Great if you're a big sony fan (Sony card)

Member Name: fuzzibear

Product:	Sony card
Date:	10/05/04 (420 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free stuff

Disadvantages: APR

I admit, I got this card for the reason that. From the advertisement I saw online, it came with a free walkman, & I at that time needed one....

However, when the card arrived, I decided to keep it, and have yet to claim anything from the pulsebeats.

Pulsebeats are Sonycard's loyalty scheme. You get 1 pulsebeat for every pound spent, and you receive a catalogue where you can send for different sonly products when you have collected enough points. These include CD's, DVD's, and Sony electronic equipment. Currently when you apply for a Sonycard, you receive 2000 pulsebeats, which will buy you a CD, for example Beyonce's Dangerously in love is 1600 pulsebeats. It's not the best loyalty scheme, as it is limited, but its nice getting something back for your spending. Most people will find something they like in the catalogue. You can also receive triple pulsebeats on Sony products bought with the card.

Another advantage of the Sonycard is the 0% offer available for balance transfers on the card, ideal for all the rate tarts out there. There is a 15.9 APR on this card, which is slightly higher than most (Tesco and marbles are 14.9% and egg is 13.9%). There is up to 59 days interest free credit on the card for those who pay off the balance in full monthly. I did get an offer about a year ago with 1.5% APR for 6 months on balance transfers, but that seemed to be a one off offer.

Sonycard also have competitions some months to win various Sony products.

Customer services are always friendly. I have had to phone up a few times, and every time the queues haven't been that long and the staff are always friendly and know what they're doing.

Sonycards are also distinctive, with their bluey silver design, and really stand out from many other credit cards.

Sonycard have also started online access for those with a Sonycard. However, I have yet to use this, so am unable to comment on this.


Overall, this card is only ideal for 2 groups of people, those who are big fans of Sony, and like the idea of free products, although, you need to spend a lot on the card to get anything decent. For example a video recorder is 18000 pulsebeats, and a recordable DVD is a whopping 80000 points. The 0% deal is only really an advantage for rate tarts.

I, however, knowing that I can get better rates elsewhere and having cleared the balance of the Sonycard, will probably cancel the card once I redeem my pulsebeats. It has its advantages, but none that persuade me to keep the card.

Summary: