FoundersCard is a benefits membership card that is aimed at small business owners, and has benefits that range from elite hotel status to discounts on new BMW’s.
This is not a credit card that you can put charges on like the AMEX platinum or the Chase Sapphire Reserve. It is simply a card that gives you access to great benefits in exchange for a yearly fee.
CNN has called this card “The elite ‘Black Card’ for entrepreneurs”. However, anyone can apply for it since they don’t verify the validity of your company during the application process. The card also has some pretty awesome travel and lifestyle benefits that can be useful for anyone – not just business owners.
The idea behind FounderCard is to gather the buying power of a large number of individuals to negotiate the best deals with companies such as BMW, Dell, Apple, Hilton, and Hertz – among many others! Furthermore, there are some really awesome business benefits if you’re a startup company (eg. discounted web hosting, business cards, and office spaces).
Is this card right for you? Check out our full FoundersCard review below!
FoundersCard Benefits
FoundersCard members receive high end perks that are typically reserved for premium travel credit cards and corporate deals for large companies.
There are a ton of benefits that come with the card (see all benefits here: https://founderscard.com/preview), but our five favorite FoundersCard perks are:
1. Adidas Discount. FoundersCard Members receive an ongoing discount of 30% off most items on adidas.com. All you have to do is grab the discount code after you login on FoundersCard.
2. AT & T Discount. This awesome benefits gives you 15% off standard rates on all voice plans and on data plans greater than $30 in value, excluding unlimited voice and iPad data plans. If you have a plan that costs you $40/month, then this benefit alone will save you over $70 a year.
3. BMW and Audi Discount. If you’re in the market for a new BMW or Audi, then this is a must-use benefit. With the FoundersCard BMW discount, you will get at least $500-$1,000 off (more if you’re purchasing a higher tier model). We recommend that you do not tell the BMW dealer about this discount, and whip it out right at the end after you’ve already negotiated your best price. FoundersCard members can also purchase or lease a new Audi vehicle at Dealer Invoice price plus $300.
4. Caesars Diamond Total Rewards Membership. This benefit is the main reason a lot of people get FoundersCard. The Diamond tier membership is typically reserved for people who rack up at least 15,000 Tier Credits – and these are not easy to earn.
For example, you need to spend $5 on a slot machine to earn a single tier credit. If slots is all you play, then you would have to spend $75,000 to earn this Diamond status.
Some of the benefits of the Diamond status include:
- No resort fees on any hotel stay (the resort fees are usually over $30/night)
- Complimentary valet and self-parking at most destinations, including Las Vegas & Atlantic City
- Priority lines
- Match your status with Wyndham Rewards to enjoy their Diamond perks
Check out more Caesars Diamond perks here: https://www.caesars.com/total-rewards/benefits-overview
Amazingly, the Caesars Diamond status will also get you four free nights at the Atlantis resort (yes the same one as shown in the Mary-Kate and Ashley movie) in the Bahamas! How do you go about redeeming this benefit? Click here to find out.
5. FoundersCard Hotel Rates. When we were looking into the hotel rates offered through FoundersCard we were expecting some mediocre offerings. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find that their hotel rates are very competitive, and often lower than what you could find on Expedia.
We’re guessing FoundersCard was able to negotiate great rates based on their large membership base. The only thing to note is that these hotels are typically high end ones (eg. Ritz-carlton, The W, Omni etc.). Even though you’re saving lots of money on these high end hotels, you’re not saving much on your travel expenses if you usually stay at properties such as the Holiday Inn or using AirBnB.
We certainly encourage you to head over to the benefits preview page to see everything that this card can offer since we are just scraping the surface of the card with our five favorite benefits. All FoundersCard benefits can be found here: https://founderscard.com/preview
Founderscard Cost
So how much does a card with all of these benefits cost? FoundersCard lists their price at $595 per year – which is more than most premium credit cards. However, a referral code will drop this price down to $395 per year (click here to apply with our referral code).
We have found that with some persistent negotiation, FoundersCard typically will drop their prices to $295 per year if you sign up for two years up front. The best part about this is that you are locked in at a rate of $295 per year for life.
If you are able to get the card for $395 or less per year and travel at least three times a year, then we would recommend getting this card. If you’re an AT&T customer, or go to Vegas often then this card is a no-brainer even at the full $595 per year.
Things to Watch Out For
If you do end up getting FoundersCard, we want to bring up a few things to watch out for! These are all based on our own experiences with the card.
1. Founderscard Apple Discount. This is one of those benefits that’s truly meant for small businesses so it’s not suited for individual purchases. As an example, your purchase amount must be over $5,000 for this benefit to be valid. Also, the terms state that you must have at least five employees at your company. Please don’t count on using this benefit for an individual purchase unless you can get a few people together for a group buy!
2. Dell and Lenovo Discounts. When you login to the special FoundersCard portal for both Dell and Lenovo the discounts look pretty good. However, these discounts are often very close (within a few percent) to what they’re offering the public on their website.
There are no issues with buying your computer through the FoundersCard portal, and we have done so multiple times. We just recommend checking the public sites for Dell and Lenovo to make sure there aren’t better deals for the same product.
3. Redeeming the Hotel and Car Rental Status Upgrades. The elite statuses are amazing, but it can take up to five weeks before your upgrade goes through. It you know you will be traveling, then we recommend you redeem these status upgrades as early as possible. We got caught on this a few times, and there’s not much that FoundersCard can do to speed up the process.
If you have experience with FoundersCard, then please leave a comment below and let us know what you think!
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