MyCardBlog

A lot of readers send me email regarding the “Best Cash Back Credit Card”. Most credit cards offer 1% cash back but only a few credit cards are still offering 2% cash back without any restrictions. But the Fidelity Rewards American Express Cards are the only credit card that I will recommend to you. (Yes, I know that Orchard Bank credit card or Household Bank credit card are offering 2% cash back but their credit limits are too low!) There are three versions of this credit card. Most people will go to the Fidelity^® Investment Rewards American Express^® Card. If you are a college student, then you can also consider the Fidelity Investments 529 College Rewards^® American Express^® Card. Others might want the Fidelity^® Retirement Rewards American Express^® Card.

Main features of this credit card:

Different versions of this credit card need to be linked to different Fidelity accounts to be eligible to get the 2% cash back.

Customers earn 2 points for each $1 in net retail purchases. Once you reach 5,000 points, they can be redeemed automatically or on demand for cash at a 1% exchange rate into an eligible Fidelity account (i.e. 5,000 points = $50 deposit). The ability to contribute to an IRA or 529 college savings plan account is subject to IRS rules and specific program policies, including those on eligibility and annual and maximum contribution limits.

I just introduced the BankAmericard Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card from Bank of America yesterday. And many readers sent inquires about other possible huge promotions. $75 bonus seems to be not so attractive to many. Well, then the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express might excite you! The main reason is that this credit card is offering 15000 bonus sign up points now with first year fee-free!

This 15000 bonus rewards points can be redeemed as a $150 gift card which doubles the earning compared to the BankAmericard Cash Rewards Visa Signature Card. Please remember that you have to spend over $1000 to get the 15000 bonus points.

Overall features of this Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express:

• Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® bonus points when you spend $1,000 in your first 3 months of Card membership – redeemable for up to $150 in gift Cards upon point credit at participating retail, dining, and entertainment partners.
• Earn Membership Rewards® points up to three times as fast: You can earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
• No annual fee for your first year of membership, then $175.
• Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $30,000 per calendar year.
• Gold Card Events: Access to Preferred Seating, pre-sale tickets, and more.

My point is to sign up this credit card and spend $1000 in 3 months and then cancel it any time before the next year. (Secret: When you call to cancel it, American Express will probably give you 10000 bonus points!)

American Express is the only credit card issuer that increased my Starwood Preferred Guest Card credit limit. Now American Express OPEN card members can earn $50 bonus for using your OPEN Cards at OPEN merchants. It is a great chance to earn small money for using your credit card.

The promotion link about this promotion is here.

The rule of this promotion:

As an American Express OPEN^® Cardmember, you are invited to enroll now to earn a $50 statement credit when you spend two times, for a total of $50 or more, at any OPEN Savings merchants between October 15 through December 15, 2009. This is in addition to your automatic OPEN Savings discounts.

Participating merchants in the OPEN Savings program include FedEx^®, FedEx OfficeSM, Hertz^®, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts^®, Courtyard by Marriott^®, Symantec, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM^®, Barnes & Noble.com and more. To learn about the OPEN Savings program and see a list of participating merchants visit www.open.com/opensavings.

To be eligible for this promotion, you must enroll using your online account management user ID and password.

It is a pretty easy $50 bonus for your OPEN cards. Most American Express Business Cards are OPEN Cards. All of the American Express personal credit cards are not OPEN cards.

Another American Express promotion is worth mentioning is the AMEX Daily Wish. On October 22, 2009, AMEX Daily Wish is running a computer deal for the ASUS Eee PC 1005HA netbook. The normal price of this ASUS Eee PC 1005HA at Ebay is about ~$280. But at AMEX Daily Wish, you can get this netbook at $200. But the quantity is limited. Only 75 netbooks are available. This promotion is open to all of American Express Card member. Link of this AMEX Daily Wish is at: http://dailywish.amexnetwork.com/default.aspx?ct=3&.

Today I received a mail from American Express indicating that I could get $40 Best Buy gift card for spending $200 at Best Buy with my American Express Card between 10/01/2009~12/30/2009. The website to register your American Express Card is www.amexnetwork.com/bestbuy.

This is a great opportunity to save money at BesyBuy, especially when Thanks Giving and Christmas are approaching. You have to register your personal information at the above website to be eligible to get the $40 Best Buy gift card.

Fine print:

To be eligible to receive the $40 Best Buy Gift Card, you must be the named recipient of this invitation and you must register for the offer using any American Express Card in your household by 12/30/2009 at www.amexnetwork.com/bestbuy. Once registered, you must complete one transaction of at least $200 at any Best Buy store between 10/1/2009 and 12/31/2009. Cardmembers may only register one Card for this offer and certain American Express Cards, including but not limited to, Prepaid Cards, and Corporate Cards, are not eligible. Only transactions made on the Card registered for the offer are eligible. Transactions made on another Card account or a supplementary Card with a different Card account number are not eligible. The $40 Best Buy Gift Card will be mailed 6-8 weeks after completion of the promotion period.

Today amexnetwork is offering $25 off $50 and $50 off $100 coupons for Whole Foods Market.

American Express cards are my favorite credit cards. I use my Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express frequently to accumulate Starpoints. American Express usually provide great promotions for credit card members now and then. Now American Express is offering free credit report for its card members.

The link to the offer is www.americanexpress.com/creditreport. You have to login your online account to see whether you are qualified for this offer. The credit report is provided by Experian which is one of the three major credit reporting agencies. There will be a credit score associated with the credit report. That is named as PLUS score which is in the range of 330~830.

I’m really impressed by this American Express credit report offer. Usually credit card issuers offer free 30-day period trial for using credit report service. But this time you might be qualified to get free credit report service with a free credit score.

Meanwhile, American Express is also offering credit education for its card members at www.americanexpress.com/managemycard. At this website, you learn facts about your credit cards, your credit report, your credit protection and your support from American Express. There are a lot of valuable information like: What’s In Your Report? How Credit Report Mistakes Are Made? How to improve your FICO score.

You can also find some great tips:

• Helpful tips to manage your credit profile
• Key factors lenders use to make credit decisions
• How late payments, requests for new credit, and length of your credit history can affect your credit score
• Tips for safeguarding yourself against fraud and what you can do if you suspect it

American Express is offering double points opportunity for its cardmembers. This offer lasts exactly one year from March15, 2008 to March 15, 2009. We have not heard the promotion from American Express for a while. I think this is a great chance for American Express cardmembers to earn bonus Membership Rewards Points.

The promotion can be found at American Express website. According to the website, American Express charge card members can double their own membership rewards points on gas and groceries until March 15th, 2010. There is a cap of $1000 per month for each cardmember.

Details: Use your American Express^® Charge Card for everyday needs, and you can get more of the things you want. Enroll now so you can start earning double Membership Rewards points on virtually every dollar you spend on gas and groceries (up to $1,000 each month) until March 15th, 2010. If you are registered to manage your account online, you may enter your User ID and Password below to sign in and enroll in this promotion. Or, you may enroll by calling the phone number listed below and entering the promotional code.

Eligible Cards: the American Express Card, the American Express Rewards Green Card, the American Express Preferred Rewards Green Card, the American Express Gold Card, the American Express Rewards Gold Card, the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Card, the American Express Rewards Plus Gold Card, the Platinum Card^®, the Centurion^® Card.

Promotion code: 139150001 or you can call 800-794-1308 to enroll.

I receive a post card from American Express which indicates that I could earn 25,000 bonus American Express membership rewards points for opening an account at Fidelty and make required deposit. I think this is a good chance to earn membership points which only requires an easy transfer of your money to Fidelity account and then you can close it after you get the bonus points.

The massage on the post card is very short:

Earn 25,000 membership rewards bonus points from American Express when you invest $50,000 or more in a new Fidelity non-retirement brokerage account before May 1, 2009.

To open your account, go to Fidelity.com/bonuspoints, or call 800-814-5165.

Fine print:

Bonus points offer valid 10/15/08-9/30/09. To be eligible to earn Membership Rewards bonus points, you must be enrolled in the Membership Rewards program (”Program”) at the time of registration for the offer. Offer available to individuals who open a retail Fidelity brokerage account and who meet the following eligibility requirements. New accounts must be opened within 30 days of registering for the offer. Initial and subsequent deposits totaling $50,000 must be made within 90 days of Fidelity account opening to qualify for bonus points. Your Fidelity account must remain open with the qualifying funding for six months from the date that the qualifying assets are first received in the eligible account. Offer is not transferable or valid in conjunction with any other Fidelity promotional offer. Bonus points will be credited to your Program account within 10-12 weeks of the qualifying activity. Individual terms and conditions, as well as annual Program fees, apply for certain American Express Card products. For more information on the Program, visit membershiprewards.com/terms or call 1-800-AXP-EARN. Bonus ID-1785.

I remember that Fidelity offered bonus AAdvantage Miles and Unites Airline Miles for opening eligible accounts at Fidelity. My friends have already opened an account at Fidelity and got the bonus miles. If you do have an account at Fidelity and want to earn some bonus points from American Express, this is a good opportunity for you.

I was shocked when I received this message! American Express would like to pay its customers (targeted) for closing their accounts and pay off the balances before April 30, 2009. If you receive a mail from American Express with RSVP code, you can go to americanexpress.com/prepaidcardoffer to register your account and get the $300 prepaid gift card!

It is understandable that customers are not willing to spend money under current economic situation. More customers are not able to pay off balances. It is reported that only a small number of American Express solicited customers can receive the invitation and close their accounts.

The program is called “Simplify Your Finances” which can be reached at here.

From the website:

Pay off your entire balance between March 1, 2009 and April 30, 2009, and we will send you a $300 value prepaid card¹ to thank you. Enrolling in this promotion will automatically cancel your account.

You have to enroll in this program by Feb. 28, 2008.

If you are an active member of the American Express membership rewards program, please make sure that you have redeemed all the points.