Question
This is the second worthy promotion I've received this year on this card.
As posted earlier:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=444655
I got a promotion where I earned an extra 4 Thank You Points on all purchases for 3 months. Between normal purchases and several giftcards at grocery and gas stores (those earned 9%) I quickly chalked up some pretty good points. I was then able to successfully and easily redeem those points for valuable travel:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=462880
leading me to believe this is one of the best fee-free cards going.
Now I have received a promotion to earn 5% back in Thank You Points at all department stores through the end of the year. If you have this card check to see if you have been offered this promo and activate the offer at your account at Universalcard.com.
This allowed me to quickly rack up some more points because yesterday I purchased some furniture at a local department store. At 5 TY Points per dollar spent!
The biggest drawback is a limit of 75,000 points per year. However, it's fee-free, so if you reach your limit just move on to a different card and use this one again next year.
In addition, I believe some have said TY Points from more than one card can be combined when redeeming, as long as the name on the accounts is the same. For those with PremierPass Elite cards, this makes for mass purchase point accumulation, which when added to travel points, allows one's earning power to increase exponentially.
PS - Mrs. Psychtobe also received the offer, but at a different time, so not everyone's offer is exactly the same.
Answer
Mrs. Psychtobe just received an offer for 5x Thank you points on all home furnishings stores and home improvement stores through May 31, 2006. It is targeted and I was unsuccessful in having them make me the same offer.
FWIW, she never uses this card.
Answer
Mrs. Psychtobe got another offer today: 5% on all department store purchases for the next 6 months. Once again, it is targeted, and once again, they wouldn't offer it to me.
I guess the take home message is if you get this card, and then don't use it for a while, you may get some sweet deals.
Earning 5% on department stores, home improvement stores, and home furnishings stores, coupled with 5% on gas, grocery, and drugstores all the time, and the ability to redeem for well over 2 cents per point in value, this has to be one of the best fee-free rewards systems out there!