Win Your Share of $500: Credit Card Rehab Contest

We have a few dollars burning in our pockets, and we would like to give them to you. We have found an easy, simple, fun way to do this.

We are Offering more than $500 in Prizes

Earlier this year, Credit Cards Canada sponsored the first ever Personal Finance Guest Blogging Contest.  We are a little embarrassed that we raised more in sponsorship than we planned to give in prizes.  In fact, we have $500 and change that we need to give to you.

So we came up with a new contest.  An even simpler contest.  A contest we think will be a lot of fun.

Did you know that there are 72 million credit cards issued in Canada?  Yes, just in Canada alone.  Which leads to a big waste-disposal environmental problem, especially since those cards all expire every few years and are replaced by new ones.

That's where you come in...and how you can win some money.

This contest is about coming up with the most useful, most creative, most interesting uses for expired credit cards (and debit cards, membership cards, loyalty program cards, etc.).  For example, Linda at I-80 Equipment, one of the guest blogging contest sponsors, offers this idea...

"Ok, I can honestly tell you that my husband has used a credit card for a guitar pick...when none were available."

The obvious one that we thought of (a few weeks ago, while it was still winter) is to rehabilitate an expired credit card as an ice scraped for your windshield.  What second careers can you think of for your expired cards?

THE RULES:

• Anyone on Planet Earth is eligible to participate, except people associated with this contest.
• Come up with an idea, and blog about it on your own blog. If you have a blog on an open platform, such as Tumblr, that's good enough.  Please link back to this post or to http://www.creditcardscanada.ca (or to both).
• If two people come up with essentially the same idea, the first one we hear about gets to claim it as theirs.  Let us know by sending your idea and the URL of your blog post to blogger @ creditcardscanada.ca
• On May 2,  we will publish the full list of ideas.
• The public will be invited to vote.  Send your friends on over.
• Voting will be left open until May 9 at noon EST.
• A second round of voting between the top 3 winners will determine who wins first place.  Voting will remain open until May 16 at noon EST.
• All rules are subject to change if necessary.
• Credit Card Canada's word is final.

Voting will consist of leaving a comment choosing which idea you would like to win. During the first round of voting, each commenter can choose his or her top 3 choices. During the final round of voting, each commenter will be limited to choosing only one. The idea with the most votes after two rounds wins the top prize.

We will publish ideas submitted on Mondays and Thursdays throughout the submission period, so that you can see what ideas have been taken.

THE PRIZES:

First Prize: $300 and change

Second Prize: $100

Third Prize: #100

Image source: Andres Rueda via Flickr