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

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.

I reviewed two credit cards before: American Express Centurion Card (also known as the Black Card) and Citi Chairman Card. Both of them charge very high amount of annual fees ($2500 for Centurion Card and $500 for the Chairman Card). Note that the Citi Chairman Card is also an American Express card. Actually, there are many other cards network (Via and MasterCard) offering high annual fee credit cards. The 2007 Luxury Brand Status index (LBSI) survey from the New York-based Luxury Institute indicated that the American Express Centurion Card is the most prestigious credit card among those super wealthy.

Other high-end cards were also rated by the group of 500 ultra-wealthy American consumers with an average $77.5K income and $14.4 million networth. According to the study, American Express Platinum Card was rated as the second best credit card among those super wealthy. And MasterCard Platinum, MasterCard World, MasterCard World Elite, Visa Signature and Visa Platinum were also rated. MasterCard World Elite Card ($395 annual fee) was rated as the third best card.

Obviously, the affluent represent a high-spending and low-risk crowd. They typically charge hundreds of dollars in a single transaction. The credit card issuers can get pretty much transaction fees from the retailers. There are more credit card issuers join this market which will bring high profitable merchant fees to them.

Bank of America later launched the Bank of America Accolades American Express card which is designed to cater the ultra wealthy of Global Wealth & Investment Management’s client. The Accolades card provides the highest level of service Bank of America can offer — superior rewards and unparalleled benefits. Only those with with more than $100,000 in deposits and investments will be invited to apply, and the $295 annual fee will be waived so long as the client maintains a relationship with Bank of America.

Another prestigious credit card for our rich people is the Stratus Rewards Visa Card issued by US Bank. This card is also known as the “white card“. This card has a $1,500 annual fee and only be obtained by invitation or nomination by another card member.

I hope I would be the one with one of the above mentioned credit cards in the future.

One of my friends got a mail from American Express stating that his SimplyCash and Blue Cash from American Express accounts will not accept new charges because his accounts is under financial review (FR). They request my friend to provide his previous year’s tax return documents and last three months’ bank statements. Otherwise both of his accounts at American Express will be closed. The reason why he got the financial review is he spent a lot of many on his Blue Cash card recently. He used this card to pay all the expenses for a trip to Paris.

I know many of you may have already experienced the famous “financial review”. (Yes, I know you are a good customer: never has a late payment, balance is way lower than 50% of your credit limit.) Many of you may get your account closed even though you provide all of the information they request. Many of you can still use your American Express credit cards after the financial review because their system “feels” that you are financially safe now. I want to summarize some common scenarios about financial review from American Express. And I hope this post would be of any help to those who receive the financial reviews in the near future.

How do you know that you are under financial review?

• Get a call from American Express—telling you that you are under financial review and requesting you to provide financial documents to them.
• Get a mail from American Express— stating that you are under financial review and requesting you to provide financial documents to them.
• When you login your online account, all of your accounts are highlighted in red and your available credit of each of your accounts is $0.
• You can’t use your American Express Cards any longer.

What can/should you do with financial review?

There’s really nothing we can do to deal with the financial review from American Express. All you can do is to comply their requests and fax or mail all of the information they need: tax return documents, bank statements and other supplemental materials. However, there are some tips I think will help you.

1. Pay off all the balances on your credit card accounts immediately and request them to close your accounts. In this way, you accounts are close by consumer but not the credit granter. It’s said that ‘closed by consumer” make your credit report look much better and good for your FICO score. (I don’t believe so.) In this way, you have to say “bye bye” to American Express cards.

2. Mail or fax any materials they requested: tax return documents and bank statements. I have a very good advice here: ask your personal banker to issue an official document (payroll) for you stating you are receiving your salary constantly from your employer. This document is very effective. Plus you should also write a letter by yourself telling them that you like American Express card or more specific, Blue Cash from American Express, Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express.

Why do you get financial review?

There is no official saying from American Express. If you look at the credit card agreement, they can close your account for any reason. There are a number of things that can spark the red flag on your credit cards—insurance claims, over use of credits, major charges on one or numerous account, open multiple accounts within a severely limited period of time, ask for credit limit increases every month, etc.

When we talk about how to use our credit cards, we should always know that credit card issuers are curious about the following factors:

• New inquires and new accounts
• Credit utilization
• Payment history
• Number of cards with a balance

Today I received an email from American Express for my Blue from American Express Card. According to the email, I can earn double points for virtually everything I charge on my Blue from American Express Card from June 1 to August 31, 2008. As indicated on the website, if I charge $250 on my American Express card, I can get 500 membership rewards points. To be eligible to receive double points from American Express, you have to enroll your American Express card before July 15, 2008.

It seems this is a targeted offer. Although two of my friends have the Preferred Rewards Gold Card (offer 10,000 bonus points now), only one of them have received the similar offer. The total bonus points earned each calendar month are subject to maximum monthly limits of 5,000 points.

Fine print about this promotion:

Offer valid from 6/1/2008 through 8/31/2008. To be eligible to earn Membership Rewards^® bonus points, you must register by 7/15/2008. Only Cardmembers invited to participate may enroll. You must have a Membership Rewards account with a personal or small business American Express Card linked to it at the time of enrollment to participate and at the time of purchase to earn bonus points. To be eligible to earn bonus points, Card account(s) must be active and not in default at the time of bonus fulfillment.

There are many ways to enroll your American Express Cards: 1. go to americanexpress.com/bonuspoints124 and enter 14-digit RSVP code or loginyour account to see whether you are eligile to receive this offer; 2. Call Ameircan Express at 1-800-794-1308 and mention promotion code 116780044. You have to enter your account number as well.

Once you successfully enroll in the promotion, a thankyou page will appear.

I received an email from American Express about offering 20% bonus starpoints until May 31, 2008 for using my Starwood Preferred Guest Card. It seems this is a targeted offer. You have to enroll at americanexpress.com/starpointspromo11 to qualify for this promotion. An RSVP code is required at the registration. If you haven’t received the promotion letter, you can still visit the above mentioned website and login your account to see whether you’re qualified for this offer. The maximum starpoints you can earn through this promotion are 5,000 points. The bonus points will be awarded to your account within 6~8 weeks after May 31.

Fine Print:

Enrollment is required by 5/31/2008. In addition to earning two Starpoints^® for each U.S. dollar of Eligible Spending charged on your Card account at Starwood-branded properties participating in the Starwood Preferred Guest^® loyalty program, and at standalone retail establishments and online stores that, in each case, are wholly owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and one Starpoint for all other Eligible Spending, a 20% bonus will be posted to your Starwood Preferred Guest^® Credit Card account for a maximum of 5,000 Starpoints^®.”Eligible Spending” includes purchases of goods or services, which purchases have not been returned or otherwise rescinded, and are not subject to a credit; it does NOT include fees, Finance Charges, Cash Advances (including the use of checks, line activators, automated teller machines, or other means of accessing your account), Balance Transfers, or adjustments to your account. We reserve the right not to award any Starpoints^® for transactions we determine are not made with the good faith intention of consuming the item charged. To receive bonus Starpoints^®, your Card account must be open and in good standing at time of bonus fulfillment. Bonus Starpoints^® earned via this promotion will be posted to your Starwood Preferred Guest^® account 6–8 weeks after May 31, 2008. Promo Code: K641:0001.

After registration, you will receive the “Thank You” page as shown below. The Starwood Preferred Guest Card is really a good credit card. You can get the promotion offers from them now and then. If you don’t have one, you can apply for a new one and get 10,000 bonus points after first purchase. The minimum points required to redeem for a free night stay at Starwood Hotels are from 2,000 points.

If you’d like daily tips, thoughts, and suggestions on how to maximum your rewards and how to catch sign-up opportunities, subscribe to MyCardBlog for free by clicking this link.

This is a follow-up post of my previous “5 Grocery Rewards Cards That Can Save Money for You“. I personally like and use my Chase Freedom Card, as most of you know. (My Favorite Rewards Cards) I have already cahed $50 check from Chase Freedom Card in about 4 moths. I have looked at a lot of rewards cards in an effort to find one that gives my more cash rewards. As I only spend about $800 per month, the only one that best fits my spending profile is the Chase Freedom Card. Considering there is another great rewards card (Blue Cash from American Express) as I mentioned in my previous post, I simply did a math and made a comprison between Chase Freedom Card and Blue Cash from American Express. I hope this post will be of some help to you. Here is what I did:

Rewards Programs of These Two Cards:

Chase Freedom Card offers “dynamic rewards” program. You can get 3% cash back on 3 most spending categories from 15 preset rewards categories. These include grocery stores, drug stores, gas stations, TV/Cable service providers and so on. You can earn 1% cash back on everything else. Although there is no overall maximum on the amount you can earn , there is a maximum of $600 per month which can earn 3% cash back. Another feature of this card is once you accumulate $200 in your account, you can get $250! Yes, Chase will throw in another $50 bonus which makes the rewards up to 3.75% and 1.25% respectively.

Blue Cash from American Express offers a tiered rebate level, based on your total spending in a year. For the first $6,500 you charged on this card, you can only get 1.0% cash back on “everyday purchase” including grocery stores, drug stores and gas stations and 0.5% on everything else. Once you have spent more than $6,500 for the year, you can get 5% cash back on purchases at grocery stores, drug stores and gas stations and 1.5% on everything else. Obviously, this card is for the big spenders.

Assumptions about Your Spendings:

In order to make a simple comparison between these two cards, I have to make a few assumptions about your monthly spendings.

1. Charges are spread out consistently over the year. (This is an importatn factor when we talk about Blue Cash from American Express. The sooner you can get the $6,500 threshold, the more you can earn you cash back.)
2. You charge all your spendings on a single card. Yes, my suggested spending method is somewhat “combinationly”. But in this case, you charge all of the expenditure in a single card. For Chase Freedom Card, I assume that Gas, Grocery and Drug will be your 3 essential categories.

Results:

• For a total spending level of $1,000 per month, of which $500 is grocery, gas, and drug, the Chase Freedom Card will earn $240+$50=$290, while the Blue Cash from American Express will earn you $227.5. The winner is Chase Freedom!
• For a total spending level of $2,000 per month, of which $800 is grocery, gas and frug, the Chase Freedom card will earn $384+$50=$434, while the Blue Cash from American Express will earn you $653.75! The winner is Blue Cash for sure!

Through a simple comparison, you can see that for a relatively low level of spending, the Chase Freedom Card is a better choice for you. But if you charge a huge amout on a same card monthly, the Blue Cash Card is the best choice for you.

However, there’re more on this topic.

1. If you spend less than $1,000 per month, like me, I suggest you use Chase Freedom Card for 3 specific categories and get a Household/Orchard Bank Card with 2% cash back. In this way, your minimum rewards is 2%.
2. If you spend more than $1,000 per month, you can use Blue Cash Card for “everyday purchases” and use Chase Freedom Card to pay Cable/TV/Internet services and Wireless bills. In this combinationally spending method, you can really maximum you rewards.

In a word, Chase Freedom and Blue Cash from American Express are both very great rewards cards. You should find out which one best fit your spending profile.

I have pointed out that American Express “2008 Retail Spring Fling card Promotion” will be beginning on May 1st, 2008. Some friends sent me emails about this promotion. They can’t find the promotion page at American Express website. Actually, American Express released this news on www.americanexpress.com on April 25. I think it’s necessary to update the “Spring Fling Card Promotion”.

Promotion Rules: Buy 2 American Express ® Gift Cards at one of our retail locations and receive a Spring Fling Card worth $25 via Mail-In Rebate. Spring Fling Card can be used at Best Buy^TM, Borders®, Fandango and SpaFinder.

Promotion Time: Card must be purchased between 5/1/08 – 6/30/08.

How Do You Get the Rebate? Purchase any 2 American Express Gift Cards at a participating retailer and take a Rebate Form from the point-of-sale display, with your purchase. Remit COMPLETED Rebate Form and copy of receipt to American Express by 07/22/08. Please note that this promotion is not valid for American Express Buy Online (Web) purchases. Rebate Form and Copy of Receipt must be mailed to American Express by 7/22/08. Upon receipt of your COMPLETED submission, a Spring Fling Card worth $25 will be mailed back to you within 60 days.

Offer valid ONLY for purchases made at the following retail stores:

If you have any questions about this promotion, you can contact customer service at 800-310-0265 or e-mail amexrebate@transcontinentaldirect.com. They can also provide delivery information about your rebate.

Details of this promotion can also be found at www.americanexpress.com/giftcards.

You can earn extra $17 for buying two American Express gift cards. This is a pretty sweet deal and you can’t miss it!