Before going to the American Express Zync Card event in New York, I hadn’t given much thought to credit cards.  I have a few of them and I’m working hard to pay them off.  The ones I have all earn me one thing that I love: Airline Miles.  If I can’t get miles with the card then I don’t want the card.

Upon learning about the new American Express Zync Card my boyfriend and I signed up for a joint account.  {Full Disclosure: It was required to be a part of this evaluation program.  Without the card it would be impossible to provide Amex with any tangible feedback.}  Getting a joint card is something we had been wanting to do to cover our joint expenses, such as the earlier mentioned puppy named Bacon.  Previously, my boyfriend would cover some purchases and I would, of course, pay him back later.  {Ha! April Fools!}  He would do the same for me.  Now with the joint card we can each pay expenses and then split the bill evenly at the end of the month.  So while we obtained Zync cards with this plan in mind, we didn’t realize that this is exactly how a Zync Card should be used.

Here’s the number one thing I learned in NYC: There is a difference between a Credit Card and a Charge Card.  The Zync Card is a charge card, meaning you use it to make your purchases throughout the month and then you pay the balance in full at the end of the month.  There is no pre-set spending limit.*  As I’m sure all of you know, a credit card has a revolving line of credit that has a pre-set spending limit.  You do not have to pay it off each month, but then you will accrue interest fees and have to pay those off as well.  Most of the big companies, such as Visa, MasterCard, and Discover, only offer credit cards.  I believe American Express and Diners Club are the two main charge card companies.

I really had no idea that there was a difference between the concept of charge and credit and I’m happy to say my boyfriend didn’t either.  {I hate when he knows things that I don’t.}  Truthfully, we were both puzzled when we received our cards in the mail and found no pre-set spending limit.  I don’t think we are dumb people but these concepts had never been explained to us before.  My guess is that there are other people like us out there – people that use the terms “Charge” and “Credit” as though they’re one and the same.  Even though we didn’t really know that we were getting a charge card, I am glad that we did because we certainly don’t need to be paying interest on things like dog food, you know?

Credit card companies make the bulk of their money on the interest you pay on your month to month balance.  {Unless, of course, you’re a good consumer and pay off your balance each month.}  Because charge card companies do not make money on interest, they make money in other places, such as fees.  It costs money to be an American Express Zync Card holder, $25 per year, to be exact.  An extra card on the same account costs an additional $15 per year.

One of the main features of the Zync Card is that you can sign up for “packs,” most of which cost $20, and for which you can earn extra points on specific purchases or discounts on certain items.  Here are the current pack offerings:

• Go Pack, which deals with travel and offers car rental discounts and double points on airfare purchases – Cost $20
• Connect Pack, which deals with cell phones and cable bills – Cost $20
• Eco Pack, which deals with green initiatives – Cost $0
• Social Pack, which is great for people that enjoy eating out and going to concerts – Cost $20

What you get in exchange for the fees you pay to American Express are some pretty remarkable benefits.  These benefits are available to all card holders and are not exclusive to the Zync card.  For instance:

• If you buy an item on Final Sale and then decide you don’t like it or can’t use it, you know the store won’t take it back.  Guess what?  American Express will take the item and refund your purchase price.  {I swear, when they told us this I was stunned.  How could I, a final sale fiend, not have known this before?!}
• If you buy a new pair of pants and then spill something on them the next day thereby wrecking the pants, you can call American Express and they will take the back and refund you the purchase price.

These are many more benefits but I think these are the two that affect my life the most.  Paying fees to own a charge card is annoying, but perks like this make it a little more palatable, in my opinion.

Finally, you earn points for every purchase.  Those points can be redeemed for gifts, gift cards, airline miles, etc.  All the usual point reward options.

I am not encouraging you all to go out and sign-up for American Express or the Zync Card.  What I do think is important is knowing that there’s a difference between charge cards and credit cards.  In my opinion, a charge card replaces the use of a debit card.  If you use a debit card that doesn’t have good rewards, or any rewards at all, then you might consider a charge card.  In this day and age when you can earn points or rewards for doing anything with a plastic card, there’s no excuse to have an account where you’re not earning something.

*The company can cut you off, however, if you try to do something crazy like go out and purchase a yacht on a $25k a year income.