August 22, 2008

Amazon.com has partnered up with Chase in a rare limited time offer where you can get up to $100 off the Kindle paying a total of $259 for the device - the offer ends on September 8th.

Get the Amazon Rewards Visa Card and Get $100 Off Kindle
Thanks to Chase, you get $100 off Kindle when you get the new Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card. Limited time only. Here’s how this works: 1) Apply Online. Get a response in as little as 30 seconds. If you’re approved, we will instantly add the card to your Amazon.com account and you’ll get $30 back on your credit card statement after your purchase. 2) Add a Kindle to your cart. 3) Place your order using the Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card and enter this promo code: VISACARD to get the additional $70 savings at checkout. Additional restrictions apply.

Now you might be thinking why is Chase offering to subsidise you up to $100 for a Kindle, well, they want you to start using their credit card called the Amazon.com Rewards Visa card, and over time Chase hopes to recoup the $100 through interest payments. The promotion is offered and paid for by Chase, not Amazon, so for those who have bought the Kindle in the past couple of weeks, Amazon wont refund you the $70 that Chase is subsidising the Kindle.

Once your approved for the card, which Amazon says takes less than a minute, Chase will add $30 in credit to your Amazon.com Rewards Visa card. Once the card is added to your Amazon.com account you can add the Kindle to your shopping cart and apply the “VISACARD” discount code for an additional $70 off. This code will only work if you add Kindle to you cart and go through the normal checkout process and don’t use 1-click, the discount should work even if you already have the Amazon.com Rewards Visa card, unfortunately the $30 credit is for new card customers only.

A Kindle for $259 was an offer too good for me to pass, for the last couple of weeks I’ve been thinking about getting a Kindle for my wife, once I heard about this offer my mind was made up - I was going to get it. Once I was approved for the card, sure enough I put the “VISACARD” code in and a $70 discount was applied to the Kindle. My wife’s shiny new Kindle should arrive on Monday, perfect.

Now I’m not a big user/fan of credit cards in any case, I religiously pay whatever I owe off every month, but since there isn’t a yearly fee for having the Amazon rewards card, I don’t mind applying for it, I guess it will just sit there nicely in my wallet. If you do decide to go for it, make sure you pay it off and don’t drive yourself into debt, if you don’t trust yourself you can always cut the card up as soon as you get it.

Will you be taking advantage of this offer?

Source: Amazon.com

This week two new newspapers make it onto the Kindle - they are both British newspapers. The Times, which I don’t know an awful lot about, and the Financial Times which I adore and consider to be one of the best newspapers in the world.

The Times was first published in 1785 and is now owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. The Financial Times has been in print since 1888 and its biggest competitor is The Wall Street Journal, while The Wall Street Journal has the higher subscription numbers, in my opinion the Financial Times has the superior content - I should know, Iv had it delivered to my home for the past four years.

The Times and the Financial Times bring the total numbers of newspapers on the Kindle to 24. Its been about 9 months since Kindle was released and I am a bit disappointed to see that only 24 newspapers have jumped onto the Kindle - 15 US based and 9 International newspapers. The USA Today currently has the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States with 2.25 million copies per weekday, however it has yet to make an appearance on the Kindle. We need more newspapers on the Kindle!

As usual, a 14-day free trial is available for both newspapers.

The Times (Kindle Edition)

The Times is one of the world’s leading newspapers respected internationally for its news, comment and analysis. The aim of The Times is to provide its readers with strong news reporting combined with thoughtful and insightful opinions on the main issues of the day. Whether dealing with politics, business, foreign affairs, the arts, or sport, The Times offers the most comprehensive coverage. It has an outstanding global network of reporters as well as must-read columnists such as Matthew Parris, Gerard Baker, Caitlin Moran, Giles Coren and Anatole Kaletsky.

The Kindle Edition of The Times contains articles found in the print edition, but will not include some images and tables. Also, some features such as the crossword puzzle, box scores and classifieds are not currently available. For your convenience, issues are automatically delivered wirelessly to your Kindle so you can read them each morning.

Financial Times (Kindle Edition)

The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business media organizations, is recognized globally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. The Financial Times provides a 360-degree perspective on global business and geopolitical news by harnessing a worldwide network of award-winning journalists who deliver extensive news, comment and analysis. The Financial Times is much more than a business newspaper, it is an intelligent and stimulating read covering everything from in depth art reviews to new discoveries in food and wine and interviews with the day’s luminaries. The Financial Times has an unrivaled collection of columnists, including Tyler Brûlé, Anthony Bolton, Clive Crook, Niall Ferguson, John Gapper, Robin Lane-Fox, Gideon Rachman, Jancis Robinson, Merryn Somerset-Webb, Philip Stevens, Lawrence H. Summers, Gillian Tett and Martin Wolf.

The US Kindle Edition of Financial Times contains most articles found in the US print edition, but will not include tables, charts and stock quotes. For your convenience, issues are automatically delivered wirelessly to your Kindle so you can read them each morning. The Financial Times US Edition is published Monday through Saturday.