American Express is back with another edition of “My WishList.” This edition runs from today, November 27, through December 13, 2007. My WishList is a twice-annual program from Amex that offers steep discounts on a limited supply of popular items, as well as limited time Wish Certificates. For a more complete explanation of what the program is and how it works, see this link.
You can see the available offers here.
US Bank has its own exclusive holiday shopping offer for holders of its Cash Bonus Visa Check Card. For a limited time, when you use your U.S. Bank Cash Bonus Visa Check Card to make purchases with select online partners through their Cash Bonus Partner Center, you can triple your cash back.
Details of this offer can be found here. Nearly all of their normal partners are participating which means there are some deals to be had. Some examples:
See the complete list of participating retailers here. (Via SD)
You can tell that the holiday shopping season is approaching with the number of special offers being served up. The latest is this–existing Citi Dividend card holders are eligible to earn 5% Cash Back* on purchases made at Department, Electronics and Apparel Stores for 3 months when their offer is activated.
To register for this promo, log into your Citi account online. If you have multiple Citi cards, make sure that you have your Dividend card selected. Under the “Manage Your Account” tab, check the “Special Offers” section. The offer should be located there. (Via SD)
PayPal is set to offer a new service dubbed “PayPal Secure Card” beginning tomorrow. The service, offered through a web browser plug-in, will allow users to generate a unique one-use MasterCard number to use on sites that don’t accept Paypal. According to the Reuters article:
By residing on the PayPal user’s computer, Secure Card can detect when users visit e-commerce sites. The software then automatically fills in their stored financial information, requiring just a few more clicks to authorize a transaction.
PayPal stores no details on the local computer for security reasons. Instead, it logs Secure Card activity in the user’s account on central computers for safety and record-keeping.
At this point, there has been no mention of whether you will eventually be able to earn rewards on these purchases. There are, however, a couple of immediately recognizable benefits for consumers: 1) credit card access for those without a credit card, 2) virtual credit card numbers for those who don’t have a credit card with this ability (eg, Chase, Amex).
Fifth Third Bank offers two versions of its Business MasterCard–one with rewards and the other without. Both cards offer 0% APR on both purchases and balance transfers for 12 months with no balance transfer fees. After the first year, the Business MasterCard with Rewards does charge a $50 annual fee per card.
For more info, see 53business.com.
Note: Per the comments below, this offer is valid only for residents in the following states: Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Discover is pushing even harder to capture more of your holiday spending, with another offer for existing Discover More card holders. From FW:
Login into your account and the advertisement is on the front page.
“From December 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007, use your Discover Card to get 5% CashBack Bonus at grocery stores.
Get whatever you need for your holiday celebration and earn 5% CashBack Bonus on $200 in grocery store purchases.
Note that since the offer is for up to $200 in purchases, it only amounts to a max $10 bonus, and that the Discover Miles and the Open Road card are not eligible.
For a limited time, when you sign up for a new Discover Biz Card account, you will receive a 10% “Special Holiday Offer”:
Earn a full 10% Cashback Bonus on your first $2,000 in restaurant purchases and a full 10% Cashback Bonus on your first $2,000 in home electronic store purchases for up to three months after your account is opened. Restaurant purchases are those made at merchants we classify as full-service restaurants, cafes, cafeterias and fast food locations. Home electronic store purchases are those made at merchants that specialize in the sale of electronic devices used for home entertainment and small electronic products, such as Best Buy and Circuit City.
If you need your true FICO score and/or report, myfico.com has a coupon currently valid for 25% off your order: HOLIDAY25. This offer is valid until November 30, 2007. (via SD)
Note that if you are only interested in looking at your report (and don’t need the score), you’re entitled to one free credit report every 12 months from each of the three credit reporting bureaus. You can request your free reports through annualcreditreport.com.
Looking for a good way to spend your MR points? Until November 30, 2007, you can get 50% more hotel points when transferring your Membership Rewards points to hotel frequent guest programs. This offer is valid for the following hotel partners:
| Hotel Program | Standard Transfer Rate | Special Transfer Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Gold Crown Club International | 1000:1000 | 1000:1500 |
| Hilton HHonors | 1000:1300 | 1000:1950 |
| Priority Club Rewards | 1000:1000 | 1000:1500 |
| Starwood Preferred Guest | 1000:333 | 1000:500 |
While the offer says that it’s valid for only solicited members, according to this post on FT, it should be possible for any accountholder in good-standing to be eligible.
Many FW members are reporting that they received a special offer on their existing Citibank Professional card for 0% APR on purchases until August 1, 2008 with no promo code required. Some accounts appear to have already been automatically activated, while others will need to be activated either by calling customer service or registering online under special offers.
This appears to be a YMMV situation, as I checked my own account and no offer was available. This is a nice deal for those who are eligible.