Credit Card Freebies Article Discussion Area

Tirian

Thomas_Crown wrote: »

Has anyone else applied for the above card during the latest promotion period & if so how many Pulsebeats did they give you?

I have not applied in this promotion, but did apply in a previous one where the offer was 11,000 PBs if card used within 90 days. My experience is that they are hopelessly disorganised about getting the PBs onto the account, and that it's virtually impossible to speak to anyone who knows anything about what's going on.


I applied in June, received card in July with a letter saying I would get 8,200 PBs, not 11,000. Shortly after, received a second letter apologising and saying I would received 11,000 PBs after first purchase.

Made first transaction in August, and have had the Pulsebeats for the transaction credited - but my PBs balance is only 2041 (41 points of which is the transaction). No sign of the 11,000 - when I spoke to Pulsebeats, they said call MBNA. When I called MBNA the guy there tried to get me to call Pulsebeats, and when I said I'd already done that, he had no idea what to do at all.

So, good luck if you want to try for it ... but my experience is that the whole promotion is utterly haplessly organised and nobody involved in administering it has the faintest idea what's going on.

Way to go Sony .. you're certainly building a great 'brand experience' for me ...

Thomas_Crown

Thanks for the info,Tirian.

I applied for a Sony Card during the previous promotion but I was rejected by MBNA. When I applied again during the current promotion I was accepted. As previously posted I have written to the Pulsebeats office to try & find out what is happening regarding the points.

I need to spend £250 within 90 days to get the additional 5,000 points. I have currently spent £192 pounds on my Sony Card because I have not been using any other cards. I should have spent the required amount by my second statement & that's when the fun will start.

Tirian

So .. next update:

"Jason" at MBNA told me that I needed to call Pulsebeats and get a "points number" so that they could add my points.

I called Pulsebeats again, who said that this was categorically untrue, that they have nothing to do with adding points and that they have already raised a complaint against MBNA for continuing to refer people back to them for issues like this.

So I called MBNA again ... and spoke to 'Matthew', who told me all sorts of things that didn't make much sense. For example:

- MBNA can't add points to my account because they don't have my membership number - however Pulsebeats confirm that the 2041 points on my MBNA statement are in my Pulsebeats account.

- MBNA only provide 2000 of the points - the others are added directly to the account by Sony when it's opened - however the account is definitely opened and the points are not there. (and, as I pointed out, it's not my problem who is supposed to add the points. I was offered 11,000 points and I haven''t been given them - and I shouldn't be the one running round trying to find out where they are ...)

So finally, Matthew says that he will fill in a form to enquire where the points are and that it will take 5-7 working days before he can find out.

So, my analysis is confirmed: the promotion is extremely poorly administered, nobody knows what's going on, and the two organisations involved are both anxious to point the finger at each other. I'm pretty disgusted. I'd like to hope that they would add something for my trouble, when they finally resolve this, but I somehow doubt it.

goamike

I am in the process of transferring my credit card balance of around £4000 and obviously looking for the best card to transfer to and also looking for an 0% transfer fee.

My question is at looking at some of the details most of them mention a handling fee in which this varies from 1.7 to around 3% fee, exscuse me if this is a silly question what is a handling fee?

And if anybody can point me in the right direction for the best transfer card to go for it would be appreciated.:beer: :T

luv_my_brass

Can anyone tell me if I can take advantage of the £25 Barclays are offering for taking out their onepulse card when I already have a Barclay card? I have followed all the links and cannot find the answer.

fizzypop

luv_my_brass wrote: »

Can anyone tell me if I can take advantage of the £25 Barclays are offering for taking out their onepulse card when I already have a Barclay card? I have followed all the links and cannot find the answer.

No...I rang India call centre and was told you cannot have 2 cards...they will allow u to upgrade to new card but I was not prepared to lose my existing 0% deal I have had for last 5 years. £25 for xmas would have been welcome.

luv_my_brass

Thanks for that info fizzypop, do you know if one can get the £25 by upgrading?

gussie

Thomas_Crown wrote: »

...
You don't automatically get a Sony 2GB MP3 player, you are awarded Pulsebeats & it is up to you how to spend them. The problem is getting the Pulsebeats in the first place ...

MBNA seem to think different - their main web site today still still trumpets the offer to claim a 2GB player. I know they do have small print that states

" ... You can redeem your Pulsebeats against a wide range of Sony items such as the 2GB MP3 Player which is available for just 7,000 Pulsebeats. MBNA reserve the right to offer an alternative incentive of equivalent or greater value ... "

It's a sham - I've since stopped using my card - will wait for the statement and see what gives. It will be a batlte to really get them to offer "an alternative incentive of equivalent or greater value"

MBNA have no clue what's going on - I did get a call from them simply to repeat the same script i.e wait for the first statement.

Tirian

I'm not sure it's a "scam" as such. Just hopelessly badly administered .. which might technically amount to the same thing in the long run I suppose.

In June I received a letter saying I would get 8,200 points when my card was used for the first time. In July I got a follow up letter apologising and saying I would get 11,000 points when I used it. I also got another letter telling me all the wonderful things I could get with my 11,000 Pulsebeats.

Fast forward to mid-November ... still waiting for said Pulsebeats, and neither MBNA nor the Pulsebeats team seem to have a clue what is going on. The last call I made, MBNA told me that they put the initial 2000 points on that I received and that "Sony are supposed to add the additional points". I told them I didn't give a monkeys who added the points - I was told that I would get 11,000 points for getting the card and spending on it, and I haven't got them, and I don't see why I should be the one calling back and forth to sort the mess out.

So apparently they are going to send off some form to enquire where my points are, which will take a week before they get an answer. Sounds suspiciously like a delaying tactic to me, but we shall see. I should be getting my call back on Wednesday ... but I'm willing to bet that I won't hear a thing, will have to call back myself, and that whoever I speak to will still have no idea what is going on.

My analysis: Sony and MBNA are jointly responsible for creating possibly the worst administered incentive scheme I've come across. I was thinking of hanging onto the card and ditching my Lloyds one, but after this fiasco I can tell you for sure that as soon as I get my points and cash them in, this card is getting closed down.

If they can't even handle a simple promotion, I dread to think what would happen if I ever had to call them to sort out a real problem!!

Thomas_Crown

gussie wrote: »

MBNA seem to think different - their main web site today still still trumpets the offer to claim a 2GB player. I know they do have small print that states

" ... You can redeem your Pulsebeats against a wide range of Sony items such as the 2GB MP3 Player which is available for just 7,000 Pulsebeats. MBNA reserve the right to offer an alternative incentive of equivalent or greater value ... "

gussie, the key words in your quote from MBNA are:-

''...you can'' & ''such as the 2GB MP3 Player''.

This confirms what I said previously ie. that you don't automatically get the MP3 Player, you 'can' choose it or alternatively 'can' choose something else if you so wish.