Question
I realize that this card has nothing to do with miles. However, I am wondering if people are happy with the Sony merchandise rewards option.
Thanks in advance!
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It takes an awful lot of spending to actually be able to get any of the merchandise from the catalog. The amount of points required to redeem for something seem to be inflated vis-a-vis their actual suggested retail price by about 50-100%.
If you are thinking of getting a Sony product, the card might still be ok. You would want to use your card to buy the product, and then get reimbursement through redemption of your points (1 Sony point = 1 cent reimbursement).
Ultimately, it's not the worst rewards card, but not the best either. I wish Starwood's Amex or Marriott's VISA was available in Canada...
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Thanks for the feedback. I may switch to the Driver's Edge Platinum card.
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The card has actually become more attractive because you no longer need to buy a product through the Sony catolgue rather you can shop via any Sony retailer and submit the receipt. If you buy at lot of Sony products then you get 3-5 points per dollar. I use it solely to buy Sony products and have saved up a few hundred dollars with it. Not the best card, but worth the annual fee(nothing).
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Originally posted by globalflight:
The card has actually become more attractive because you no longer need to buy a product through the Sony catolgue rather you can shop via any Sony retailer and submit the receipt. If you buy at lot of Sony products then you get 3-5 points per dollar. I use it solely to buy Sony products and have saved up a few hundred dollars with it. Not the best card, but worth the annual fee(nothing).
The U.S. Sony Card seems very attractive in terms of Sony point accumulation; presently anywhere from 1 to 10 points per USD$1 spent ( http://sonycard.sel.sony.com/mf_deals.html ). The Canadian version only ranges from 1 to 2 points per CAD$1 spent.
Not a bad card, considering the no anual fee, purchase assurance, extended warranty, price protection etc...
[This message has been edited by Flyaway (edited 12-02-2001).]
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well you can't beat it to start off: $50 (5000 points) for just taking the card out, and $10 extra for taking 30 seconds to sign-up for their e-mail:
http://sonycard.sel.sony.com/
just bought a PlayStation2, signed up my finace on-line in under 2 minutes, and between us had enough points to get 2 games for the console for free (you can also redeem 1000 points for a $10 Blockbuster gift card as well, so the rewards are flexible).
and hey, you can always cancel after taking it out.
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Originally posted by teammjs:
and hey, you can always cancel after taking it out.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif
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ValueConsumer.com (http://www.valueconsumer.com) Home of Tripple Dipping Online Shopping
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I didn't check the math on how this Sony card stack up with a true cash rebate card. If you use a rebate card that gives you 2% you can use that money to buy Sony products!
My wife has Fleet Visa which is Free and gives us 2% cash rebate after spending $8000 for the year.
[This message has been edited by afang (edited 12-09-2001).]
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afang
The Fleet cash back card isn't a good deal. They cap the cash back at $500, and you only earn 1% back unless you carry a balance.
Take a look at this card:
http://www.farmbureaubank.com/bankserv/creditcards.htm
Its a true 2% cash back card that doesn't make you carry a balance to get the full reward.
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skofarrel thanks for this info. I have to read this card carefully. And you are correct that the maximum for the Fleet card is $500, but as a household credit card for my wife's use, I don't think she can spend that much anyway.
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Regards,
Al
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Originally posted by skofarrell:
afang
Take a look at this card:
http://www.farmbureaubank.com/bankserv/creditcards.htm
Its a true 2% cash back card that doesn't make you carry a balance to get the full reward.
Awesome card; I applied for it to replace our 3.5% MBNA/NEA Travel Rewards card (which after 12/31/01 is dropping to 1.6% reward). Do you have to be a Farm Bureau member to get the card??? (guess I'll find out in a few days/weeks...)
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Nope. I'm not and got it last month. I did the web application, got an email that I was approved the next day, and had the card in about a week.
They seem like terrific bank to deal with.
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Originally posted by afang:
but as a household credit card for my wife's use, I don't think she can spend that much anyway.
Lucky You!!! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
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I think with the Farm Bureau card, you only get 2% back if you spend $35,000. Take a look at the redemption chart here:
http://www.farmbureaubank.com/disclosures/rules_grids.PDF
From what I read, if you only redeem 5,000 points (cost=$5,000) you only get a 0.5% return.... You really have to wait until you build up 35,000 points (=$35,000 charged) to get the full 2% back.
[This message has been edited by steve100 (edited 12-10-2001).]
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They spot you 2,500 points for signing up, so to get the first $700 (2%) the spend is $32.5K.
There's no time limit to get to 35K points, and there is a limit of 60K points in a calendar year.
There is a slight risk that the program can be devalued during your quest to get to 35K points for the full 2%. So, if you think you'll spend less than $32-35K in what you consider a "reasonable amount of time", then the 1.5% Amex cash back card may be a better deal for you.
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I like this card.
But we don't even spend more than $6k! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
Maybe I can use this card for travel...but I like miles too much http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
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Hi,
I went to this website :
http://sonycard.sel.sony.com/
I see that you get 1000 extra points for signing up for something, but there is no link to do that. How do we do it ?.
Thanks.
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An good web site that has a semi-active discussion going on rebate / miles cards is www.creditcardgoodies.com (http://www.creditcardgoodies.com) , go to the grapevine section. Some of you might find it useful.
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cg, thanks for the link. It's a very good website http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
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skofarrell: about the Farm Bureau are you using this card and does this card offers Online access? I can't find anywhere on it's website about getting online access to the card.
thanks http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
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It is there, but is very weak compared to companies that specialize in credit cards like Fleet, Citibank, or Amex. all you can do is see your charges and credits. There's no provision for seeing things like statements, balance due to avoid interest, etc.
Sign up for Online Banking, there's a section for "online access" then enter your credit card account. It took them about 48 hours to get mine setup.
http://www.farmbureaubank.com/onlinebanking.htm
[This message has been edited by skofarrell (edited 01-24-2002).]
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skoferral,
thanks, i am doing online banking and won't mind to add them on my list...but it sure is great if they have better online access.
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If you have the Sony card, there's a promotion going on right now at sonystyle.com
where you'll get 10 points for each dollar spend on the website.
Is Citi still issuing Sony Visa? I only see the MC version on the Citi site.
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captain_nemo the Citibank Sony card has only ever been issued as a MasterCard. But since MasterCard and Visa are both accepted at millions of places around the world, it shouldn't make a difference.
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I Love New York
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I applied and accepted for the Farmbureau card...there was an email sent to me saying that the card will arrive 7-10 business days...but i have been waiting for 3 weeks and no sign of it at all...is this normal? should i be worried?
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afang if they said 7-10 business days and it has been 15 (3 weeks) then you should definately call. They probabaly sent it to you with a block (meaning somewone would have to call from your home phone to activate it before being able to charge) but, depending on where you live, they may not have.
It is proabably just a delay in their processes or the mail, but you neve know. It's just a good idea to call.
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I Love New York
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a great deal is if theres a Sony theatre in your area, every 500pts gets you 1 free tkt.Here in NY thats a $10 tkt, or like getting 2% back w/o having to get to any really high levels to cash in.
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Does the Farmbureau card have any additional fee for foreign purchases?
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Has anyone used the Farm Bureau card to buy US Savings bonds online? If so, do they earn the points? I would assume they would like other cards, except this card has so many rules saying things like they will determine which purchases count to earn points and that they can end their program and that sort of thing.