A credit decision made.
May 5th, 2008
Yesterday I was lamenting the fact that I didn’t know how to pay for this camcorder I wanted to buy. More specifically, which credit card to use. I finally decided on the Alaska Airlines Signature Visa but first I needed to apply and be approved for the card. There were several factors that went into me choosing this card over the others.
To remind you, I was deciding between three cards, my Amazon.com Visa, American Express and the Alaska Airlines Signature Visa. I have been using the Amazon.com card for years and it has been a very nice card. Every once in a awhile they would send me a $25 gift certificate because I accrued enough points. This camcorder purchase would most certainly give me enough points to earn another gift certificate.
The American Express card offers really great consumer benefits. These consumer benefits include Purchase Protection which protects your purchases from accidental damage and theft on eleigble purchase for up to 90 days. Another benefit is the Extended Warranties. American Express will tack on up to an additional year of warranty coverage. Finally they also offer Return Protection. In the event that the store won’t return an item within 90 days, American Express will refund up to $300 of the item. For an item like a camcorder, I was seriously thinking about using American Express.
Finally there was the Alaska Airlines Signature Visa. Even though this card has a $75 annual fee, you get an insane number of benefits. In addition to the 20,000 bonus miles for being approved for the card I also get a $50 round-trip Companion Ticket every year. Since my mom and I travel to Disneyland or Disney World every year this dramatically reduces the cost of airfare, so much so that this year we were able to upgrade to first class. That alone is worth the $75 annual fee.
There are of course other features, but for what I am doing with my life right now, the Miles card is the best choice and offers me the benefits I will most likely use. There was a time when I didn’t understand the appeal of the cards, now I get it. I just need to get the card or at least my account number so I can order the camera. Next up, laptop.
Tags: credit cards
