Who knew that Americans could get a credit card for plastic surgery or
receive one with a $25,000 USD monthly sweepstakes. Of course, with
upwards of 900 million debit and credit cards in use in the USA, there
are bound to be a few just plain weird and wacky offers available.
In this two-part series, I give you 10 of of the most unusual US credit
cards.
Will Canadian credit card companies follow their American counterparts?
Normally I just cover Canadian credit issues. But occassionally trends
down south in the land of opportunity point to future developments here
in Canada.
Take quirky credit cards for instance. None of these unusual deals are
currently available to Canadians, but trust me it's only a matter of
time before some of these strange offers migrate here from the United
States of America.
For instance, who knew that Americans can get a credit card for plastic surgery or
receive one with a $25,000 USD monthly sweepstakes. Of course, with
upwards of 900 million debit and credit cards in use in the USA (the
total for American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Discover Card and Diners
Club, according to the credit industry newsletter Nilson Report), there
are bound to be a few just plain weird and wonderful offers available.
In this two-part series, I give you 10 of of the wackiest US credit
cards:
1. Perfect Plastic
With botox and liposuction now as common as teeth whitening, it only
makes sense for a credit card company to target plastic-surgery
patients.
CareCredit, issued by General Electric Consumer Finance, aims for
consumers trying to finance various cosmetic procedures not covered by
health insurance, including plastic surgery, laser eye correction,
hearing aids, dental treatments and even veterinary expenses for the
family pet.
Applications are available at participating doctors' offices. Approved
applicants, based on their credit rating, receive a credit limit equal
to the amount needed for the specific medical procedure being financed.
However, the care card can be used for additional procedures, and the
limit will be increased as needed.
2. Show Off the New You!
Of course, once you've had your extreme makeover, you want to show off
your before and after pictures. What better way than on your credit
card? That's right, the aptly named "One of a Card" lets you choose
your own image or drawing to put on the card's front. (You can change
the images as often as you'd like - after every operation for instance
- but it costs $4.95 per image after the first two.) Card features
include a choice of travel or cash-back rewards, a student card that
offers 10% discounts on textbooks and other supplies, and one that
carries a low APR on balance transfers.
What's next in our plastic society?
3. Upfront Rewards
Everyone knows most Americans are not patient people at the best of
times. In an instant society, no one wants to wait to accumulate enough
points to redeem a reward. So naturally now Americans can get rewarded
as soon as they open a credit card? The Upfront Reward Visa Platinum
card, issued by Milwaukee-based Universal Savings Bank, gives away Dell
Inspiron 1200 notebook computer ($800 USD value) to anyone who approved
for an account. Of course there are some catches, such as making a
balance transfer of $5,000 and maintaining it for 18 months at a
pre-set APR of 9.9%. So like most things in life, nothing is actually
free. But hey at least you get a PC out of the deal.
4. Winning The American Dream
Pursuing the American Dream? It's made possible by a huge monthly
jackpot using this credit card. For every dollar charged on the
American DreamCard, cardholders get one entry in a monthly drawing to
win a $25,000 USD jackpot (to a maximum of 1,000 entries per
transaction). The card's bank issuer, Direct Merchants Credit Card Bank
in Phoenix, Arizona, wants its members to spread the word: For each
referral who becomes a cardholder, there are an 1,000 extra entries
given in the next drawing. In addition, there an additional 100 entries
each time the credit card bill is paid online. CardWeb.com, a leading
credit card information web site, ranked the American DreamCard among
its Top 10 most innovative credit cards.
5. Insure Yourself
After you've won the $25,000 and spend it all, you may want to insure
your new possessions. How does earning rewards for your insurance
premiums sound? Commerce Insurance has started offering Visa Extras
points to its customers in New Jersey. Points accumulate through a
Commerce Bank Visa check card or credit card enrolled in the Visa
Extras program. Bank customers receive 2,000 bonus points for each new
policy (auto, home owners, umbrella, watercraft/boat and flood policies
qualify) and one point for each dollar of their total premium, up to
11,000 points per year. North Americans love reward programs such as
air miles and cash back, why not points for insurace. This one would be
great in Canada.
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