must be received by Sony Rewards within 60 days from the date you receive your eligiblity notice, after which your eligibility for 10 BELOW discount price will expire.

A proof of the claimed price can be a copy of print ad, print-out of dealer web page, etc.

If you can achieve the 5,000 points requirement before November, you can make your Thanksgiving even hotter.

Don’t forget to take the chance to get 5X Sony rewards points to accumulate your Sony points even faster!

Discover Card is running a promotion for Discover Card members. The promotion is quite simple: For every $100 you spend on your Discover Card at selected participating malls, you can get a $10 Discover gift card. The promotion period is from August 1 to September 7, 2008.

To get the Discover gift card, you have to present your original receipts and your Discover card at participating mall’s customer service. There are 5 gift cards limit for every Discover Card account during the promotion period.

Detailed information can be found at Discover card website or you can click here to see the promotion page. Here’s how it works:

• Find a mall near you from the list of participating malls below
• Shop in the mall and use your Discover Card
• Collect your Discover Card receipts from any store at any participating mall from August 1 through September 7, 2008
• Bring your Discover Card receipts to customer service and redeem for your $10 Discover Gift Card

Following is a list of participating malls:

Alabama
Riverchase Galleria, Birmingham
Arizona
Arizona Mills, Tempe
Tucson Mall, Tucson
California
Del Amo Fashion Center, Torrence
Ontario Mills Mall, Ontario
Stoneridge Mall, Pleasanton
Colorado
Chapel Hills Mall, Colorado Springs
Colorado Mills, Lakewood
Delaware
Christiana Mall, Newark
Florida
Regency Square Mall, Jacksonville
Sawgrass Mills, Sunrise
Georgia
Discover Mills Mall, Lawerenceville
Perimeter Mall, Atlanta
Iowa
Coral Ridge Mall, Coralville
Jordan Creek Town Center,
West Des Moines
Illinois
Gurnee Mills, Gurnee
Indiana
Glenbrook Square, Fort Wayne
Kentucky
Mall St. Matthews, Louisville
Louisiana
The Esplande, Kenner
Mall of Louisiana, Baton Rouge
Maryland
Arundel Mills, Hanover
The Mall in Columbia, Columbia
Towson Town Center, Towson
Michigan
Briarwood Mall, Ann Arbor
Lakeside Mall, Sterling Heights
Minnesota
Southdale Center, Edina
Missouri
St. Louis Galleria, St. Louis
St. Louis Mills, Hazelwood
North Carolina
Concord Mills, Concord
Four Seasons Town Centre, Greensboro
New Jersey
Woodbridge Center, Woodbridge
New Mexico
Coronado Center, Albuquerque
New York
Galleria at White Plains, White Plains
Staten Island Mall, Staten Island
Ohio
Cincinnati Mills, Cincinnati
Kenwood Towne Centre, Cincinnati
The Mall at Tuttle Crossing, Dublin
Pennsylvania
Franklin Mills, Philadelphia
Rhode Island
Providence Place, Providence
Tennessee
Opry Mills, Nashville
Texas
Baybrook Mall, Friendswood
Grapevine Mills, Grapevine
Katy Mills, Katy
Willowbrook Mall, Houston
Virginia
Potomac Mills, Prince William

Chase Sony card offered 10,000 bonus Sony rewards points if you spent more than $500 on this card during this March. My post indicated that the 10,000 bonus points have been posted in our account. This 10,000 points can be used to redeem for $100 gift card. This is the best promotion we have seen so far this year. However, Chase Sony Card launched a new promotion for their card members from July 1 to September 30, 2008.

When you use your Sony Card this July, August and September, you can earn 5x points for purchase you make everyday! However, there is a requirement: you must have to spend $250 each month to receive the bonus points and only the amount higher than $250 is eligible to receive the 5x bonus points. If you charge $200 on this card every month, you can only get 250 Sony rewards points. If you charge $300 on Sony card every month, you can get 250+5*50=500 Sony rewards points. Sony card also requires that only the money spent at dining, grocery stores, gas stations and department stores are eligible to get 5x points.

To get the bonus points, you have to enroll your Sony card here.

You have to enter your name, first 6 digits of your Sony card number, email address and the enrollment code. Once you have successfully enrolled in your Sony card, you can get a “Thank You” page as indicated below.

It seems this promotion is targeted to some of Sony Card members. You have to have the enrollment code to be eligible to get the 5x points during the promotion period. You can also call Chase at 888-807-1302 to enroll your card.

A very interesting find is actually, Chase is offer bonus points for many Chase branded credit cards. For example, the Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card, Chase AARP Visa Card, Chase Disney Rewards Visa Card, Chase Freedom Card are offering bonus points for using the card during July, August and September. You can find all the cards that offer promotion bonus points during July, August and September at here.

Fine print:

In order to be eligible for this bonus points promotion, you must enroll by the last day of the promotion (9/30/08) by either calling the opt-in phone number or logging on to the opt-in website using the account number and/or web enrollment code referenced above. The bonus points offer only applies to eligible purchases made with your credit card for every dollar spent above the specified hurdle each calendar month from July 1 to September 30, 2008, made at retail establishments that classify their merchant locations for Visa as a type of dining establishment, a grocery store, a gas station, or a department store. Purchases not eligible to receive bonus points include, but are not limited to, purchases made at discount stores, specialty stores, superstores and warehouse clubs.We do not determine whether merchants correctly identify and bill transactions as being made at a type of dining establishment, a grocery store, a gas station, or a department store. However, we do reserve the right to determine which purchases qualify for 5x points regardless of how they are identified and billed by the merchant. The maximum reward accumulation on your additional earnings during this promotion is 10,000 bonus points and will not count against any monthly or annual earnings cap.

I got an email from one of my readers notified me that he just received a promotion offer from American Express. This promotion is for his Blue Cash from American Express Card. I don’t know whether all of the Blue Cash card members are eligible or not, but this is definitely a good offer from American Express.

According to the offer, you can get 1% bonus rebate from July 1, 2008 to September 30, 2008 for the amount spent over $100 every month. And you can still continue to earn your usual cash rebate for virtually every dollar you spend.

Detailed explanation:

Beginning 7/01/2008 and for each calendar month through 9/30/2008, if your purchases during the month exceed $100, you can earn a bonus rebate of 1% for every eligible dollar of purchases above the threshold charged to your Blue Cash Card enrolled in this promotion.  Total bonus rebate earned each calendar month is subject to a maximum monthly limit of $50.  Total bonus rebate is earned in addition to your annual rebate.

This Blue Cash from American Express Card offers 5% cash back on everyday purchases for the year to date purchases over $6,500. And you will get 1.5% cash back on all the other purchases. For the amount spent less than $6,500, you can get 1.5% cash back on everyday purchases and 0.5% cash back on all the other purchases. This card is a top choice for those big spenders. Or if you can pay your mortgage or rent with your credit card. Because this can easily help you spend more than $6,500 on your blue cash card.

To get this promotion offer, you can go to http://americanexpress.com/bluecash100 and click “Enroll now” button. If you have received the RSVP code from American Express, you can put in the related place. If haven’t received the promotion invitation but have a Blue Cash card, you can try to put in your online account username and password and login to your account to see whether you’re eligible or not.

Actually, there is a trick: if you change the bluecash100 to bluecash300, you have to spend more than $300 to get the 1% bonus. If you change the bluecash100 to bluecash1000, then you have to spent more than $1,000 to get the 1% bonus.

Other promotions from American Express:

1. Earn double points from American Express.

2. Earn 20% bonus points from Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express.

If you shop a lot at Amazon.com, the Chase Amazon.com rewards visa card is a good choice for you. The Chase Amazon.com rewards visa card offers 3% cash back for shopping at Amazon.com and 1% cash back at other places. If you accumulate more than $25 in your account, a $25 Amazon.com gift card will be sent to you automatically. I personally use this card a lot at Amazon.com. Of course, we have the Citi mtvU Platinum Select Visa Card for College Students which actually gives you 5 thankyou points for every dollar spent at Amazon.com.

However, if you are a careful shopper at Amazon.com, you will notice that the new Amazon.com rewards visa card is available now. The most obvious change is that the new card is no longer a “black card” but a “blue card“. They also changed the rewards program. At the first 90 days of account opening, you can get 6 points for every dollar spent at Amazon.com. You can get 4 points for every dollar spent at gas stations, drug stores and restaurants. 1 point is equal to $0.01. After the promotion period, you can still get 3 points for every dollar spent at Amazon.com and 2 points for every dollar spent at drugstores, gas stations and restaurants.

The new rewards program also allows you to choose which kind of rewards you’d like to redeem those points for. You can redeem the accumulated points for cash, Amazon.com gift card, gas card or even travel rewards. Plus if you are approved, you can get $30 cash bonus which will be applied on your first purchase at Amazon.com.

Personally, I think the new changes will make the Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card more competitive in the credit card market. One thing remains unknown is whether the previous card members will be also eligible for such excellent rewards program. The Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card has student card version, consumer card version and business card version.

Of course, don’t forget the Chase Freedom Card which is the premium credit card product from Chase.

Debit cards are getting more popular in the past few years. We have seen some debit card issuers offered debit card promotions recently. (Chase Visa Debit Card and BOA Keep the Change Program) For example, the latest Chase Debit Card promotion will give you $25 cash back for every $250 charges on your Chase Visa Debit Card (This promotion terminated on June 15, 2008.). The total rewards you can get is $75. According to the promotion rules, an eligible purchase required you to use signature rather than your PIN of debit card. Some of you might not understand why they required you to use signature but not PIN even though you were using a same Chase debit card.

The truth behind this is there are currently two ways that debit card transactions are processed: online debit (PIN debit) and offline debit (signature debit). Sometimes, we refer to the previous one as “debit purchase” and the later one as “credit purchase“.

PIN based debit cards require electronic authorization of every transaction and the debits are reflected in the user’s account immediately. A PIN is required to finish the transactions.

Signature debit cards use a POS system like credt cards do. This type of debit cards may be subject to a daily limit, or a maximum limit equal to the checking account balance from which it draws funds. Transactions conducted with offline debit cards require 2~3 days to be reflected on users’ account balances. This kind of transactions are inaccurately referred to as “credit” transactions even though no credit is actually involved. This is because they are processed through the Visa or MasterCard networks in the same manner as actual credit card transactions.

Visa required you to use no-PIN because they can charge transaction fees from those merchants. If you use PIN at checkout, the transactions will go through other networks and visa is not participated in the transaction (no revenues for them!).

We are now clear why visa required you to use signature rather than PIN at checkout to be eligible for the promotion.

Visa actually has allowed banks to permit merchants to waive signature requirement when you use a visa debit card for transactions less than $25. However, if you want to use PIN at checkout, you are still required to enter your PIN even the sale value is only $1. This is because visa doesn’t allow banks to waive  the entry of PIN at checkout for PIN debit.

As I explained above, when a customer uses the debit card as a signature card, the transaction is processed over Visa’s network, but if the customer uses a PIN with the same card, it is processed over a separate network. However, effective from July 1st, 2008, you can use Visa debit cards for smaller purchases without entering your PIN, the same way you can skip signing receipts when you use signature based purchases. This is a result of the investigation of antitrust division of Justice Department.

We like the signature waiver which will speed up our checkout process and reduce the waiting time. The PIN-waiver will also help us to use debit card more conveniently.