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Unlike traditional rewards programs in which cardholders trade points for cash, airline miles, gift cards, or other rewards, the new pairing will allow cardholders to use rewards points to purchase virtual goods in online games like Farmville.
American Express marks the first time that virtual goods are available for purchase with rewards points and reinforces our commitment to offer consumers meaningful experiences that enhance their game play,” said Vishal Makhijani, Zynga’s business operations SVP. “Cardmembers can instantly redeem their reward points to purchase limited edition virtual goods.
Rewards are virtual objects to spruce up your online farm or cafe: a purple cow, for instance, or a Café World Amex Lightning Stove. The “cost” ranges from 200 points into thousands of points. Users can also earn game cards that have a monetary value—$2 for 200 points up to $50 for 5000—and use them to buy virtual goods with in-game credit, too. Because the “cost” of the virtual goods is relatively low, cardholders can redeem their points for a far greater number of cyber goods.
Although Zynga has already begun expanding their business by partnering with 7/11 to sell gift cards to their online store. In another recent joint venture, it may seem unlikely that a luxury brand like Amex would team up with a young and distinctively non-elitist company like Zynga, but the numbers pack some punch: 225 million people play Zynga’s games every month. Additionally, the demographics of the two companies overlap: most Amex holders are women, and many Zynga customers are older women as well as mothers of children playing Zynga games.
Only members with the highest credit limits or those who had their cards for long periods of time could expect to receive anything from the credit card companies. Often, rewards would come in the form of gift cheques or something a bit more tangible, like luggage. These days, the majority of companies have several different reward cards that people can apply for. In cases such as the Discover Card, the reward is actually money. A person receives a percentage of his expenditures, so each time he uses the card he is increasing the size of the payment he will get back. Other reward cards offer people discounts at certain hotels, restaurants, and gas stations. You now have a more immediate reward or bonus on the latest lure from credit card companies including $50.
Assess Your Option
A person who doesn't own a car is not going to benefit from a card that rewards spending on gasoline. Likewise, someone who rarely travels will not reap many rewards from a frequent-flyer miles card. Of course for the rest of us, who travel as frequently as possible.
Most major airlines have had some form of frequent flier program in place for years. However, gaining miles was dependent on flying, so most people could not actually benefit from a membership. In order to get more people involved, and ultimately to get more people flying, airlines have teamed up with credit card companies to develop a variety of travel reward cards. People are usually given a large number (anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000) of bonus miles just for signing on. After that, members receive one mile for every dollar they spend on the card. Some companies will grant double miles when cards are used for purchasing specific items. The travel reward card has allowed both the credit card companies and the airlines to attract new customers.
Transfer Credit Cards have became big over the last several years because not only do they keep you away from higher interest on your current credit cards but they earn you some rewards in some cases for the transfers. With Balance Transfer credit cards there are many fees you need to look at before you make the move. One of the most popular cards that do not have a balance transfer fee is the AT&T Universal MasterCard. If you are not concerned about the balance transfer fee then you can also pick a 0% APR credit card offer for 12 months from Citibank, Chase, or Discover. Most cards charge a 3% balance transfer fee so make sure you ask the credit card companies customer service before you make the transfer.
