ZYNC is a new card from American Express that is marketed to “young adults”.   In the library, the term young adult used to mean Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys (yes, I am old), but today it probably means Harry Potter or something vampire related.    My hunch is that to American Express, young adult probably means the college age to mid 20s crowd.     Their idea is that this is a charge card, and you are therefore required to pay your bill in full every month.

Why A Charge Card?

I have previous compared a charge card to driving a car with sharp objects placed on the dash.   You dare not screw up, as the results can be painful.     In the case of a charge card, carrying a balance means that you are in default, and there are much steeper penalties and interest rates than a typical credit card.     Really, the point is not the comparison to a credit card, the point is the comparison to a debit card.    Debit cards are growing in popularity these days, especially among the younger set.   Short of overdraft fees, you can’t really go into debt with a debit card like you can with a credit card.    According to Ron Lieber at the New York Times, Amex believes that a charge card is an attractive offering that combines the positives of a debit card with the credit building potential of a credit card.

The Pitch

The marketing of the card is all about customization of it’s features, which is, like, you know, all the rage these days.    The card features a low $25 per year annual fee, but you can add up to four custom “packs” for additional benefits, for $20 each (the “Eco Pack” is free).   They have cool names such as “on the go” and the most important features of each pack are double Membership Rewards points in various categories.     Amex promises there will be more “packs” in the future.

What Do I Think?

First, I invite you to check out MrCreditCard’s earlier review of the card.   I am not much for flashy marketing and buzzwords,  but I already disclosed that I am not part of the target market.    I am also not a fan of debit cards, as I like the rewards and protections that credit cards offer, not to mention the free float, the interest free period before payment is due.    I am a fervent devotee of always paying my balance in full, so charge card vs. credit card is a meaningless distinction for me.    However, if holding a charge card is the difference between paying your balance in full and saying, “What the heck” and racking up interest, then a charge card is definitely for you.     If you are the kind of person who just can’t manage to keep your spending below your ability to pay your entire balance every month, you should probably stick with a debit card.

As for the rewards aspect, the Membership Rewards program is top notch in both flexibility and value.    Sure, some rewards have more value than others, but they are second only to the Starwood Amex in the number of airline transfer options, which is their highest value reward option in my opinion.     As for the “packs”, these are a neat idea, but choosing one or more brings the annual fee up to or beyond where their other charge cards are.   The question you need to ask yourself is, will the additional points gained in the particular pack justify the $20 spent.    I would figure that a Membership Rewards point is worth about 2 cents each, so you would need to spend over a $1,000 a year in the particular category to get your money’s worth.

Just remember, Membership Rewards is a proprietary point program owned by Amex.    Cancel your card, get canceled by Amex, or run afoul of their rules means you could forfeit all of your rewards.    With a program like the Starwood Amex, the points are with Starwood Hotels.   Like other airline and hotel loyalty points programs, they really don’t care if you and Amex aren’t getting along.    This is one of the reasons I remain loyal to the Starwood Amex.     That said, Starwood works for me and my spending and reward needs.    The Membership Rewards program is still great, and may work better for you and your needs.

Consider that a qualified endorsement of Amex’s newest offering.

This is a guest post from Austin, who lives in Japan where he teaches English and blogs about personal finance. Follow his money journey at Foreigner’s Finances. I aked him to contribute a post here because it seems that not every country in the world has caught on to our debt addiction habit. Perhaps we can learn something from them. Remember that Japan has had literally 0% interest rate for years and yet did not catch on to our real estate boom or credit card boom! They had theirs 30 years ago!

When I moved to Japan in July, I was expecting to experience some differences in how America and Japan handled money.

For the most part, I got them.

Japan is mostly a cash society which meant goodbye efficient credit cards and hello piles of change that never seem to go away. There’s also the bank book – a check register that every person is issued with their bank account that is bloaty and reminiscent of banking in 1992.

On the other hand, there were some positive surprises that I didn’t expect to witness. As an American I’m used to people being bad with their money. We can just never learn how to handle our finances properly as a country.

In Japan, it seems the majority of the population has a little better handle on their money. The Japanese are notoriously more frugal and take on less debt per person compared to other large industrialized countries.

As I spend more time in Japan – up to 6 months now – I’ve noticed some personality traits of the Japanese that could be the reason for their improved money habits.

The more I thought about these 4 habits, I also realized that these traits could apply to someone who is attempting to defeat credit card debt. Let’s dive into these 4 cultural traits of the Japanese, and learn how they could help you better understand, and defeat credit card debt.

Patience

The Japanese take time to think and analyze situations instead of reacting immediately like most western countries. If you ask a Japanese person a difficult question, they will sit and silently think for up to ten seconds in order to provide the perfect response. They aren’t afraid of silence like other countries, and this creates analyzed plans of attack for difficult situations.

To defeat credit card debt, you also need a well thought out plan.

You can’t create outrageous and unrealistic plans like, “I’m spending $12 a month for 7 years so I can defeat my debt!” It won’t work because the enthusiasm will wear off and your morale will suffer. Instead, take some time and really analyze your debt situation.

Grab a pen and pencil and run the numbers. How much do you have? Where is it? How much can you afford to pay off every month? Give your debt situation the time it deserves and attack it appropriately so you can do away with it for good.

Hard work

Before arriving in Japan, I had heard that the Japanese workers had more days off than Americans. That may be true, but they work much harder and longer.

The word that describes their work ethic the best is resilient.

The Japanese can suffer poor conditions in work or life, and be fine with it. They can work 13 hours a day and be fine. They can fall asleep on a busy train and sleep soundly. It’s quite amazing. They power through, get the work done, and move on.

This may not fit your working philosophy, but it’s a lesson you can transfer as you try to defeat credit card debt.

Perhaps, a second job will provide you extra income to defeat your debt. Have you been procrastinating asking your boss for that much deserved raise? Are you wasting time by not getting your finances in order, even though you know you have a problem?

Work hard. Pay off debt. Live free. Enjoy life.

Pride

Losing face is a no-no in Japan. Often teachers won’t discipline students in front of their peers, instead opting to take them aside in private and scold them so they don’t embarrass the individual.

The Japanese have a respect and pride in the individual.

You also must have pride in yourself to defeat credit card debt. If you wear boots, pull up those boot straps and realize you can defeat debt. People overcome huge piles of debt every day, and they’re situations are no different than yours. Realize you deserve better, and your bank accounts deserve better.

A credit card debt free life is one that will provide pride and open up many parts of your life for the better.

Endure

One of my pet peeves is when people go on Facebook and complain about their money situations. No one wants to hear it, and you just look lazy that you’re too busy complaining about your money troubles online, instead of getting a second job or working your butt of to fix your problem.

The Japanese don’t complain – they endure. They cram 125 million people onto an island the size of California. They have horrible weather that is rainy, snowy, and windy for most of the year.

But they make do.

This is the cards they were dealt and they learn to love it.

Every one needs to let out some negative energy every once and a while, but repeated complaints get you no where and only prolong your poor situation.

Instead, do away with the complaints and get to creating a plan to overcome your credit card debt situation.

Your friends will thank you and offer their support when they notice your attitude change.

I expected to learn a lot of things from my time spent in Japan. Analyzing the cultural personality traits of the Japanese and using the lessons to inform people stuck in credit card debt was not one I expected.

Regardless, inspiration is needed and hopefully these 4 characteristics will make you look at your situation in a new light.

Good luck and get to work!