Review of the IN: Chicago® Card from American Express

The American Express IN Chicago Card was last reviewed on 3rd May 2008.

Summary - The American Express IN Chicago Card is designed specifically for residents of Chicago who would like to earn reward points that can be redeemed on dining, drinking and entertainment rewards. You can earn unlimited reward points, which can also be redeemed in New York and San Francisco. INSIDE reward points do not expire. Let us look at this card in greater detail.

Reward Formula - The IN: CHICAGO® Card from American Express allows you to earn one INSIDE (SM) reward point for every dollar you spend. You earn double points when you spend on city essentials like dining, movie tickets, cell phone service, cable and internet service, gym memberships, and newspaper and magazine subscriptions. You can earn unlimited points, which do not expire. These reward points can also be redeemed for items in two other cities, New York and L.A. At present, the INSIDE Reward Program has 35 Dining (restaurant outlets) partners, 15 Drink partners and 10 Play (Theatres) partners. .

Annual Fee and APR - There is no annual fee for this card. The APR is as low as prime rate plus 3.99%. Like all American Express cards, the IN Chicago Card uses the average daily balance method (including new purchases) to calculate monthly balances. You get an introductory 0% APR on both purchases and balance transfers for 6 months. You do not pay any balance transfer fee for this offer.

Reward Program Partners - At present, INSIDE Rewards has 60 partners for the IN Chicago Card. The table below list them.

INSIDE Reward Dining Partners

BIN 36 Chicago	Fulton's on the River	Marche	Spiaggia
bin wine cafe	Gioco	Mia Francesca	Spring
Bistro 110	Green Zebra	mk Restaurant	SUSHISAMBA rio
Blue Water Grill	Japonais	one sixtyblue	Tuscany on Taylor
Cafe Spagia	Kamehachi (Northbrook)	Opera	Tuscany Wrigleyville
Club Lucky	Kamehachi (Old Town)	Phil Stefani's 437 Rush
Custom House	Kamehachi (Streeterville)	Red Light
Francesca's Bryn Mawr	Keefer's Restaurant	Rise Sushi & Sake Lounge
Francesca's Forno	Le Colonial	Riva
Francesca's on Taylor	Le Lan	Salpicon

INSIDE Reward Drink Partners

Bungalow Loungebar	Le Passage	Vision
Crobar	Sound-Bar	WHISKEY BLUE
Excalibur	The Apartment	WHISKEY SKY
Fulton Lounge	The Leg Room	Y Bar
Le Bar at Sofiel Water Tower	THE WHISKEY BAR & GRILL	Zentra Nightclub

INSIDE Reward Play Partners

Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt	MCA (Museum of Contemporary)
Beat Kitchen	Metro/Smart Bar
Broadway.com	Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Gen Art	Subterranean
Goodman Theatre	The Second City

Conclusion - The American Express IN Chicago Card will appeal to those living in Chicago who hang out at trendy places. Scan through their reward partners above and if you find that you are visiting these places quite a lot, then the IN:CHICAGO® Card from American Express® may be the right reward credit card for you. Like all American Express reward programs, you can earn unlimited INSIDE rewards, whose points do not expire.

Positives