Got my $500 in the mail yesterday -- Didn't see anybody post yet. AmEx gift card with 500 "points". Did mention that if used for gas you need to pay in person -- not at the pump.

edit: forgot to mention -- it needs to be used in the next 6 months or it expires.

The 6 months thing kinda sux.

If you buy something for $49.50, I wonder how many points you have left? 450.50? I hope so. (Not 450)

i have generpusly offered to give my wife the card and she wont have any problem spending it within 6 months. 6 hours is more like it.

There's a law in California, and maybe US-wide that a gift card cannot expire. In other words, someone paid cash to obtain cash value and it can never run out. Not like coupons that have no intrinsic cash value.

Nevertheless, I will have no problem using up the $500 in a few weeks. Window tinting, here I come!

Yeah, the six months limit is not good, that is a surprsie.

I plan to get a 6 CD changer ($510 price quoted by dealer), mine has a single, not very convinient.

Guys,

Buy your groceries with it, lunch, dinner, a lifetime supply of toliet paper, whatever.

I can't imagine anyone who just bought a $30K car doesn't spend $500 per month on stuff much less $500 over 6 months.

-Mr. Wigggles

Really people, are you trying to tell me that you can't find some way to spend $500 in 6 months?!? Use it to buy your groceries, and take the corresponding cash out of your household budget, if it's that big of a deal to you.

Originally posted by RX-GR8
i have generpusly offered to give my wife the card and she wont have any problem spending it within 6 months. 6 hours is more like it.

sounds like me girl



Awesome, you got it
gives me hope mine will be here soon

Actually a 6 month window will make it far easier for me spend on mods for the car. Otherwise the the wife would guilt me into hanging onto it for a long time before spending it (if ever).

blah 6 months 2 days it will be gone.. the day it comes in im calling the dealer getting alarm, lojack and mp3 player put in it will come out to well over 500 so its no problem for me!

WooHoo! Got my card today.... and just wiped it clean... hehe... Figured I'd throw it back in the car, so I just ordered the borla exhaust... well, that was fun... hehe

congrats
I want mine toooooo

Last week I received my "free 4 years of service" letter and today I received my $500 card. The card expires May 2004. I don't think it'll last much more than 1 or 2 months now that xmas is so rapidly approaching.

The card came with a letter that explains the terms and conditions - none of which seem unreasonable.

The "free service" letter is all that's needed until the service card arrives. Just show it to the dealer and they will honor it.

It looks as if the "free" service is worth anywhere from $600 to $1200 depending on the schedule you use and the friendliness of the dealership, etc. Considering that you also get a free loaner car while the car is in service, that ups the value for those that can take advantage of it.

Got my card today, but watch out! It comes in a very non-descript envelope which simply says "Requested Information Enclosed". Looked to me like junk mail but I opened it anyway. I could have easily thrown it into the junk mail pile. I'm sure glad I opened this "junk mail". :D

Originally posted by mikeb
sounds like me girl



Awesome, you got it
gives me hope mine will be here soon

mike i didnt get it yet but when i do it's going to the wife.

Originally posted by mikeb
sounds like me girl



Awesome, you got it
gives me hope mine will be here soon

mike i didnt get it yet but when i do it's going to the wife.

I got mine today...am I the first in the SoCal area???

Originally posted by RXhusker
Got my $500 in the mail yesterday -- Didn't see anybody post yet. AmEx gift card with 500 "points". Did mention that if used for gas you need to pay in person -- not at the pump.

edit: forgot to mention -- it needs to be used in the next 6 months or it expires.

We could go on a golfing spree while it's still warm :D

Didn't I see you got the Borla exhaust? Could you have waited and paid for that with the card?

Originally posted by vix8
Got my card today, but watch out! It comes in a very non-descript envelope which simply says "Requested Information Enclosed". Looked to me like junk mail but I opened it anyway. I could have easily thrown it into the junk mail pile. I'm sure glad I opened this "junk mail". :D

No kidding- I almost tossed it, but I felt the card in there and decided to check just in case. What's weird is I never got the letter. Just the card. But I'm not going to complain.

I got mine.

Wife opened it and claimed it. Oh well, at least I get to drive the 8 :D

I got my letter last week, just in time to take it in and get it serviced since I just turned 3200. Hoping the card will come this week, the bikes in for service and tires. 475. Maybe I'll buy a CD or something with the remainder.

Just checked my mail box and the card is here. Guess it follows the service letter by about a week. JOY!

Originally posted by blizz81
We could go on a golfing spree while it's still warm :D

Didn't I see you got the Borla exhaust? Could you have waited and paid for that with the card?

Hey Blizz -- yes I have my Borla installed :D Awesome -- let me know if you want to check it out. Why wait? Probably just save the card for our trip to Disneyworld at Christmas.

Think I am playing golf this week Tue @4, Wed @3, Thur@2, and Fri@2 -- let me know if you are available.

Woooo! Just got mine today as well! Almost through out the envelope b/c it looked like junk mail - lol.

Can't wait to head off to Best Buy for some DVD buying goodness!

what a jip, why cant we cash this shit mang?

got mine today, too! probably put the money back into the car, also. I have a borla on my miata, so maybe that would be a good way to spend it

Merry Christmas!

Happy Halloween?

:)

Originally posted by tribal azn2
what a jip, why cant we cash this shit mang? Whassamatter, they don't take Amex debit cards at the casino? :p

Originally posted by orangematics
I got mine today...am I the first in the SoCal area??? Mine showed up today as well...in San Diego.

Originally posted by eccles
Whassamatter, they don't take Amex debit cards at the casino? :p

exactly:mad:


i just dont understand this. regular debit cards can be cashed at the atm but this one cant?!? whats the fuck? why dont they just send us a check or cash and just get it over with, its the same shit. also some people may want to save that money instead of spending it. and whats bullshit about only have 6 months to use it? this whole compensation thing is bullshit. mazda is just popping us in the ass again

Originally posted by orangematics
I got mine today...am I the first in the SoCal area???

got mine tooooooooooooo

Originally posted by mikeb
got mine tooooooooooooo

mike did the envelope have the Mazda logo on it?

Originally posted by tribal azn2
i just dont understand this. regular debit cards can be cashed at the atm but this one cant?!? whats the fuck?Probably because they cost Mazda something less than $500 each. Given that Amex charges merchants a fee, it's likely that Amex has cut Mazda a deal on these cards. Assuming that Amex charges merchants a fee of, say, 5% (I have no idea what their actual fee is - it may well be higher), that means that Amex only pays out $475 in total to merchants who accept these cards. If Mazda bought them from Amex for, say, $490 each, Mazda saves $10 per card and Amex still makes $15 for administering the cards. Add in the potential profit from folks who don't use the entire value before the cards expire, and the deal becomes even more lucrative.

Marketing 101.

Originally posted by RX-GR8
mike did the envelope have the Mazda logo on it?

no mazda logo on envelope

Tribal, stop whining. They didn't even have to give it to us, but they did, and so now we all have $500 extra that we didn't before to pretty much do with as we want. I think that's a pretty good deal, for something they didn't have to do in the first place. And I'll be happy to take yours off your hands if you don't want it, since you can't use it at ATMs.

Got mine yesterday, too. Very non-descript envelope that looks like "junk mail".

No Mazda logo on the card. Letter made no mention of Mazda in it.

I, too almost pitched it until I felt the card in the letter.

Terms are fine.

New strakes are first on the agenda, then maybe a TIVO.

got mine. it is going toward a fridge for our new house. something in stainless i think. the card does have a mazda logo on it but the envelope does just look like junk mail.

I dunno. I'm imagining me or my wife or someone else throwing away $500 cuz it looks like junk mail.

Can someone scan the envelope so we'll recognize it? (Mess-up the name & address, of course)

for the record... got mine yesterday too.

After it's spent, I'm still gonna keep the card, prolly put it in the nifty owners manual zippy organizer thingy... kinda lends history to the car.

Originally posted by Racer X-8
I dunno. I'm imagining me or my wife or someone else throwing away $500 cuz it looks like junk mail.

Can someone scan the envelope so we'll recognize it? (Mess-up the name & address, of course)

My wife actually ripped our letter up and threw it in the garbage :eek: I had left it on the counter and she thought it was junk mail. Went to find it to get the wording correct for my initial post and couldn't find it -- finally discovered that it was in the trash -- glad I went looking for it before trash collection day!

In Canada Mazda sent a cheque for $500 again though this was in a "junk mail" type mailing. At least you guys could feel the card!

Don't you guys open ALL your mail? I open everything, I don't read it if it's junk I Just open make sure it's junk then toss.

Originally posted by Racer X-8
I dunno. I'm imagining me or my wife or someone else throwing away $500 cuz it looks like junk mail.

Can someone scan the envelope so we'll recognize it? (Mess-up the name & address, of course)

Letter and envelope scanned images....

Originally posted by graphicguy
Letter and envelope scanned images....

I don't think you scanned the image properly?

let's try this again

Maybe this one is clearer...

pic of Amex card...

What?? You can't use it at the gas pump? Gotta go inside to pay? Bummer! I will get my car in a week and I hate going in the gas station especially now that it is getting cold.. But hey , NO complaints here...$500 is $500. I was planning gas and some strakes!! Can't wait.

thanks graphic guy... hey maybe you should invest some of that money in a new scanner, eh?

Originally posted by Squidward
thanks graphic guy... hey maybe you should invest some of that money in a new scanner, eh?

ha. :p

LOL!!

Ah! The humor around here kills me!

The pic of the Amex card is real nice!

Thanks for all that work graphic guy!

Card Received in Maryland Today

This definately looks like junk mail. The envelope says "You earned it!" with no obvious mention of Mazda (that I could see). But since I always open all mail before dispensing it... I looked at the card. It wasn't one of those flimsy junk mail cards, it looked and felt like a real card. Then seeing the Mazda emblem prompted me to read the letter. Aha, this is the 500 credit. Whew!

Originally posted by tribal azn2
what a jip, why cant we cash this shit mang?

I suppose there are ways to do that. I think firepay.com allows deposits from American Express. I'm not sure what kind of service charge there is, probably a buck or two. Then you can wire it right to your bank.

got mine in the mail today. i thought i might have thrown it out in recent days after hearing the envelope was plain.

Originally posted by cruzdreamer
What?? You can't use it at the gas pump? Gotta go inside to pay?

okay to understand this you need to understand what happens when you pay at the pump.

when the card is inserted at the pump the card is pre-authorized for a pre-set amount. usually that is enough to cover anyone ie big suv's with 2 30 gallon tanks. so the card gets pre-authorized for like $80 or more depending on the station.

then when you finish pumping the actual amount owed gets taken out of the account.

but here is the kicker- it takes a day or 2, and sometimes more to clear thru the banks but the pre-auth can take 7-10 days to come off. so for several days that $80 + the actual $20+ for the gas is not accessible which can lead to bad things like your account being "overdrawn" even though you have enough funds or credit. this happened to me once when i was trying to close an account before my move to oregon. i couldn't get the rest of the funds out of the account until the pre-auth from a debit card gas purchase had cleared and this was 5 days after the funds for the gas had actually been transfered out of my account.

so what they are saying is if you are going to use it to buy stuff use it in a way that does not have to be pre-authorized because otherwise you could say go get gas and then get to the grocery store and be told the card was declined.

Originally posted by 8_wannabe
There's a law in California, and maybe US-wide that a gift card cannot expire. In other words, someone paid cash to obtain cash value and it can never run out. Not like coupons that have no intrinsic cash value.

Yea, I was going to mention that. =)

Either way, I think I would just spend it so I don't have another card..

Originally posted by Squidward
thanks graphic guy... hey maybe you should invest some of that money in a new scanner, eh?

You all so funny....

Actually, I do need a new scanner. What I want more, though are the strakes. So much for the scanner.

So U have to spent it ????

I already used 80 bucks today

Playstation 2, here I come :)

:D

Mine's going for an iPod first, I don't know what I'll use the remaining $100 for. I do need a new pair of sunglasses, maybe I'll do that.

Originally posted by mikeb
I already used 80 bucks today

on what?

Originally posted by Dookie_Rx-8
So U have to spent it ????

What else would you do with it?

strakes are on the agenda when I go for my first "free" service....maybe the chrome rotaries front and back, but those seem costly for what you get.

2nd will be a DVD recorder to replace my VCR. I'll probably do that tomight as I've wanted one for over a year and they're at the price ($400) that they would fit well with the Amex card.

Got mine yesterday, too!

I think I'm going to spend part of it on the new XM Commander. Not sure about the rest. Oh..... I'm sure I'll find something. :D

Originally posted by Elara
What else would you do with it?

uh save it, duh. some people might like to save money instead of spending it

Originally posted by tribal azn2
uh save it, duh. some people might like to save money instead of spending it

Just use it to pay for groceries or something else you would have paid cash for, and put the cash you WOULD have spent into savings. Instant $500.

Duh :p

I just spent $210 and bought myself a playstation 2 :)

Originally posted by RX-GR8
on what?

6 led bulbs for my rx8

4 white ones and 2 red ones for 40 bucks

gas and smokes


the rest will be for my girl
I'm gonna get her a braclet

Originally posted by Hercules
I just spent $210 and bought myself a playstation 2 :)

damn herc i wish i would have known. i have an extra PS2 i could sell you for $100.

i wonder whats going to happen if you accidently throw it out? shitttt.

Did everyone who has received their card already receive a letter first? If so how much time elapsed between receipt of the two?

I'm going to Vegas. USair is running a deal $135 philly to Vegas. Luxor is 85 a night for the days I want to go. $610 total. Travel and hotel will be 110 out of pocket. Of course expenses will be high.
As far as free service, every couple of trips in to the dealership, I will be buying a new factory option to add to the car in lieu of the usual costs. Yeah, so far this preorder thing is working out

Originally posted by RX8driver
Did everyone who has received their card already receive a letter first? If so how much time elapsed between receipt of the two?

nope, no letter. Just the card.

Originally posted by zoom44
damn herc i wish i would have known. i have an extra PS2 i could sell you for $100. Well I got the one with the online adapter and a bunch of addons; I bought it second hand also thru a trade/swapping site and I got a great deal. The guy that sold it to me has a 2 year extended warranty on it, so I figure in a year and a half when PS3 is announced, I'll break mine and trade up :P

It was a good deal from my point of view though.

I bought it second hand also thru a trade/swapping site.

Herc, care to share the details with your buddys ?

Originally posted by Hercules
It was a good deal from my point of view though.

good to hear you got a good deal.

Originally posted by rxeightr
Herc, care to share the details with your buddys ? I used Anandtech Forums (http://forums.anandtech.com) , specifically the Buy/Sell forum. Lots of people sell lots of different things in there, and it's a good place to get stuff from.

You can also sell things there that are harder to sell on eBay but that would appeal to the computer or power user there :)

Originally posted by RX8driver
Did everyone who has received their card already receive a letter first? If so how much time elapsed between receipt of the two? I know that Elara told you "nope, no letter. Just the card."

I just wanted to be certain that you've gotten & sent back the "Agreement" form, where you chose the $500 & free scheduled maintenance for the waranty period, rather than having Mazda buy it back. You got that & sent the signed form back to Mazda, right?

Yes I signed the letter and even confirmed that Mazda received it. I just haven't received the $500 AMEX card yet.

Yes I signed the letter and even confirmed that Mazda received it. I just haven't received the $500 AMEX card yet.

Got my card Wednesday this week 10/22. Like other said, be careful the envelope is plain and easily could be tossed with the junk. Last week I received a letter about delays with the maintenance cards - end of Oct first of Nov ETA.