Comparison Site for Great Credit Card Offers

June 10, 2005 05:27 PM

Cardholders will either receive a 1% rebate on their spending or compensation based on other member’s spending, whichever is higher. Once a cardholder has at least three referrals below them with a minimum of $1,000 being spent annually among those cards, they are eligible to earn compensation. Basically, a cardholder may log onto the First Vineyard site and send an invitation to a prospective member. Now, if that person signs up for the card and becomes an active member, the cardholder will earn from their spending. A one-time bonus of $25 is awarded for each “personal active referral”. Complete details can be found on the issuer’s FAQ page.

Since this is a stored value card, payments are made in advance. The card can be funded directly from the cardholder’s paycheck (this includes dividends, disability and government checks). This card can also be loaded by wire transfer, by sending a U.S. postal money order via mail, or by making a cash deposit at any approved locations. There are no fees applied to load funds to the card.

There is no annual fee and no interest applied on the account nor other similar charges found with most unsecured credit cards. There is, however, a non-refundable $39.95 application fee for this card and a monthly participation fee of $6.95 ($83.40 annually). Although the previous fees apply to this account, there is no fee charged when a point of sale transaction is made, which is rare as most stored value cards charge for this.

It is important to note that this card does not report cardholder transactions to the credit bureaus, which may be considered a major drawback for those who are trying to establish credit.

Therefore, those who are looking for a stored value card where they can pay in advance for purchases, plan to take advantage of the cash back or revenue generating program, and do not need to build credit, may find the First Vineyard Stored Value MasterCard® to be a beneficial option.