I got Mrs Credit Card the Apple 80G iPod (white) for her birthday last year. She is now finally bugging me to get an Apple iPod docking station to charge and play music in the room with her iPod. So I checked my American Express membership rewards points and found out that I had over 70,000 points. I then decided to check the catalog, and at the same time check other credit card reward programs to see if I can find any good deals. Here are my discoveries :

AudioVox® Digital Clock Radio with Universal iPod®/MP3 Player Docking Station – This piece allows you to wake up to the sounds of your iPod®! It features ten preset AM stations/20 FM preset stations, six preset EQs, a dual alarm with individual wake up sounds, a back-up battery, the ability to charge your iPod® while docked, and a snooze function. 10,500 points are required.

iHomeâ„¢ Outloud Speaker System for iPod® – This dadget features high-fidelity Reson8 speaker technology, bass and treble controls, A/V out jack, line-in jack and mic-in jack with level controls and the ability to play when connected to AC wall current. 15,000 membership reward points is all you need.

Altec Lansing inMotionâ„¢ iM500 Super-Thin Portable Audio System for iPod® – This docking station is for the Nano (which I do not have). 18,000 points is what you need to get this. Design wise, it does not look very good to me. I’m also looking for a CD player as well.

Altec Lansing inMotionâ„¢ iM3 Portable Audio System for iPod®This paper-back-sized, ultra-portable, battery-operated stereo system. It has a highly efficient Class D amplifier powers four full-range micro drivers to deliver a full spectrum of pure, distinct sound, while the revolutionary MaxxBassâ„¢ technology allows listeners to enjoy deep bass without lugging around a subwoofer. 23,000 points will get you this gadget.

Altec Lansing inMotion iM9 Portable Audio System for iPod – This is how the membership rewards catalog describe this system : The iM9 speaker system is a good choice for the dorm room or any room. It’s compact, so it fits just about anywhere and is easy to carry. And it delivers high-volume, high-quality sound even in less-than-ideal surroundings. Shock-resistant, rubberized elements ensure durability. It comes with a rugged backpack-style carry bag. And it fits, syncs and charges all dockable iPods and links iPod video and iPod photo players to a TV set. You need 31,000 points for this.

Altec Lansing M602 Speaker System with iPod Dock – This one is apparantly more suitable if you wish to play your music in the living room. It requires 31,000 points. But as I’m also looking for an Apple iPod docking station with a CD player, I’d probably give this one a skip. Design wise, it looks a little one dimensional.

Altec Lansing inMotion iM7 Ultimate Portable Audio System for iPod® – This one requires 36,000 points. It has a built-in subwoofer and a remote control as well. I really like the design but this one does not have a CD player which I want.

Bose SoundDock Digital Music System – Comes with a remote control. 35,000 points required. This does not have a CD player, but I’ll defintely check this out because it is a Bose. But as I found out later, the Citi ThankYou Network requires less points!

iHomeâ„¢Shower to Beach Portable System for iPod® – This is a cute nifty little gadget that is waterproof and meant to be hooked over a shower curtain! 10,000 points is required for this.

iHomeâ„¢ Bike to Beach System for iPod® – 14,000 points gets you this gadget that plays music from your iPod® while biking! Features a tough water-resistant design, wireless remote control mount, Reson8 speaker technology, and charges iPod® when connected to included AC adapter.

iHomeâ„¢ Bookshelf Sound System for iPod® – Features a built-in iPod® dock, 32W total power, an AM/FM radio, a song display, composite and S-video outputs, and USB connectivity. Includes a remote control and cord to connect other audio devices. 26,000 points are required.

Sharp iPod® Stereo System With CD Player – Features slot-loading CD mechanism with MP3/WMA playback, AM/FM stereo digital tuner with 40-station random preset memory, alarm clock function, ability to charge iPod® while connected, side firing subwoofers with illumination and full range bass flex speakers. Remote control included. Available for 36,000 points.

JVC iPod® Cube Compact Stereo – The new JVC NXPS1 Ultra Compact MP3 Stereo includes 50 watts of total power with separate subwoofer. JVC claims this has pretty good sound quality for your Apple iPod® or Digital Audio Player. You need 46,500 points for this

I tend went over to Citi’s Thank You Redemption Network website and checked out what they had. This was what I found out. They also had a couple of the Altec Lansing Models that Amex had, but they did not have the Boss system. This is what they have that membership rewards does not have.

iHome2Go Portable Alarm Clock for iPod® Shuffle – 6,000 thank you points gets you this alarm clock that also functions as a iPod dock. This one actually looks quite slick. But I need something bigger, with a woofer and also a CD player. But this one looks really nice on your bedside table.

iHomeTM Alarm Clock with iPod® Dock – This gadget provides true bedside convenience with alarm clock that offers built-in dock to play and charge your iPod®. Wake to your favorite iPod® music, or buzzer! For this, you only need 6,600 points.

Homedics® iSOUNDSPATM w/iPod® Station – This is sleekly designed to charge your iPod® while it’s docked. It provides six relaxing nature sounds from quality speakers, plus projects the time in a soothing blue light. Also features AM/FM digital radio, large-digit LCD display, and dual alarm with snooze. You need 8,900 points to get this.

iLuvTM Portable AM/FM iPod® Docking Station – 10,800 points gets you this portable docking station plays music stored on your iPod®, plus conveniently charges your iPod®. Features AM/FM digital tuner, powerful built-in speakers, input for MP3 and CD players, remote, and AC/CD power adaptor.

iHomeTM Under Cabinet Kitchen Clock Radio – This cute little built-in docking station with removable insert allows playing and charging of all iPods®, including ShuffleTM. Offers iPod®, FM radio, and weather or TV channels listening, AM/FM digital tuner, and three-line display to show what’s playing when iPod® is hidden. You need 17,200 points to get this.

iLuvTM Mini Audio System W/iPod® Dock-Black – 17,800 points gets you this compact 2.1-channel audio system is compatible with all audio files stored on all iPods® – and the docking station conveniently charges your iPod® while in use. Offers MP3 playback, plus CD, CD-R/RW, and MP3 CD compatibility, AM/FM digital tuner, programmable presets, and LCD screen.

iHomeâ„¢ Portable Travel Alarm Clock for Ipod® – I have absolutely no interest in this one. Nevertheless, 12,300 points will get you this little wake up call! But I’ll give this a skip as I’m looking for a more powerful system with a CD player.

Sharper Image® iSphere ZipConnect Speaker System – 17,200 points gets you this system that plays music on your iPod, MP3 and your PC. This one looks really cool. But I would really like a CD player as well. Perhaps I might get this later.

iLuvTM 4CD Shelf System With Dock Station White – Features 4 CD/ MP3 CD Changer System with Built-in iPod® Docking System, AM/FM Digital Tuner, Motorized CD Door, Wall-mountable/ Floor-standing, and remote control. 25,100 points required.

Bose SoundDock Digital Music System – The membership rewards also has this at 35,000 points. The thank you network only requires 31,400 points. While Bose has such a brand and image attached to it, there is no CD player and I’ll probably give this a skip.

Altec Lansing® inMotionTMIMS Speaker System – This is designed exclusively for iPod®, tiny, portable stereo speakers deliver full-range sound including deep bass, and charge iPod® through built-in dock. You need 14,200 points to get this.

Altec Lansing inMotion IM7 Portable Audio System – This is just an iPod docker and speaker system only. No CDs or MP3s. But it has double sided woofers. You need 30,800 thank you points for this. This is much better than the 36,000 points that membership requires. However, what I do not like about this is that it does not have any CD player. And I have tons of CDs.

Altec Lansing inMotion iM9 Portable Audio System for iPod – While the membership rewards program requires 31,000 points to redeem this item, the Thank You Network only needs 22,600 points!.

Next, I decided to check the Worldpoints program from Bank of America.

iLiveâ„¢ iPod® Speaker/Radio Alarm Clock – 8,000 points gets you this alarm that wakes you up with tunes from iPod, radio or just a buzzer. This design looks pretty slick. But I’m personally looking for something a little bigger. I doubt if a alarm clock type iPod docking station will have a powerful system.

Sharper Image® CD/Stereo/iPod® System – 24,600 worldpoints get you this CD, MP3 and iPod player. However, I do not really like this design as it does not look very slick. I’d probably give this a miss. I’ll also go for something more powerful as well.

Logitech® Portable iPod® Speaker – This portable iPod and MP3 player requires 11,000 points. It is rather small and looks a little flimsy. I’d probably go for something bigger and more powerful. I would really like one with a built in woofer.

iLiveâ„¢ Portable CD Player with iPod® Dock – 11,300 points gets you this iPod, MP3 and CD player. Though this has a CD player as well, I’d probably give this a skip as I’m looking for something bigger that can fill my living room.

Homedics® Sound Machine Clock/Radio w/iPod® Dock – This gadget charges your iPod and at the same time allows you to listen to the radio and is an alarm clock. This set requires 12,000 points, which is considerably more than the 8,900 points that the ThankYou points requires.

Bose SoundDock Digital Music System – Among the three reward programs, the Worldpoints require the most points to redeem for this item, 42,300 points. This is way much more than both the membership rewards and thankyou network programs.

I then checked my good old Chase Flexible Rewards program and to my disappointment, there were only 5 electronic items!

At this stage, I am not too sure which one I am going to get. I am glad that my memberhsip rewards has a decent catalog though I wish they require less points like the ThankYou Network from citibank. I’m sure glad I do not use the Bank of America Worldpoints card.

I thought this was a good exercise for me going through the choices available in the major credit card reward programs. Both the Membership Rewards and the Citi ThankYou Network program have 13 iPod docking stations. Both have a good variety of choices. But on the items that they both have, the ThankYou Network requires fewer points than the Membership Rewards.

Though the Worldpoints program has a few choices, I was a little disappointed with the number of choices. They also require more points than both the ThankYou Network and the Membership Rewards program. The Chase Flexibe Rewards did not have anything at all. The Chase Rewards is best for airline tickets, but not for their merchandize rewards.

Presently, I used the Amex Platinum Card and the Business Gold Rewards Card from OPEN^SM the small business team. So I will be using my membership rewards to get one of the items from the catalog. I also have the Citi® Professional^SM Card with Thank You^SM Network, but have not really been using it.

I think I will be getting the Sharp with the CD Player. I hope you have found this post interesting. Please give me some tips if you have got any one of these iPod docking stations.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 27th, 2007 at 01:18 and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.