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As per the other comments, I stand corrected in terms of being able to transfer points to other programs. Glad to know that points can be used for statement credit, but given the amount of points needed, I think I'll forgo doing that. Honestly, I am really liking my Barclays Priceline card in terms of rewards. I chose the "grocery" category in which to receive "double" points and I receive one point for everything else. (Plus 3x points on Priceline.com and 4x with name your own price). I received 5000 points when I received the card and I've already accumulated over 7300 points. Barclays' conversion is $10 for every 1,000 points, which is excellent IMO. So right now I have $73 towards statement credit. Not bad. I've had Discover just about the same amount of time and I only have $16 in Cashback rewards.
SO if you spend big on your Zync you can get a bunch of gift cards or statement credits? And if you have some of the packs it's double points?? Can't wait to get this card!!!
I noticed that Membership Rewards (Green, Gold, Gold Premiere Rewards, and Platinum) and Membership Rewards Express (Zync) are all the same points for redemption. The only difference is you can transfer to airline partners. *rolls eyes* In my opinion, Zync you earn rewards faster to a certain extend. I mean, I have the double points pack for cell, cable, telephone, and internet. That's almost $500/mo which is 1000 points. I'd only get 500 in the other program. Also, I get double points on restauraunts and I think clothing stores. I can't remember...I run *everything* through it so it makes it worth while. However, I will be switching to Chase Sapphire Preferred so I can get my 50,000 bonus points.
I personally think you earn faster on Zync and you pay less than the other charge cards. But it may just work out that way for me.
@LS2982 wrote:
@laboi_22 wrote:
You can use points to pay for card charges. I used points to pay for my AF of $25. It costs me close to 4000 points which is insane since that's worth about $40 in gift cards. The green card is the same except you can transfer points earned to frequent flyer programs with the Zync you can not do that. This is the only differenceSo pretty much they're prime cards is where you get cash rewards?
If gift cards and cash are the kind of rewards you are interested in, you're much better off going with cash back cards. The true value of the membership rewards program is the ability to transfer the points into frequent flier programs. And then, the best value is for redeeming your points for business/first class tickets or possibly last minute coach tickets. As a very quick high level overview, let's assume you are interested in a $6,000 business class ticket to Europe. If you were using a cash back card, even one that earned 2% on everything, you'd have to spend $300,000 on your card to get that ticket. Capital One's Venture card would be an example. But with frequent flier miles, that ticket can often be had for 100,000 miles. Even if you're only earning 1 mile per dollar, you'll get that with $100,000 spend. Amex frequently runs bonus point transfers, like 50% bonuses for transfers to Delta. With a bonus like that, you'd only need about 67K MR points for the ticket. So you're down to $67K spend at a 1 point to $1 earn rate, versus the $300K spend you'd need on a 2% cash back card.
To take it a bit further, there are plenty of ways to earn better than 1 point to $1. For example, Amex PR Gold gives 3x on airfare, 2x on gas/groceries, and a 15K bonus for $30K spend. It's difficult to try to figure exactly what you'd need to put on this card to get to the 67K MR points. But to give some rough numbers, let's say you put $30K on that card in a year, with half in bonus categories: $12K on gas/groceries, $3K on airfare. That would net you 9K points for airfaire, 24K points for gas/groceries, 15K points for everyday spend, and 15K bonus points for hitting the threshhold. Total points 63K points. You're 4K points shy. Let's say you make that up on everyday spend, it took you $34K spend to earn a $6K ticket. Again, that's compared to $300K spend it would take on the Venture card. This is why people like frequent flier miles.
To be fair, I'm never going to come out of pocket $6K for that ticket. So it's not quite the same as having earned $6K in cash back. But having these points lets me experience travel that I wouldn't otherwise experience.
@LS2982 wrote:SO if you spend big on your Zync you can get a bunch of gift cards or statement credits? And if you have some of the packs it's double points?? Can't wait to get this card!!!
Yes. It's actually my favorite card to run all expenses through except for gas and groceries. For that I get better return on my BofA which is strictly cash back. Also read the terms and conditions for each pack since there are earning caps usually 5000 for bonus points. In the end however its an awesome card. You also get good deals on travel and can pay with points. You just can't transfer points to frequent flyer programs with the Zync. You can also use your points to shop at amazon.com. This is my favorite card by far. It's also very pretty and it come equipped with expresspay which I love!
Can you redeem airline tickets from southwest with AMEX?
Rewards on zync is subpar, imo. To redeem for statement credit 1 MR express point = 0.5 cent. 0.5% back is clearly behind what other cards could offer. I can get much better CB% from my FIA fidelity amex or barclay travelocity. While it's great to start establishing history with Amex, I think that's as far as zync's usefulness goes.
@LS2982 wrote:
@ArisGreek wrote:Yes you can pay transactions with points but the conversion stinks. The best bet with the points are the giftcards. 2500 points = $25 for restaurants and retail gift cards. 1000 = $10, 5000 = $50, 10000 = $100. You can earn them quickly if you run enough stuff through. I made out like a bandit this year on Zync!!
Nice, I like the gift card rewards. Do you know if you can use your points for statement credits?
Not to mention that you get the 10000 points if you spend $250 in the first 3 months. Thats a good $100 gift card