Update: Several GameCyte readers are having friction with Chase National Bank in sorting out the several confusing offers availableat this time. Caveat emptor, and you can read full details in the comments below.
Original Story:
Pop quiz: Which is the cheapest current-gen home console? If you said the $250 Nintendo Wii, you'd be wrong -- it's actually the $200 Xbox 360 Arcade, which eschews the hard drive, headset and premium cables of its Pro cousin to shed a full $100 off of the regular price.
But though the entry-level 80GB PlayStation 3 usually clocks in at nearly twice that last price -- with "no plans" for a March price cut -- a new Sony offer will put the PS3 in a very close third-place finish with its rivals. If you're willing and able to sign up for the new Sony PlayStation credit card, you can get a PS3 shipped to your door for exactly $284.
While I would not advocate credit even if the US financial market wasn't currently in death throes due to its mismanagement (I avoid credit cards as a matter of principle) for those who don't feel similarly bound this actually appears to be a pretty good deal. There's no annual fee, the standard APR is 11% variable, and there don't appear to be any unusually nasty penalties -- aside from the standard 30% default rate should you fail to make a payment, or go over the credit limit.
As far as we can tell, the $150 isn't a credit that is applied to your card days or weeks after the purchase, either -- Sony is touting this as an instant credit that translates directly into a reduced price for the PS3.
The offer expires December 31st, but is obviously timed to take advantage of the Black Friday spirits. Do you plan to take Sony up on this offer?
Because I know some people are going to think of doing it, I'll go ahead and say it now:
Don't sign up for a credit card, use it for the bonus, and then cancel it. Cut it up, hide it if you need to and don't want another piece of plastic in your wallet, but do NOT sign up, get the PS3, and cancel.
Sell your old PS3 (40GB or 20GB) at GameStop an use the card, I'm selling my 40GB an some games to have 240 at GameStop on top with the 150 from the card. This means I will be paying less for the 500GB..I mean 160GB
Sign up for the Credit Card, but don't cancel it, you'll screw up your credit score if you open credit and shorten its lifespan by cutting it short. Immediately pay off the balance of the PS3 and you'll have a clean card, remember it only has to be used twice to be considered an active account. The credit score is based on the lifetime of an account along with a calculation based on credit used to total credit allowed.
You probably won't be able to get a $250 PS3 for year or more so, if you bite the bait make sure you stay responsible because there is no bailout for us taxpayers.
I signed up for this promotion in 2007 and it worked great! Its an awesome deal. And its even better now since they are giving it as an instant credit. I had to wait 6 weeks for the credit to show. So if you are looking to buy a PS3 you can't beat this!
Mashimato is correct about immediately canceling it, but you would actually want to make monthly payments for a minimum of six months if you want to REALLY build your credit score. While paying things off immediately doesn't hurt your credit score, it doesn't help it either.
However, I'd avoid this credit card! The 11% APR is absurd! That is, for person with a rather pristine and excellent credit score, like mine.
If I was at all interested in damaging my credit score with a new credit card, I would probably get the ps3, sell it for 150 profit, and go fetch a "50 dollar" xbox 360.
I'm planning on getting the card, with their interest free offer for 12 months. Buying the PS3 for $150 off, and paying the minimum ($15/month) until the end of the 12 months at which time I will cancel. That only helps my credit and I get a seriously discounted PS3 and pay not interest ever. Sounds like a Win-Win to me!
If the "use it twice to make the account active" is true...get $300, get the card, buy the PS3, pay it off. Then buy a game, pay it off. Never look at the card again.
We (wife and I) currently have 3 cards. All are active, only 1 has a balance, and that is usually paid off every month. The other two are for emergencies and collect dust. Point: If you have the willpower, ignoring an "empty" credit card is sometimes your best bet.
Must Buy More Sony Things @_@ lol I'm going to do my idea if I get the card or if I don't get it on time then I'll use it to get a PS3 for a friend and I'm most likely going to keep the card but cancel one of my others one. I'm mostly going to use it to help get my credit up again (No thanks to Alltel) and get me that Sony tv I been wanting as well as some home thether system(Can't spell tonight lol) and that be pretty much my plans on using the card.
In my 3rd day of talking to every support person at SonyRewards and Chase bank trying to take advantage of this offer. The offer makes it sound like you can take advantage instantly but I may have to wait until the card actually arrives to register for the offer. Hope it's gets here in time for X-mas.
I got the letter saying I couldn't because of my other cards, it wasn't a shock an more of the lines I was hoping to get it to pay less on the 160GB PS3 but oh well. I will sign up for it again after my cards are paid and I will use it for a new Sony Tv.
OK after two rounds of telephone hot potato and a bunch of google searches I discovered there are at least 3 different links for this offer. One let's you get the card and then when you get it use it to buy a PS3 at an authorized retailer. The other 2 are for an instant purchase. One of those two links is messed up.... the other worked like a charm. Once you are instantly approved for the card you are supposed to "Redeem" your offer. Well the bad link did not take me through the instant purchase offer and the other did. Makes me suspect they have a bad link so you end up with a credit card you don't need/want and no discounted PS3!! Can't believe I wasted about 5 hours of my life with this..... plus Shipping is NOT included and they charged almost $35.... better be 2nd day air!!! SO you get a PS3 for $283 not $249!
I think the idea was not to order it from online, because you can't stop playing for shipping no matter what -_- that is were you mess up at and I think the deal was mostly for going to Best Buy or GameStop to get a PS3 an not order it from online.
I agree... but then you have to wait at least 2 weeks until the Card arrives in the Mail. Then you need to find a local store that has it in stock (Before 12/31/08). Plus you have to get the 3rd link (Not listed above) that allows you to do that, and you have to discover that BEFORE you are approved for the card thru the instant deal. (I am not going to stretch my credit anymore right now to apply that way as well)
Well kiddies the lesson here is you don't ever get nothin for free! Where I guess all things being equal the shipping costs are about the same as my State Sales tax anyway...... no tax for the online purchase.
Does anyone know how long it will take sonyrewards to actually ship the PS3? I went through the instant approval route, ordered the ps3. I got confirmation, and then it said it would take two weeks to ship. Seems like crap for $34, but my main problem is there is no page where you can check the status of your order. I'm thinking that since this is a special offer, Sony is in no hurry to ship the thing. Has anyone successfully received a ps3 from this offer and how long did it take you to get it?
I personally find the way this promotion was handled completely unacceptable. I agree there are several offers out there, and i needed to speak to 3 people at Sony and 4 people at Chase with different answers each time to figure that out. I clicked on the link through SonyStyle.com, which I think was broken and pointed to the instant offer from SonyRewards first (looks fixed now). Before clicking that link, SonyStyle terms of the offer talk about $150 credit from any Sony Authorized Retailer, but it takes you to the instant offer. The problem is, it's NOT CLEAR when you do the instant offer, that you can't get it from a store.
But now when you click 'redeem', it indicates at the top that if you previously ordered from SonyStyle.com, you will automatically get the $150 credit. So I called Chase and a nice rep called me back and said I could order it from SonyStyle.com. So I did this because they ship next-day, and SonyRewards ships in 8-10 days, not enough time for the holidays. My order after a day says 'processing' on SonyStyle, but now they say 'out of stock' on the PS3.
So the moral is to be careful how you order. The link for getting the discount through a retailer is: http://www.sony.com/getpscard. Unfortunately, the link for the instant only one is http://www.sony.com/newpscard. For the life of my, I can't understand what idiot thought it would be a smart idea to offer 2 different $150 off promos for the PS3 with similar link names rather than just give you 2 options to get the deal. Chase told me in order to attempt to switch to the deal from a store, I had to fax their marketing department, and wait at least 7 days for them to decide if they would agree to switch me or not. WHAT IS THE POINT? It's $150 off either way...why confuse the consumer and piss them off at holiday time?
But in my opinion, if you apply now, get the deal through the store. In most places with sales tax it will cost you less than through SonyRewards, or you can order from a company like Amazon with no sales tax and probably get it overnight for no more. You do run the risk that the card will take awhile to get to you, but then you can go that day and buy it. Not any of this 8-10 days to ship, with no estimate on when you will actually get it, or an order through SonyStyle.com, when it's out of stock and questionable whether or not you'll actually get the rebate.
BTW, last statement - Several reps told me that if I buy through a store, you have to then go on to SonyRewards.com to fill out a rebate for the $150, which won't be visible to you until you make a purchase on the card from an Authorized Sony Retailer that they think may be the playstation. So, like the rest of it, just roll the dice and hope you get a PS3 for $250.
Follow up #3.... make sure to activate the card as soon as you get it... otherwise your order will end up sitting in a PENDING status until you do. The auto approval & order also triggered Chase's Fraud protection so I had another go round with that.
What a painful process!!!!! Would have been quicker to pick up $150.00 of aluminum cans and pick up my PS3 at the local big box store!
We're updating our post to warn future readers of your difficulties here. If any of you have contact info for the Chase reps who are giving you the runaround, please send it our way -- sean@gamecyte.com -- and I'll see if I can find out what the holdup's about.
Just a followup...I went the instant route and ordered the ps3 from sonyrewards.com. To my great surprise, the unit shipped on december 3 and I received it on dec. 5 (I ordered on nov. 30). I am very happy with the transaction. But I do agree that the offer redemption process was a hassle. It would have been easy to have screwed it up had I not been careful.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Because I know some people are going to think of doing it, I'll go ahead and say it now:
Don't sign up for a credit card, use it for the bonus, and then cancel it. Cut it up, hide it if you need to and don't want another piece of plastic in your wallet, but do NOT sign up, get the PS3, and cancel.
November 25th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Sell your old PS3 (40GB or 20GB) at GameStop an use the card, I'm selling my 40GB an some games to have 240 at GameStop on top with the 150 from the card. This means I will be paying less for the 500GB..I mean 160GB
November 25th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Sign up for the Credit Card, but don't cancel it, you'll screw up your credit score if you open credit and shorten its lifespan by cutting it short. Immediately pay off the balance of the PS3 and you'll have a clean card, remember it only has to be used twice to be considered an active account. The credit score is based on the lifetime of an account along with a calculation based on credit used to total credit allowed.
You probably won't be able to get a $250 PS3 for year or more so, if you bite the bait make sure you stay responsible because there is no bailout for us taxpayers.
November 25th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
I signed up for this promotion in 2007 and it worked great! Its an awesome deal. And its even better now since they are giving it as an instant credit. I had to wait 6 weeks for the credit to show. So if you are looking to buy a PS3 you can't beat this!
November 25th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Mashimato is correct about immediately canceling it, but you would actually want to make monthly payments for a minimum of six months if you want to REALLY build your credit score. While paying things off immediately doesn't hurt your credit score, it doesn't help it either.
However, I'd avoid this credit card! The 11% APR is absurd! That is, for person with a rather pristine and excellent credit score, like mine.
November 25th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
If I was at all interested in damaging my credit score with a new credit card, I would probably get the ps3, sell it for 150 profit, and go fetch a "50 dollar" xbox 360.
November 25th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
I'm planning on getting the card, with their interest free offer for 12 months. Buying the PS3 for $150 off, and paying the minimum ($15/month) until the end of the 12 months at which time I will cancel. That only helps my credit and I get a seriously discounted PS3 and pay not interest ever. Sounds like a Win-Win to me!
November 26th, 2008 at 11:15 am
If the "use it twice to make the account active" is true...get $300, get the card, buy the PS3, pay it off. Then buy a game, pay it off. Never look at the card again.
We (wife and I) currently have 3 cards. All are active, only 1 has a balance, and that is usually paid off every month. The other two are for emergencies and collect dust. Point: If you have the willpower, ignoring an "empty" credit card is sometimes your best bet.
November 26th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Must Buy More Sony Things @_@ lol I'm going to do my idea if I get the card or if I don't get it on time then I'll use it to get a PS3 for a friend and I'm most likely going to keep the card but cancel one of my others one. I'm mostly going to use it to help get my credit up again (No thanks to Alltel) and get me that Sony tv I been wanting as well as some home thether system(Can't spell tonight lol) and that be pretty much my plans on using the card.
November 29th, 2008 at 7:08 am
In my 3rd day of talking to every support person at SonyRewards and Chase bank trying to take advantage of this offer. The offer makes it sound like you can take advantage instantly but I may have to wait until the card actually arrives to register for the offer. Hope it's gets here in time for X-mas.
November 29th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
I got the letter saying I couldn't because of my other cards, it wasn't a shock an more of the lines I was hoping to get it to pay less on the 160GB PS3 but oh well. I will sign up for it again after my cards are paid and I will use it for a new Sony Tv.
November 30th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
OK after two rounds of telephone hot potato and a bunch of google searches I discovered there are at least 3 different links for this offer. One let's you get the card and then when you get it use it to buy a PS3 at an authorized retailer. The other 2 are for an instant purchase. One of those two links is messed up.... the other worked like a charm. Once you are instantly approved for the card you are supposed to "Redeem" your offer. Well the bad link did not take me through the instant purchase offer and the other did. Makes me suspect they have a bad link so you end up with a credit card you don't need/want and no discounted PS3!! Can't believe I wasted about 5 hours of my life with this..... plus Shipping is NOT included and they charged almost $35.... better be 2nd day air!!! SO you get a PS3 for $283 not $249!
BAD LINK http://www.sonyrewards.com/en/gateway/?offerlink=srnowps3
GOOD LINK http://www.sonyrewards.com/en/gateway/?offerlink=sr150nowps3
November 30th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
@Jeffery
I think the idea was not to order it from online, because you can't stop playing for shipping no matter what -_- that is were you mess up at and I think the deal was mostly for going to Best Buy or GameStop to get a PS3 an not order it from online.
December 2nd, 2008 at 7:26 pm
I agree... but then you have to wait at least 2 weeks until the Card arrives in the Mail. Then you need to find a local store that has it in stock (Before 12/31/08). Plus you have to get the 3rd link (Not listed above) that allows you to do that, and you have to discover that BEFORE you are approved for the card thru the instant deal. (I am not going to stretch my credit anymore right now to apply that way as well)
Well kiddies the lesson here is you don't ever get nothin for free! Where I guess all things being equal the shipping costs are about the same as my State Sales tax anyway...... no tax for the online purchase.
Happy Holidays!
December 4th, 2008 at 7:09 am
Does anyone know how long it will take sonyrewards to actually ship the PS3? I went through the instant approval route, ordered the ps3. I got confirmation, and then it said it would take two weeks to ship. Seems like crap for $34, but my main problem is there is no page where you can check the status of your order. I'm thinking that since this is a special offer, Sony is in no hurry to ship the thing. Has anyone successfully received a ps3 from this offer and how long did it take you to get it?
December 6th, 2008 at 9:56 am
I personally find the way this promotion was handled completely unacceptable. I agree there are several offers out there, and i needed to speak to 3 people at Sony and 4 people at Chase with different answers each time to figure that out. I clicked on the link through SonyStyle.com, which I think was broken and pointed to the instant offer from SonyRewards first (looks fixed now). Before clicking that link, SonyStyle terms of the offer talk about $150 credit from any Sony Authorized Retailer, but it takes you to the instant offer. The problem is, it's NOT CLEAR when you do the instant offer, that you can't get it from a store.
But now when you click 'redeem', it indicates at the top that if you previously ordered from SonyStyle.com, you will automatically get the $150 credit. So I called Chase and a nice rep called me back and said I could order it from SonyStyle.com. So I did this because they ship next-day, and SonyRewards ships in 8-10 days, not enough time for the holidays. My order after a day says 'processing' on SonyStyle, but now they say 'out of stock' on the PS3.
So the moral is to be careful how you order. The link for getting the discount through a retailer is: http://www.sony.com/getpscard. Unfortunately, the link for the instant only one is http://www.sony.com/newpscard. For the life of my, I can't understand what idiot thought it would be a smart idea to offer 2 different $150 off promos for the PS3 with similar link names rather than just give you 2 options to get the deal. Chase told me in order to attempt to switch to the deal from a store, I had to fax their marketing department, and wait at least 7 days for them to decide if they would agree to switch me or not. WHAT IS THE POINT? It's $150 off either way...why confuse the consumer and piss them off at holiday time?
But in my opinion, if you apply now, get the deal through the store. In most places with sales tax it will cost you less than through SonyRewards, or you can order from a company like Amazon with no sales tax and probably get it overnight for no more. You do run the risk that the card will take awhile to get to you, but then you can go that day and buy it. Not any of this 8-10 days to ship, with no estimate on when you will actually get it, or an order through SonyStyle.com, when it's out of stock and questionable whether or not you'll actually get the rebate.
BTW, last statement - Several reps told me that if I buy through a store, you have to then go on to SonyRewards.com to fill out a rebate for the $150, which won't be visible to you until you make a purchase on the card from an Authorized Sony Retailer that they think may be the playstation. So, like the rest of it, just roll the dice and hope you get a PS3 for $250.
December 8th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Follow up #3.... make sure to activate the card as soon as you get it... otherwise your order will end up sitting in a PENDING status until you do. The auto approval & order also triggered Chase's Fraud protection so I had another go round with that.
What a painful process!!!!! Would have been quicker to pick up $150.00 of aluminum cans and pick up my PS3 at the local big box store!
December 9th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
@crazyzete, Jeffery, all:
We're updating our post to warn future readers of your difficulties here. If any of you have contact info for the Chase reps who are giving you the runaround, please send it our way -- sean@gamecyte.com -- and I'll see if I can find out what the holdup's about.
December 9th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Just a followup...I went the instant route and ordered the ps3 from sonyrewards.com. To my great surprise, the unit shipped on december 3 and I received it on dec. 5 (I ordered on nov. 30). I am very happy with the transaction. But I do agree that the offer redemption process was a hassle. It would have been easy to have screwed it up had I not been careful.