American Greetings: Affordable 247 E Cards By Candida Eittreim on Jun 10, 2008 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

I love sending just because cards all throughout the year. But I don't enjoy having to pay anywhere from $2.95-10.95 for highly personalized cards. I've been a member of American Greetings for the last 4 years and really love the convenience of sending a card at midnight, because someone I care about needs a little boost, or needs to hear they are loved.

The annual membership is $13.95 and includes a variety of services. There is a secdtion, included with your membership, where you can print out invitations, thank you cards, recipes, and more. You get a personal calender that helps you keep track of important dates like anniversaries and birthdays. Once set up, you get an e-mail on the date you specify, reminding you of the upcoming event. There are also the usual screensavers and wallpapers available for free on site.

The selection of cards is huge and it would be very difficult not finding the perfect card on their site. One thing I admire about American Greetings is their proactiveness in securing their cards against the massive e card phishing attacks of the last two years. In their new security section they clearly describe how you can be assured the cards you send and receive are in fact from them, and not some bogus phishing group.

One of the biggest negative changes to American Greetings membership is the now added costs for photo printing and for their once free Create and Print. Both run $19.95 a year each, which I think is way too much money on top of the annual $13.95 basic membership. Even though both of the services offers plenty of really neat features, taken together it comes to over $50.00.

If you are just looking for a great supply of high quality greeting cards, available 24 hours a day, then American Greetings is a very good choice.