MotoringFile has learned that MINI USA (like MINI UK) will reveal a special MINI Visa June 19th. Details are still sketchy at this point but we know that owners will be able to design the front of the card with a MINI of their own specification. Look for more information (including availability) soon.
Beyond the card design, I wonder what the real “rewards” of this card will be.
Heck, I’ve had a pic of my 2002 MINI on my Bank of America visa since 2002. Seems MINI is getting a slow start here.
The “GM” Credit Card lets you accumulate rewards up to $500 a year for up to 7 years ($3500 max)and then apply that to the purchase of a new vehicle. It would be great if MINI USA’s rewards are similar.
It will probably minic the BMW Visa card somewhat. Check out BMW Financial Services website for details. I love my BMW card and I plan to get a MINI one also.
I am very interested in this card as one of my other credit cards are being dropped by the issuer at the end of this month. I need a replacement card and this looks like it will be it.
I am also interested in the rewards program. If this is like the “GM Card” where you can accrue points towards the next purchase or lease of a new MINI, I’ll be all over it.
Sounds like a great idea, as long as they have competitive APRs. I like the idea of being able to design my own card, and that fits nicely with the MINI branding.
I just called MINIUSA to inquire about it. The rep transfered my call over to BMW Financial Services where another rep picked up the call and said that the new VISA MINI card will not be available to the public until late July or early August….
Gabe can you confirm this?
The BMW Financial services did not give out any specifics but he said that the MINI Visa card appears to be modeled after the existing BMW credit card. You accrue points (1 point per dollar spent for regular purchases and double points for fuel purchases). The points can be used towards the purchase or lease of a new BMW and if you are leasing a BMW, you can charge any wear/tear added fees at the end of the contract.
The BMW Visa card is issued as a Platinum with no annual fee.
Seems like a good card to have, but then again the info I was given currently applies to the BMW VISA so the program for MINIs could vary or be exactly the same.
I Wonder what the % rate is? I have a MC at less than 7%. I wonder if they’ll put my MCS on it?
Very cool 🙂
I would be cool if you could get points redeemable for Motoring Gear…I am not planning on buying a new MINI anytime soon. I plan on keeping my MINI until the wheels fall off
Any discount on a MINI purchase is always good!
[UFJ](<a href="http://ufjcard.com/credit_card/mini/index.html" rel="nofollow ugc">http://ufjcard.com/credit_card/mini/index.html</a>) offers a similar MINI Card VISA with smile points (cute). They even let you exchange smile points with JAL points, which can be handy. For some reason, I doubt there will be any partnerships with the MINIUSA card.
Okay, I’ll probably catch some flack for this, but I’m a banker, what can I say.
This sounds interesting and a great way to increase MINI visbility and help current and future MINI owners as well. That said, be careful not to get the card and simply have too much open credit available as that can hurt ones credit rating – which can affect the interest rate you get financing your next MINI, buying a house, etc. Getting it to simply sit in your wallet can have a adverse affect on your credit – albeit small depending on the open balance.
Sorry, I’m sure people are calling me names now. I just see too many people hurt for too much open credit. Had to give my two cents.
I do think the card is cool, just be mindful.
I pay off my credit cars every month, therefore I don’t have any revolving debt in my credit report.
I meant credit cards.
And…
Too much open revolving credit can hurt anyone with any sort of bank card, not only the MINI Visa card.
Frank-
Yes, too much open credit of any kind can be harmful, not just the MINI card. Did not mean to imply otherwise if that was done.
What shades of gray will this come in? Will they charge higher rates for metallic colors?
i also have the BofA card that allows you to have a picture on the front. i obviously have a MINI. if you’re with BofA and don’t want another credit card it’s worth checking out.
The coolest would be charging your new MINI on the card. My cards have high limits because I use them for business, but the dealer would only charge $2K.
yeah paying off a 25k car at 18% would be great. 😉
Charging to the card would be nice if you plan to payoff immediately. We use a mileage card and wanted to put as much of our down payment on the card to accumulate more points. Unfortunately they do limit this. Apparently – since we asked the question – the limit is done for liability reasons as they do not want someone to over extend themselves and be hit with law suits, and the like, etc.
What a HORRIBLE development! Just another way to get folks into debt!! Credit cards and credit card companies are just evil. these companies will stop at nothing to get us hooked on their product.
the Borrower is SLAVE to the lender.
Pay CASH!!!
If you are organized with your finances, you’ll never have problems with any kind of debt. Unfortunately, people in this country are not educated enough in the proper use of credit, hence they get into trouble time after time.
With knowledge comes responsability. I charge 95% of my monthly purchases on a credit card, each one has been budgeted for and I pay off the balances in FULL each and every month. I reap the benefits of the card’s rewards programs that have allowed me to travel to many places that I can count in my hands.
Frank,
It is great that you pay off your card each month…and that you are not buried in debt. However, you have bought into the lie that we need to use these cards or need their ‘rewards’ to have a better life.
Statistically, those who make purchases (like your 95% of your purchases) spend 12-18% MORE when buying with a credit card than with cash. Spending cash, dolling out those 20s hurts…it makes you more fully realize you are spending money. Swiping a card does not do that. The psychological connection isn’t there. So you might need $100 of groceries and go to the store. You go with $100 cash then you spend $100. IF you go with your Delta AmEX or your MBNA Mini Cooper card, statisticaly you will spend $118 which means things were bought that werent really needed. Multiply that by your 95% of your monthly expenses and that makes for a LOT of money that wasn’t meant to be spent…but was. Of course this holds true for other stores too (Home Depot comes to mind!!) Now I know that using a card to pay at the pump is different…you’re gonna buy the gas you need, but i hope you get my point.
If you play with snakes long enough, you are gonna get bit. Same with your ‘reward’ credit card companies.
Chuck-
That 12% – 18% more money spent by credit card statistic is related to not paying off the balance every month.
If I buy a $100 item at a store on my credit card and you buy the same item with cash, as long as I pay credit card in full by its due date – I paid the same price you did.
The only additional expense is the $80 a year I spend to have my mileage rewards card – but for that I accumulate miles (over 60,000 last year alone) which allows me to upgrade and/or travel virtually free (just taxes and ancillary fees from the airline apply). All for putting items I’m buying anyways on my credit card.
As to the psychology of spending money on things you don’t need when you simply swipe a card versus paying cash and therefore being more conscious of the spend – that is a relative statement, in my opinion. Relative to the person making said purchase.
Sorry to be so off topic.
GSK, the 12%-18% figure is NOT related to carrying a balance on a credit card. The statistic is saying that most (not necessarly you, nor Frank, but most) folks with credit cards spend that much more on purchases when paying with credit vs. cash. Yes, if we both buy the same item cash vs credit, we have payed the same.
My point is that living a lifestyle of always pulling out that card when shopping (the mall, the grocery, the bookstore, where ever) you will spend more as psychologically the spending experience is blunted by the fact you aren’t handing over cash. Try putting your card away for a month and going on a cash only basis and see if that isn’t true. Just one month. You might be surprised.
Holding us slave to their cards, reward or otherwise, was my point in making the post originally. Be it a Mini Cooper affinity card, a card with a pic of your dog on it, with the Rolling Stones logo or Old Glory….it is all a way to get their cards in your wallet so the banks, the merchants and the credit card companies can prosper. Not so YOU as the customer can prosper.
Chuck, without getting too deep into a personal finances discussion, here is an important fact of American life:
We all need credit.
Why?
Because aside from obtaining the “power” to acquire goods and services (Specially big ticket items like cars and real estate), credit is also needed to establish the character and habits of the individual. For example, credit enables potential employers to determine whether you are a trustworthy person, that you are not a potential “thieve” because you have so much unpaid debt that you are likely to steal from the workplace, so on and so forth.
Credit also enables you to obtain insurance.
Our society is built on credit for better and for worse. I have met individuals that made $1 million last year in income, yet their credit reports shows 2 or 3 bankruptcies. Others have no credit record at all. These people have tremendous incomes, yet no lender will give them the $.50 for a can of Coke on credit. They have a hard time most of the time.
Been a 100% cash consumer gets you nowhere. If you don’t have a solid credit report, life necessities such as employment and insurance become a big issue.
I think the American public, in general, lacks the education and understanding of what credit is all about and how mismanagement has far reaching implication that are not limited to a declined credit card purchase or a declined bank loan approval.
Think about it, if you don’t have a credit card, you are not even able to reserve a rental car or airline tickets. You could be a billionaire, but with no credit you are just as dubious as the next Joe.
Ahhh, GSK…I should have read the thread more closely at first to see that you are a banker. NO WONDER you took offense that I was trying to make a point that a life without debt is a better way to live!!
I know it is turning the world upside down (like saying the sky is green….) to try to put forth this idea, but we can live without credit cards or consumer debt in general. Without financing everything…without debt(revolving or otherwise.) Of course this is not the way the bankers want us to live. How would they pay for their nice branches?
You gotta love an industry that folks line up all day long to save money with a bank at 2-4% and then have a card issued through that bank that charges them 9-18%!!
Chuck, I never pay more for my credit purchases vs if those same items were purchased on cash. Since I pay my credit cards in full on time every month, I never accrue any additional interest. The problem with most folks is that they are dragging revolving balances and this is what makes credit a very expensive proposition.
My wife and I are very organized in our finances and we never overspend. We have something called a “budget” and within that budget we estimate living expenses, savings, retirement, etc. It takes a heck of a lot of discipline to get to where we are but we both enjoy a almost zero debt lifestyle and have excellent FICO credit scores in our reports.
We discuss and plan our purchases. We look for sales and discounts whenever possible. Once you learn to live below your means, there is no reason why you’ll find yourself overspending or buying on impulse.
Recently I was in the marketplace looking for employment and every single place where I applied. If looked at my credit report without exception. Had my credit been less than desirable, I would have received no offers in despite of my education and experience.
I agree with you on that there is a lot of psychology involved in financial matters and most people find it difficult not to abuse the credit extended to them.
We live in a consumist society and for that reason you have to become a very educated consumer, set your priorities in life and don’t fall for the trap of “free for all” plastic money.
Frank,
You have bought the credit/debt ‘Lie’ hook, line and sinker!
(Gabe is gonna kill me for hijacking this seemingly innocous post like this!)
First of all, debit/check cards can book hotel, airline tickets, etc all day long so that point is way off.
You said credit give you power? I hate to think you believe that. Credit takes all your power away. It give the power to the lender. Your biggest wealth building tool is your income. Not a loan from the bank.
A high FICO score does not say you have arrived financially, nor that you are trust worthy, nor that you are employable. It just means that you love debt. Nothing more.
It is amazing how the marketing of debt by banks and credit card companies has brainwashed this country.
Chuck, we can live without revolving debt. I agree 100% with you on that. But in these United States of America, we can not live without some sort of credit history in our names. Lack of credit or bad credit makes life a lot harder even if you are Donald Trump sitting on a pile of greenbacks.
For better or worse, this is the way our system is.
I think I have said more than enough in this thread. Credit is a need more many reasons I have listed.
…jeez guys.
all sorts of off topic.
seems like a cool card, sign me up.
convenience is king in the US, Chuck. plastic is easier to deal with than paper, ‘nough said.
Well, I just got my MINI visa card in the mail yesterday. Looks like crap. I don’t even plan on using it… just wanted a credit card with a pic of my MINI on it. It’s all blurry and the color of the car looks more white than silver. Boo.