{"id":1735,"date":"2008-11-11T23:55:28","date_gmt":"2008-11-11T23:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/?p=1735"},"modified":"2008-11-11T23:55:28","modified_gmt":"2008-11-11T23:55:28","slug":"i-cant-believe-i-fell-for-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/i-cant-believe-i-fell-for-it\/","title":{"rendered":"I Can’t Believe I Fell For It"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am really excited about the new Sony Camera that I bought. I purchased it from Sony’s direct sales website, SonyStyle.com<\/a>. It takes great pictures, and at $600, it is reasonably priced for an entry level DSLR. When I purchased it, I was presented with an offer to sign up for their Sony Rewards Credit card, offered by Chase bank. I was offered an immediate $150 statement credit, and one year, no interest financing, as well as free shipping. Finally, I was to receive 5 “Sony Points” to the dollar.<\/p>\n

Why Not?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why not, I thought. $150 in immediate saving is pretty good, and the “Sony Points” will add up quickly if I end up ordering addition accessories such as zoom lenses or an external flash. Sony Points are primarily good for Sony electronics, as well as some movie and music offerings.<\/p>\n

Beware Of Credit Card Companies Bearing Gifts<\/strong><\/p>\n

A few weeks after the camera arrives, I got an unexpected package in the mail from Sony. In it was a USB device that looked like a game show button. I dutifully plugged in the devise, and pressed the button. Then, my web browser opened up and took me to the Sony Rewards web site. There I was told that I would receive a 20% off coupon after my next purchase charged to my Sony card. Sounds great.<\/p>\n

Then It Hits Me<\/strong><\/p>\n

The next day, I bought lunch with my new Sony card. A week later, I received my first statement. Then it hits me. My “promotional interest rate” of 0% was good for the camera, but my subsequent charges will incur interest until the camera is paid off. D’oh! I fell for the oldest trick in the book!<\/p>\n

Thankfully, I have enough money to pay off my balance in full. I will pay off the $500 owed on the camera, after taxes and the statement credit, in order to avoid a year’s worth of interest on the $6 lunch.<\/p>\n

Does This Make Sense?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Probably not, but let’s see: $6.00 at an APR of 11% is only 66 cents of interest for the year. On the other hand, the $500 sitting in my bank account would earn 1.25%, or $6.25 over the next year. Even a money market savings account might have returned $10. The problem is, the only thing I hate more than carrying a balance is paying interest to credit card companies. I am also free to use the Sony card as a backup, without incurring interest.<\/p>\n

Why Did I Bother?<\/strong><\/p>\n

First, it is worth noting that Sony products are pretty much price fixed. No matter where I looked, any vaguely reputable dealer was selling this camera for the same price. Since I was saving $150, it would seem like I was receiving a good deal, but the more I think about it, the less I am convinced it was worth it. How could a free $150 not<\/em> be worth it? While the shipping was free, I did get hit with sales tax. Since Sony has a store in my home state, they must charge me tax on mail order purchases. My local tax rate is 8%, and it applies to the full $600. Remember, the $150 was a statement credit, not a discount from the sales price. If I had ordered from another company without a location in my state, like Amazon, there would have been no sales tax, and likely no shipping on a large item like that. So right there, my $150 savings is down to $106.<\/p>\n

Next, I could have gone to one of those frequent flier associated shopping links, such as Delta’s SkyMiles shopping <\/a>mall. There, I could have chosen from several electronics retailers that would have offered me 2 miles per dollar spent, no tax, and free shipping. If I figure that Delta SkyMiles are worth 2 cents per mile, then I gave up $12 worth of SkyMiles from the Skymiles Shopping alone. Then, add in another 1.25 miles on Delta or many other airlines that I would have missed out on from using my Starwood Amex. All told, I missed out on about $20 worth of miles in addition to the $46 in taxes, so I am really up only about $75, or about half of the $150 statement credit.<\/p>\n

When To Take A Sign Up Bonus<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lots of reward cards offer sign up bonuses. In fact, you can’t pay for anything at a department store without getting a credit card offer. No, I do not wish apply for a Target card in order to receive a 10% discount on my sock purchase today. With airline affiliated cards routinely offering tens of thousands of miles, often enough for a free trip, it is difficult to accept credit card offers from every place that you shop.<\/p>\n

While determining how many credit cards you can have before your credit score suffers is as much an art as a science, I don’t want to find out the hard way I have too many. I wanted to conserve the number of credit cards I have, yet I thought the $150 statement credit plus the year free financing was a good deal. In retrospect, I should have remembered the old American Express slogan, “Don’t Leave Home Without It.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am really excited about the new Sony Camera that I bought. I purchased it from Sony’s direct sales website, SonyStyle.com. It takes great pictures, and at $600, it is reasonably priced for an entry level DSLR. When I purchased it, I was presented with an offer to sign up for their Sony Rewards Credit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nI Can't Believe I Fell For It<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/i-cant-believe-i-fell-for-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I Can't Believe I Fell For It\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am really excited about the new Sony Camera that I bought. I purchased it from Sony’s direct sales website, SonyStyle.com. 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