If you're a hard-core gamer, entertainment lover and Sony Rewards member, there are some new cards designed to help you rack up Sony Rewards more quickly. Sony has partnered with Capital One to offer two no annual fee Visa rewards cards geared toward those who love entertainment, gaming, music, media, electronics and more.
With SonyCard, cardholders can earn points on various types of media purchases and use them to get music, movies, games and PlayStation codes, and they can use them to bid experiences and more. SonyCard has a 5-3-1 tiered points-earning system, which reflects how cardholders can earn five, three or one point per dollar spent.
Earn five times the points on Sony purchases at authorized retailers. Earn three times the points on music and movie downloads, movie rentals, movie theatre spending, digital streaming and subscription services like Netflix, Spotify, Pandora and Amazon Prime Instant Video. All other purchases earn one point per dollar spent.
The new PlayStation Visa has a slightly different rewards earning structure that's 5-5-3-1. That's five points per dollar spent on purchases at the PlayStation Store, five points per dollar spent on PlayStation and Sony purchases at authorized retailers, three points on monthly mobile phone bills and one point on all other purchases. Cardholders can redeem points for items like PlayStation Store codes, experiences, Sony electronics, music and movies.
In order to get the points, cardholders have to link their Sony Rewards accounts to the credit card they have. On both credit cards, rewards points expire five years from the end of the month in which they were earned, so it pays to keep an eye on your points account and make sure they get spent. Otherwise, they're just wasted rewards. Luckily, the card redeems them on a first in/first out basis, so your oldest rewards points get used first when you choose to redeem them.
Because the PlayStation card is replacing an existing Sony PlayStation card, Sony's also giving a $50 PlayStation Store code after you make your first purchase. Other card perks include 50 percent off a 12-month PlayStation Plus membership after spending $3,000 on purchases within a year, a $30 value that's applied to your account as a statement credit. This is an annual benefit, and the spending amount is tied to the anniversary date of when the account is approved. This benefit is good for as long as you have the card and a PlayStation Plus subscription.
Put your purchases of PlayStation Vue, PlayStation Music and/or PlayStation Now services on your PlayStation Visa card, and Sony will give you ten percent back on each as a statement credit.
Both cards have an introductory 0% APR until March 2018, at which time they'll switch to a variable 14.99% to 24.99% APR. The APR for balance transfers is 14.99%, 17.99%, 20.99% or 24.99% based on your credit-worthiness. Cash advances have a 23.99% APR and a fee of either $10 or three percent of the cash advance amount, whichever is greater, meaning that unless your cash advance is about $350, you'll be paying the flat rate. There's a 25-day grace period for making payments, and late payment fees are up to $35.
In order to be eligible for the card, applicants must have monthly income that exceeds their monthly rent or mortgage payment by at least $425. Capital One may also use other variables to determine whether or not applicants would be able to make monthly payments. Applicants also cannot currently have a Sony or PlayStation credit card account, have five or more open credit card accounts at Capital One or have other issues with their Capital One accounts that indicate inability to make monthly payments. The card application is available online at sonycard.com.
