Music to your finances? (Sony card)

Member Name: limbo7

Product:	Sony card
Date:	01/07/07 (159 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Earn points while you spend

Disadvantages: Need to spend a lot

The Sony Card is an American Express credit card from MBNA. It is basically a reward card earning you one Sony Pulse Beat for every pound you spend (triple points if you buy Sony products).

The trick is to find a link where you are guaranteed points as soon as you sign up. If you go through Sony site you will only receive 4000 points but when I signed up moneysavingexpert (see earlier review) had a link with 8200 points but this now seems to have been withdrawawn.

The basics are as follows but should be checked on the official site.

0% pa on balance transfers for 12 months (3% handling fee)
0% pa on card purchases for 3 months
15.9% APR (typical rate)
No annual fee

You can access your account on line and there are competitions and you can sign up to an eNewsletter to receive exclusive offers and the latest product info.

Here are some current examples of what you can redeem your points for.

CD's - Too many to name but most current releases (pop, jazz classical from 1100 to 1700 Beats each.

DVD Movies - Again too many to name but mostly from 1300 to 1500 Beats

Games - Silver PS2 console 21,000 or 9,870 (Beats) & £74.02. Slim PS2 Console 19,000 or 8,930 (Beats) & £66.97 or €98,46 (Cash)
PS2 Dual Shock Controller Standard controller for PS2 featuring full digital and analog capability and dual shock vibration function 3,200 Beats
or 1,880 (Beats) & £14.09

Electronics - Hand held radio 1200 Beats, Headphones 1700 Beats, MP3 players 8200 to 17000 Beats. DAB radio walkman 16000 Beats

For a full list visit the website and work out if the card is worth it for you. You could of course just sign up for the opening offer and redeem your points then hang on to see if there are any further offers available, while still using another card. I would have thought a standard cashback card would be better for most people for main purchases.

One thing that I did not like is that they send you credit card cheques whether or not you want them. Although they promised that my account had been noted not to send anymore they still continue to send the cheques.

To conclude, if you cannot find a good opening offer you should avoid this card.

Summary: Good idea but check other cards first.