Bloggers! Win a Free iPod nano from IndexCreditCards.com!

I've been assigned the task of giving IndexCreditCards.com a shot in the arm traffic-wise. My solution: give away iPod nanos! It's not genius, but it just might work...

Here's the deal. Link to IndexCreditCards.com (http://www.IndexCreditCards.com) or any/all of the site's pages on your blog or other Web site between 5PM EST on August 23rd, 2006 (that's right about now as I write this) and 5PM EST Thursday September 14th. The three blogs/sites that send the most traffic in terms of unique visits during that period will win a prize.

Our goal is to increase our profile in the PF blog community, but there's no incentive for you to be nice or not-so-nice in any links or posts. If you think IndexCreditCards.com is the most comprehensive source for apples-to-apples comparisons of credit cards, thus helping consumers and small businesses find the best deals (and you should think is in my opinion), say so. If you think we stink and are trying to bribe you with the possibility of a free nano even though credit cards are evil, feel free to say that as well.

In the end, it only matters if you are in the top three sending us traffic. So, without further ado...

Prizes:

First Prize: 4GB iPod nano (or choose $250 in Amazon.com gift certificates)
Second Prize: 2GB iPod nano (or $200 in Amazon.com gift certificates)
Third Prize: 1GB iPod nano (or $150 in Amazon.com gift certificates)

Rules & Regulations:

1. In determining "unique visits", we will track traffic through our site logs. To weed out cheaters, we will study traffic mainly via IP addresses, but we also might red flag other traffic that is especially suspicious, such as 50,000 clicks coming from Taiwan from 1 to 2 AM. In our experience, fake traffic is pretty obvious. The decision on what traffic is legitimate will be ours alone, and by entering the contest you agree that we are the ultimate judge. (Don't mean to sound scary, but there's always someone who tries to ruin a perfectly good contest by being a nerd.)

2. To be entered, you MUST drop me an e-mail at tim@indexcreditcards.com to tell me you want to be entered. Give me your e-mail address and your blog(s)/site(s). If you are generally anonymous on your site, you don't have to tell me your name. HOWEVER, if you win, you obviously will have to tell me your name & address so I know who to send the booty to.

3. Prize winners will be announced on this blog on September 15th or thereabouts and anywhere else we decide to announce them. Your blog/site will be mentioned, as well as your name unless you want to remain anonymous or use a pseudonym.

4. Winners will get their iPod nanos shipped directly from Apple, or their gift certificates directly from Amazon.com, but Apple and Amazon.com have absolutely nothing to do with this contest, so leave them alone.

5. We are not responsible for any dealings winners might have with Apple or Amazon.com. We send the loot and then we're out of the loop. If your iPod breaks, go to Apple. If Amazon has a glitch or something that makes your life difficult, that's not our fault.

6. Void where prohibited.

I never like to deal with legalities, but I think that covers us. If you have further questions, let me know.

Now go forth and multiply our traffic!

August Credit Card Offers

Well, it's been two weeks and I still have a mountain of credit card offers. I've got the whole stack in my hand and will pull 5 randomly. Let's see...

#1: American Express Platinum Business Card offers "up to" 5% cash back on eligible purchases, which just screams for a small print investigation... I only get 5% with American Express' OPEN Savings participants, and I only get that when my yearly spend is $7500-$15,000. The best I can do outside their partners is 2.5%. I hate all these tiers--it's good for the credit card company but it confuses the issue. Give me a straight 1% on everything with some opportunities for bonuses & I'm set. Otherwise, it's too hard to keep track of what I'm earning and when.

#2. This one's from my college alma mater's alumni association. It's from Bank of America. Has their WorldPoints program, which actually became theirs with the acquisition of MBNA. Sorry, I don't mean to bore you. Truth--I don't care much about my alma mater. I paid to get an education and it was OK, but I've never been a true to your school kind of guy.

#3. Chase is offering me a free companion travel ticket if I spend $900 on my Flexible Rewards card. Do I still have a Flexible Rewards card? I have to spend the $900 in August and September to get the deal. Maybe those are slow months for the credit card companies.

#4. Got some 0% balance transfer checks from the CitiBusiness card which I recently acquired to float a balance. No fee on the BT! No fee on the BT! I'm doin' it! Oh, shoot, I have to use the checks by August 9th. That was two days ago. Rats!

#5. Same deal from my Blue from American Express, wanting me to transfer balances. No fees to do so, but I'm only getting the transfers at my regular interest rate--they market it as "consolidating" my debt. I'm guessing they don't get a huge number of takers on this. My rate on this card is good, but it's not so crazy good that I'm going to transfer balances without any special offer.

The card companies, like many industries with lots of competition, are in something of a bind, because they keep having to one-up each other, but then when they pull back from the hot deal, you're inclined to yawn because you know there's another one around the corner.