If you go out of your way to patronize green stores when you shop, you can get rewarded for your eco-effort. A new American Express card called ZYNC gives you discounts and rewards for making green purchases — and even provides a free eco-concierge service to help you shop greener.

Officially launched earlier this month, ZYNC’s a charge card aimed at 20 and 30-somethings. Instead of the hefty $75 and up annual fee, ZYNC charges just $25 — which gets you many of the privileges of being an Amex cardholder, like a purchase protection plan (lose or damage anything 90 days after you bought it, and Amex will replace it for free), extended warranties, and 24/7 roadside assistance.

On top of that, members can add on “packs” based on their interests that offer special rewards. Add on a “Music” pack for $5 a year, and you’ll get double rewards points on concert tickets and pre-sale access music events. Get a “Go” pack for $20, and you’ll get double rewards points on airfare ticket purchases — as well as lost wallet protection and travel discounts.

You’ll be happy to know that the “Eco” pack’s free! I got the ZYNC card a couple months ago and have been using it a lot — partly because of the eco-rewards, but mainly because I’m one of a small panel of 20 and 30-something social media experts advising American Express on ZYNC. That’s why I was in New York last month (on Amex’ dime), learning about ZYNC and providing feedback.

ZYNC is a charge card, which means that unlike a credit card, you must pay the balance off each month — a feature that could be helpful in holding you in check if you’re the type who’s tempted to buy now and pay later. I always pay off my full credit card balance each month so this feature doesn’t really affect me. But I am eager to take advantage of these double membership reward points I’m getting!

Unfortunately, this point system’s a bit confusing — or at least I find it confusing, since most of the credit cards I have simply offer cash back. Today, I finally went on to Amex’ Membership Rewards site and figured it out! Basically, each dollar you spend on an Amex card earns you a point, and each point’s worth about a cent (How I came to this number: A $10 gift card generally requires 1000 points). If you’ve got packs that offer double points for certain purchases, then obviously every dollar spent earns you about two cents.

How that translates: Right now, I’m putting roughly $500 on the ZYNC card a month, almost all with double points since I have four packs. So I’m getting about 1000 points — worth about $10, or somewhat more if I spend the points on eco-friendly Membership Rewards products, since my Eco pack lets me use 25% fewer points to get those. One day, I shall own a Voltaic Systems Converter Bag and solar-charge my Blackberry on the go –

Find out more about ZYNC on Amex’s website or on ZYNC’s Facebook page. I continue to advise ZYNC as it refines the charge card, so if you’ve decided to get one and have feedback, feel free to let me know what you think!

0 Comments