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Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: sciAticA errAticA who wrote (15015)	6/8/2004 11:38:19 AM
From: yard_man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110194

>>Standard cash back is 2% - double other cards. << that really is attractive for discover, if like us -- you run almost all discretionary purchases through it and even some regular bills -- that and the convenience of paying over the internet (not auto-withdrawal) some other cards have higher rebates, but they are specific to their products, which doesn't count for much, IMO.

To: sciAticA errAticA who wrote (15015)	6/8/2004 4:38:02 PM
From: Elroy Jetson	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 110194

Thanks. I called Discover to learn the details of their program because of their wording "earn up to 2% cash-back" and "earn up to 10% cash-back on groceries". As you might suspect the operative word is "up to". Bank One pays a straight 1% on all purchases up to $65,000. So your maximum check each year is $650, then you use your other 1% cash-back card. I don't know of any card that pays more than 1%. Every card I check out that offers "up to 2% cash-back" is actually offering a cash rebate of 1% or less. What about Discover? Discover, like many cash back programs, rebates in tiers: 0.25% on the first $1,500; 0.5% on the second $1,500; and 1% on all purchases over $3,000 per year. So where is the 2% part? How does less than a 1% rebate become "up to 2%"? Discover explains it this way, Get up to double the value of your award with select Cashback Bonus Partners. Rather than take your 1% cash rebate, you can exchange it for "valuable offers" purported to be worth twice the value of the cash. novusnet.com What about that 10% cash-back on groceries? Well that's not exactly 10% either. During the months of April, May, and June of 2004, you can receive a 4% rebate when you shop for groceries at: NetGrocer; Peapod; ShopRite; and GiantEagle. Other grocers "at some locations" are also participating until July 1. This offer probably does not apply at your local grocery store. So that's a 4% discount at some grocers. Where does the 10% part come in? Well, you can trade in your temporary 4% rebate from these grocers for cash, or you can trade it in for "valuable offers" from these same grocers "worth up to 10%". Here's another explanation: banklady.com