Every once in a while I log into my Sony Rewards account to see what my mountain of points can actually get me. I have to laugh every month because I have found the Sony Rewards card to pretty much be the most worthless card on the planet. I opened the card years ago and really did not bother using it much at first. However, when I was churning the U.S. Mint coin deal between various cards, I often tapped the card because of it’s huge credit limit. Then the U.S. Mint deal disappeared, my bank hated me for the mountains of coins, and the Chase Sony Rewards card converted over to Capital One. So now the card is sitting in the safe making friends with my birth certificate.
The question is, what do I do with all these points? Sony allows members to redeem for Sony merchandise, but typically the items in their rewards catalog are older stock, and the points value is ridiculously high for someone they consider to be a loyal member insider. I have a hard time justifying using points on electronics when I know I can purchase the items cheaper on my own (even though with points it would technically be free at this point). Even worse is their options for gift cards. It used to be one could redeem for reasonable value on gift cards at $0.01/point (i.e. 2,500 points for a $25 gift card, etc.). Then Sony jacked up the redemption rates, and I believe even did so again recently. So even though I have nearly 66,000 in points sitting in my account, there are very few, if any valuable redemption options. Everytime I debate about liquidating all the points in my account, I get further discouraged by Sony’s lack of options.
Until this past weekend when I saw a glimmer of hope, if even for a small amount of points.
March Sony 5,000 point promotion
During the month of March 2012, one can redeem 5,000 points and receive 5,000 bonus points back in return. Simply sign into your account, find the offer, and register for the promotion. So while it does nothing to use down my bank of points, we can at least get something for free out of the program. Heck, maybe I will even consider it a higher rate of return when compared to interest I make on my money in the bank.
So what did I get? Well I did not need a shoulder strap for 3,149 points ($31.49) to carry around a puppy, a CD cassette radio for 8,996 ($89.96; maybe I should have hung onto my box of Mariah Carey tapes), or a copy of Sanford and Son, the Second Season for 1,799 points ($17.99); well that was a doozy of a season. Hmm.
As of right now, I have not found anything worth getting. Wonderful. The worst credit card and reward program ever!
Terms of the offer are below.
*Offer Details: Offer available from 3/1/12-3/31/12. To qualify you must enroll in the 5,000 Bonus Points Offer on www.SonyRewards.com. Once enrolled, if you are an active Sony Card member in good standing, and you redeem 5,000 points for any Sony electronics, music, movies or PlayStation item (excludes all Gift Cards and movie tickets) within the Sony Rewards online catalog between 3/1/12-3/31/12, you will qualify for the 5,000 bonus points offer. Only one 5,000 bonus points offer will be awarded per Sony Card member. Offer cannot be combined with any other offer. Reward points redemptions before 3/1/12 are not eligible for this 5,000 bonus points offer. The 5,000 points will be awarded 2-4 weeks after the promotional period has ended. Excludes Purchase Credit Requests. Products featured in this email are subject to availability and may be replaced with comparable products. Discounted price is already reflected in the Rewards Catalog price. Must be logged in as a Sony Card member to view Insider Specials and discounted pricing.
Didn’t seem too bad to me. I got a basic Blu-ray player for 5999 on special, so after the deal it will only cost me under $14 after tax.
@Marc: That is great you were able to find something you could use. Unfortunately, we did not need any of it at this time.
So in your blog you have mentioned what you did not want – what do you want?
just Curious….
I agree some of the catalog is fairly rough – they have lots of good stuff -you have seemingly pointed out the crap not the good stuff.
@Jim Bob: Unfortunately, we have been trying to find something worthy of redemption for several years. We already have all the electronics we need, and when there is anything we need, it’s fairly cheaper to just buy it outright than spend the points. At least if we buy it at the store, we can return it if we don’t like it or there is problems with it working. Eventually maybe we will redeem for a larger HDTV, but have not had a real need for it yet. Thanks for reading!
I’m feeling your pain. I’ve had my Sony card for probably 10 years now. Granted, I was able to score a PS One, a blu-ray player, and one of those big fancy remotes (and I’ve only used the BD player) through the years. There was a time when I actually thought I’d buy another Sony TV. Gone are the days that the Sony television is even worth anything. I LOVE my current Sony 50″ LCD RPTV from 2004 but it’s a little dated and large (15″ deep GASP :-)) and I’m ready to upgrade to a thin LED and I’m just not interested in a Sony product this time around. I think Samsung has definitely progressed and now offers a superior product, for the money, anyway.
So here I sit with 58,000 points as I continue to use my Sony Card. Why? Because it’s been a habit to do so for so long. I think I’m going to switch over to my Discover card where I can earn 2% cash back…not Sony points. Not air miles that are practically worthless as well. But real money!
When you figure out what to do with your points, let me know as well! I’ve thought perhaps I could at least leverage those points by purchasing an item using the points and reselling the item on eBay or Craigslist and pocketing the cash. It seems like such a hassle and risk but I figure even if I get 3/4 of the value of those points in cash, I’m still better off than when all I had was a pocket full of points.
Thanks for offering the medium to allow us to commiserate together and good luck to you! 🙂
@John: Sorry to see others are out there unfortunately sitting on piles of Sony Rewards too. I have to disagree on your comment on miles being worthless though, because if you know how to use them, their benefits can easily exceed other forms of rewards.
Well I must be the lucky idiot because I have 2 SONY cards. I first got one for myself when I was a Regional Manager and racked up $5,000 – 7,000 a month for company charges. I opted for my own personal account, had to pay the bill and get reimbursed by the company but it all worked out keeping a slush fund of money to pay the monthly bill. I eventually got a 2nd card in my husbands name to buy personal stuff. You can imagine all the bonus points I racked up while working. Too bad it was short lived 3 years. But in that span of time for major points and now 10 years later I have/had 5 sony TV’s 2 Audio systems, 2 video cams, old school disc-man/walkmans, Blue Ray and most recently dumped my 35mm because I cant develop a roll of 24 pix for less than $15 to buy a new digital. I love my SONY card. Now I am racking up charges on our 2nd card to purchase the sportlens. I suggest you find another credit card that rewards you with what you like. You can always look into your local school or retirement home to see if they need cameras or disc players and donate one.
My problem is I always forget to register my SONY items that I actually purchase(rare) without rewards and get them logged for 6x the points. Good luck! I’ll send you my wish list and you can donate this way:-)