With Credit Card offers in the mail everyday, why did I throw them all away and ASK for this card? Simple. More Cash in my pocket. I've received $292.61 in cash rebates since '95 when I first started using my Sunoco Master Card (Rebate Card). I expect to earn even more with my brand spanking new American Express Platinum Cash Rebate Card (AMEX for short).


How can companies offer rebates, anyway?
Credit Card offers are a cheaper than a dime a dozen these days. In fact, many credit cards offer you FREE GIFTS just for getting their card. Why? Because they make money every time you make a purchase - even if you never make an interest payment or finance charge! I learned this a few years ago at a local bookstore. The owner/clerk informed me one day that she is charged a percentage of each purchase that is made. This is what she pays for the benefit of being able to service credit cards in her store. I think it was something like 4%. I was frankly surprised. So that's why credit card companies are lining up to offer me their service.


The search was on
Well, I figure, if they want to share some of that money with me, more the merrier. Sunoco was my first rebate card. But when Sunoco recently quit offering their rebates, I knew it was time to start shopping around. At first I assumed I would grab a Discover card, since they offer 1% back, depending on the level of spending. But I looked through Epinions and located three excellent reviews -- check them out: 'Almighty' (didn't recommend AMEX), 'rpllingrock', and 'shanewho'.

I also checked out American Express's very excellent website at www.americanexpress.com. They gave side-by-side comparisons of their various cards, and have a question/answer interface to help you select their best card (they actually have over a dozen, along with several rebate cards). You can also apply for the card online, which is what I did. A week or so later, I received a personal call from AMEX to verify the information I had sent in (for security purposes),and to let me know that my new card was on the way.

What SOLD me on this card
1.
1.5 % rebate on annual purchases over $5,000 was the primary selling point. Sunoco had offered 4% on gas purchases, but only 1/2% on all others. Probably 95% of my purchases are not gasoline, so I'm better off with 1.5%. And the $5,000 level annually is not hard for me to reach.

2.
Customer Service and Internet Access.
Sunoco never had an internet site. And although they did have 24/7 Customer Support, you got charged $5 if you needed to make a payment over the phone (OK, so I forgot to get my payment in the mail a few times and needed to pay last minute). AMEX does this free of charge; either by phone or over the internet. The payment is taken directly out of your checking account. Also, you can check your balance online, as well as seeing individual transaction detail for each card that you have. My wife's transactions are kept separate from my transactions, although they come on the same bill. Lastly, this transaction information can be downloaded to Quicken, Microsoft Money, Excel, and many other programs.

What else do I like about this card?
I like their list of benefits:
1. 24/7 emergency assistance when you travel; including doctors, lawyers, inoculations, visa, etc.
2. Direct order of Travelers Cheques.
3. Guaranteed hold on hotel rooms.
4. Worldwide Travel Service Offices
5. Luggage Delay & Loss Protection Plan, in case your luggage is lost or damaged. You can be reimbursed up to $200 if your luggage is delayed more than 6 hours.
6. Purchase protection for damaged or stolen purchases.
7. Automatic one-year extension of warranties on purchases.
8. Travel Accident Insurance ($100,000).
9. No Annual Fee
10. No Transaction Fee on Balance transfers
11. Low Price Guarantee on purchases for 60 days.
12. Online fraud protection from unauthorized online charges.
13. Emergency Check cashing and card replacement.
14. Future: Free ISP for AMEX cardholders (www.amexol.com/)


What DON'T I like about his card
18.49% (after the 6 month introductory rate of 3.9%) is rather high interest rate among Credit Cards. If you carry a balance month-to-month, there are much better alternatives than this card. The rate is 21.49% for cash advances.

AMEX is not available in many stores. The only place I had to use my Visa instead of AMEX so far was at the Honda dealership.

Lower spending levels get less rebates. You only get .25% until you spend more than $2,000 annually, and until you spend $5,000 you will only get .5%. After $5,000 you get the 1.5%. Additionally, if you carry a balance over to the next month, you can get an extra .5%, for a total of 2%.

Yearly rebates instead of monthly. Waiting a full year to get your rebates seems rather long. Rebates are issued each February to active accounts.

Anything else you should know?
Boy, I can't think of a thing.
I gave this product a four star rating instead of the pristine 5-star because of it's limited access at many stores.


Recommended: Yes