I Got the Call Today That I Didn't Want To Hear

Life. I could go on for hours about it. I often do. I'm going to try to be short this time. You see, there really aren't a lot of things in life (maybe a shopping bag full or one of those hand baskets -- grocery store metaphor*) that truly and consistently make dealing with all the other junk managable: pick-me-ups, if you will. You know what I'm talking about. Life: it's mostly bills and stressful working conditions; it's the death of people that you like and always getting checked out by that trashy, jerry springer show candidate cashier; it's... (wait, I said I was going to be short)... And, then there are pick-me-ups: watching Scrubs reruns after work; seeing that cashier getting bitched out by a customer that is actually more trashy than she is.

One such pick-me-up that I have is my credit card. Actually, it's not-so-much the card itself, but the rewards that it gives. You see, my credit card (besides having one of the lowest APRs that I have ever seen -- I've laughed at lots of friends who have told me their APRs) is a rewards card. Not just any rewards, though. A Hard Rock Cafe rewards card. And, of course, I love the Hard Rock Cafe. I love the fact that it's a cafe dedicated to music. Sure, it's a gimmick. But, hey, I really don't care. I love the music and I enjoy the memorabilia and -- most importantly -- I collect guitar pins. I have them displayed in my computer room (they are right behind me to my right, see?). I love my pins. They are mini guitars and I like guitars. Obviously, I can't afford to have a guitar collection. So, I have a guitar pin collection instead. Each pin has a story. A few were gifts. Some were purchased while on vacation. Others were purchased during special occasions. Now, the pins are about 10 or 12 dollars a piece, which isn't cheap for a pin, but they are nice pins. Enter: the Hard Rock Cafe Rewards Credit Card -- with a picture of a guitar engulfed in flames on it. I love my credit card. For every dollar I spend on it, I get a penny to spend at the Hard Rock Cafe. That's 1%. Which, if you spend as much money in gas as I do and you put gas on your credit card, is a good return. I have so many free pins displayed behind me, all thanks to my card. I currently have a little over a hundred dollars in rewards points on my card now (it's been a while since my last visit to a Hard Rock) and I can't wait to cash in. That's going to be like 10 new pins!!!

I got this in the mail the other day:




Did they say they are "discontinuing" the rewards program?! Yes. Did they ask for my opinion? No. Am I happy? Absolutely not.

I'm, actually, quite upset. And, of course, there's nothing I can do about it.

I've thought about canceling the card in a gesture that will, no doubt, agressively** display a blatant*** expression of my malcontent. But, then there is that sweet APR. Not to mention, there is flaming guitar pictured on the front! (They are going to send me a new card with a lame gray front or something, you know that.) At which point, I will cancel it.

I really love my Hard Rock Rewards Credit Card. I love carrying it around and using it. Cashiers (but, not the aforementioned jerry spring show one) often comment on it, as well as, its stylistic and fuctional coolness. Every time I see it, it makes everything else about life seem a little less bleak. It's a happy thing. It's a pick-me-up.

Now, it's gone. Soon, I will have to remove it from my wallet. The grocery store hand-basket of happy things will become a little lighter. And I will have to actually pay for things at the Hard Rock Cafe.






*not sure why...
**sarcasm
***more sarcasm