Chase + GreatFun Marketing Letter
by Mr Credit CardI normally get joint marketing mails from American Express with their other merchant partners. Today, I got a mail from Chase!
On the face of it, they ‘wrote’ me a check of $8.50. Yes, a pathetic eight dollars and fifty cents. Being who I am (Mr Credit Card), I decided to investigate further. I opened the letter and this was what I saw :
First, I saw the following headline :
2% Back on Your Credit Card Purchases
Wow! I thought Chase was offering a card upgrade or something. However, upon further reading, I found out that Chase has partnered with “Greatfun”. I turns out that if I cashed in that check, then I can earn 2% cash rebates for up to the first $5000 of purchases on my Chase credit card. That means that I could earn up to $100.
But that is not all, it went on to say that I will be entitled to discounts with certain merchants like Sharper Image (thought they went bust?), Eddie Bauer etc. ut here is the catch :
“When you cash the attached check, we will automatically bill the first semi-annual fee of $59.99 to your Chase credit card account for a membership in Great Fun, unless you call 1-877-228-2667 to cancel during the thirty-day trial period.”
So let me get this straight, I am given $8.50, but have to pay back $59.99 immediately? The I have to pay that amount every six months. But as a consolation, I’ll get a $100 rebate but only if I spend an additional $5,000 on my card!
Needless to say, I passed on this “offer”. You can get discounts on merchants from the merchants themselves, from coupons and also from reward credit cards. To actually have to pay for a membership (about $120 a year) just to get discounts seems a little silly. How did this proposal even get past the marketing department of credit card companies beats me!
July 9th, 2009 at 15:36
Beware of receiving unexpected checks in the mail.
I received a $8.25 check in the mail today. Very nice but I was unaware that I was supposed to get one. It looks like a regular check.
However, when I looked at the small print on the front of it, I noticed it read, “By cashing or depositing this check you are purchasing a membership in Great Fun.”
To find out what that Great Fun meant, I looked on the backside of the check. Once more in small print, it read “When you cash or deposit the enclosed check, we will automatically charge the $149.99 annual fee.”