[safari]

I purchased a DVD recordable drive in November 2004, and last week it stopped working. It came with one year warranty, but since I charged it to my American Express Blue Cash card, which comes with the free Buyer's Assurance Program, it doubled the manufacturer's warranty for up to one additional year. I called American Express on September 23 and they said they would issue credit for the full purchase price within the next 3 weeks, and I saw the credit applied to my balance on September 28 (in less than one week). They didn't even ask me to return the DVD recorder to them, just gave me the credit. I got $208 back, which is a lot better than sending the product back to the manufacturer, paying for shipping, waiting a few weeks and then getting back a refurbished product. All it took was a single phone call. I asked about the limits for claims under the Buyer's Assurance Program, and they are $10,000 per item and $50,000 per lifetime, which is great. I'll make sure to charge all expensive items to my American Express card, which gives me cashback AND extends the warranty for up to an additional year for free.