# B&H's PayBoo Card announcement



## canonmike (Dec 16, 2021)

Thought I would share contents of an email I just rec'd from B&H this morning, explaining that current bank supporting PayBoo card will change in Jan 2022. Here's the content of B&H's email.

Dear Valued Customer,

In May 2019, B&H introduced our Payboo® loyalty program credit card that offers the unique and unparalleled “Save the Tax” instant benefit on every eligible purchase made with the card. Two and a half years later, we are grateful that the Payboo® program has grown tremendously, benefitting so many of our customers, and continues to offer the most valuable loyalty benefit in our industry.

To ensure B&H’s ability to maintain this great loyalty benefit for our customers for the long-term, we are switching our card-issuing bank partner. While this change will require some action by our customers, the good news is that our unique offer of an instant reward equivalent to the sales tax customers pay will remain unchanged in eligible states.

We will be launching a new and improved Payboo® Card in mid-January 2022. The ‘new’ Payboo® Card will provide the same “Save the Tax” instant benefit you currently receive plus, based on customer feedback, we are adding the option to choose promotional financing for most transactions (cardholders will be able to choose either the “Save the Tax” benefit or the promotional financing, but not both).

What does this mean for your current Payboo® Card?


Your current Payboo® Card, issued by Synchrony Bank, will be valid for use with the “Save the Tax” instant benefit until January 17, 2022
You will receive a notice from Synchrony Bank soon stating that your current Payboo® Card will no longer be usable for new B&H purchases after January 17, 2022. (Please continue to manage your current account and pay off any outstanding balances in accordance with the terms and conditions)
When we launch our new Payboo® Card in mid-January, we will email you sharing the terms of the new program, including the same “Save the Tax” benefit plus the promotional financing options. This information will also be available on our website, in the B&H NYC SuperStore, and by phone
While we regret the inconvenience, customers will have to complete a credit application to apply for the new Payboo® Card. Once approved, customers will be able to use the new account right away and continue to enjoy the Payboo® benefits
The Payboo® loyalty program has become a key ingredient of the B&H shopping experience and has earned tremendous acceptance among our customers. We are pleased that with the introduction of the new Payboo® Card, we will continue to offer the same “Save the Tax” benefit into the future, though programs like this are always subject to change.

Again, we regret the inconvenience of having to apply for a new credit card, but we believe the new Payboo® Card will result in greater payment flexibility, ease of account management, and excellent service, while allowing us to continue offering the “Save the Tax” benefit. If you have questions, please email us at [email protected].

If you also have a B&H Financing Card, you will receive a separate letter advising that your account will remain available for new B&H orders until January 17, 2022, and will no longer be accepted for new purchases thereafter.

And YES, the name will still be Payboo®!

Thank you,

Jeffrey Gerstel,
_Chief Marketing Officer_


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## unfocused (Dec 16, 2021)

Interesting. Thanks for calling this to our attention. I checked and received the same email. Kind of a pain to change cards, but given how much I've saved over the past year, it is worth it. I'm guessing B&H found another card issuer with a better fee system for them. I wonder how they will handle backorders.


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## neuroanatomist (Dec 16, 2021)

unfocused said:


> I wonder how they will handle backorders.


Shouldn't be an issue. Some time in October, after my R3 preorder but before shipping, my card issuer sent me a replacement card with a new number. I called B&H, they simply changed the payment method (and ran an authorization against the new card), and told me my place in the preorder queue would not be affected. Since I received my R3 from the first batch, clearly that was the case.

But those with unfulfilled preorders should contact B&H after they get a new card, I doubt a new payment method would be applied automatically.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 16, 2021)

The sales tax rebate was likely paid for by those who did not pay off their bill on time and received huge interest charges. Apparently, photographers are smarter than that, and it was a money losing proposition for Synchrony. The new card offers financing in addition, so that is another revenue stream that just may pay for the rebate.

I used the Payboo card because it was an almost 10% rebate and I set it up to automatically pay the balance when due. If a new one appears without the auto payoff feature, I'd just pay it off immediately after getting the discount. We'll see what actually transpires.


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## canonmike (Dec 16, 2021)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> and it was a money losing proposition for Synchrony


I concur with your opinion and, most likely, B&H was left scrambling to find another bank to fulfill the PayBoo card. While I don't like adding another cc, I have used their PayBoo card extensively to purchase products this past year, so, will likely apply for the new card. 8% savings are too much to overlook and saved me about $1200 this year alone.


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## unfocused (Dec 16, 2021)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> … and it was a money losing proposition for Synchrony…


No. The sales tax rebate is from B&H not Synchrony.


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## anthony_s (Dec 17, 2021)

LOLz, any word on what bank will support this iteration?


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## BadBird (Jan 21, 2022)

B&H web page says it is Comenity Capital Bank. Looking at Better Business Bureau reviews (it is not a BBB accredited bank) and many other online reviews, this appears to be a terrible bank to try to do business with. Several law firms appear to specialize in filing cases against this bank when it gouges customers with spurious late fees. Not convinced that it is wise to open a new B&H account that goes through Comenity.


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## ColorBlindBat (Jan 23, 2022)

Sigh.
With a 1.02/5 rating at BBB, I will not be signing up for a replacement PayBoo card. 
Time to spend more time at CPW.


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## unfocused (Jan 23, 2022)

Comenity is apparently one of the largest issuers of store branded credit cards. Burlington, Eddie Bauer, Ikea, Pottery Barn, True Value, Victoria's Secret and Williams Sonoma are just a handful of the retailers whose store brand cards are listed as issued by Comenity. There do seem to be a number of complaints from people about them being slow to credit payments, but I always paid off the old Synchrony-issued PayBoo charges as soon as the product arrived. I doubt they will be any worse than Synchrony, although I doubt they will be better either.

I think the key with all these cards is to pay the full balance right away and avoid ridiculously high interest charges.


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## ColorBlindBat (Jan 25, 2022)

Agree with paying off the Synchrony card (and all others) to avoid interest charges.
I'll wait and see what others here experience with Comenity. It's hard for me to ignore Comenity's poor BBB raiting.


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## unfocused (Jan 25, 2022)

ColorBlindBat said:


> ...It's hard for me to ignore Comenity's poor BBB raiting.


I have a jaundiced view of the BBB. They are an industry organization, not a government agency, and there is much controversy about their practices.


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## ColorBlindBat (Jan 26, 2022)

Agreed the BBB is a mixed bag, but if a business only rates 1.02/5 over 200 reviews, to me that's more than eough to be leary.

Take a look at Consume Affairs. Lots of poor reviews.


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## unfocused (Jan 26, 2022)

ColorBlindBat said:


> Agreed the BBB is a mixed bag, but if a business only rates 1.02/5 over 200 reviews, to me that's more than eough to be leary.
> 
> Take a look at Consume Affairs. Lots of poor reviews.


Yeah, I agree. Need to be cautious. I just am not sure they will be any worse than Synchrony. I generally avoid store-issued credit cards of any type. I got the B&H Card and the Adorama card because of the cash discounts with both. I signed up for the new Comenity-issued B&H card and just placed an order with B&H. I will pay it off as soon as the products arrive. Most of the complaints with Comenity seemed to be from people who got charged interest due to a variety of issues. I will let everyone know if I have any problems with the new card. Basically, I'm too cheap to pass up the savings, since I live in a high sales tax state.


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## ColorBlindBat (Jan 26, 2022)

Thana, keep us all infomed....


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