Comments on: 4 Stash Your Cash Deals Most People Haven’t Heard Of

By: Net Worth & Goals Update – July 2010 » My Money Blog

Net Worth & Goals Update – July 2010 » My Money Blog — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:48:39 +0000

[...] still provides a very competitive yield even if you withdraw early before the 5 years is up. (See here for more [...]

By: Citi Platinum Select Card: 0% APR Balance Transfer for 21 months » My Money Blog

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 06:18:55 +0000

[...] As an opportunity to arbitrage some profit by borrowing at the low rate and investing it elsewhere, it would probably be unlikely even you really tried with a bank CD, and maybe a little better chance with one of those 4% rewards checking accounts. [...]

By: Jeff

Jeff — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 22:10:37 +0000

The Danvers offer has dropped to 3.01%.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 04:18:24 +0000

@Kenneth – Yes, the Citi Forward card still does 5x points back at Amazon. I have the card as my default card in Amazon. Very handy.

It’s more literally about 3.6%-3.8% “cash” back and 5% back in the form of retail gift cards. Again we see that gift cards can be bought at discount in bulk. More details here:

http://www.mymoneyblog.com/arc.....oncom.html

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:59:07 +0000

@Kenneth yes Citi Forward still considers Amazon.com purchases (including even that from Amazon.com third party sellers) as “bookstore” purchases eligible for the 5% back.

By: marybeth

marybeth — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:38:12 +0000

Thanks! I haven’t heard of DanversBank but I just opened an account.

By: Kenneth

Kenneth — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:42:28 +0000

Anyone know if the Citi Forward credit card still offers 5% back on Amazon purchases? Assuming you’re good about paying your balances in full, would that still be a better “deal” than setting goals and cashing out on 4% Amazon gift cards (and whatever amount of interest accumulates meanwhile) with SmartyPig?

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:55:06 +0000

@Kenneth – No, you can pretty much “bend” the rules to get 4% bonus on Amazon certificates as you like. My guess is Smartypig buys these at more than a 4% discount anyway so they don’t mind either. The primary benefits would be just psychological in case your goal is actually higher than $250 or whatever.

By: Kenneth

Kenneth — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 01:09:56 +0000

Somebody set me straight: Is there an inherent problem with setting an arbitrary number of $250 goals just to keep cashing in on $260 Amazon gift certs (assuming you buy a lot of stuff on Amazon)? I don’t see the inherent benefit of setting higher goals…

By: kyle

kyle — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:02:20 +0000

@Raj – I’d just set up a generically-named goal with a fairly high target, like

Future Fun Fund – $45,000

There’s no penalty for stopping short of your “goal”, and you don’t have to share your goal with anyone else.

By: Raj

Raj — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:45:51 +0000

Does anyone know whether with Smartypig, one has to set up goals on a mandatory basis? I’m just attracted to the high 2.15 APY so can i just park my $$ there indefinitely without setting goals?

By: Gaurav

Gaurav — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 13:09:13 +0000

Thanks for the pointer, I opened a 5 year CD with them and was able to negotiate a 25 bps higher rate. This makes the 5 year CD rate @3.2%, with their redemption policy I think it is one of the best places to park liquid cash

By: Jim

Jim — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:47:57 +0000

For those who don’t need SmartyPig’s social aspect, and are setting goals of $1,000 or more, a better option is an installment savings account. These are very common at banks that cater to Korean-Americans.

I have a “Rainbow Savings Account” at Wilshire State Bank. Assuming that you also open a free checking account with them, the rates range from 2.53% for a 12-month account to 3.30% for a 36-month account. You commit to making the same contribution each month, and they commit to pay that interest rate for the duration of the account. The account pays out interest quarterly, and the early withdrawal penalty is only the unpaid interest, so the risk of agreeing to a 36-month commitment is low.

By: Roger

Roger — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:17:09 +0000

Glad to see Smartypig getting some kind words. I’ve had a good experience using them for a couple of years now. I’ve held multiple “Goals”. I haven’t had a desire to use their gift card option yet but may in the future. Until now I’ve just been using them strictly as a no-hassle savings vehicle.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 23:57:27 +0000

I’ve been leaving a lot of money on the table by only earning 0.9% on my cash. Unfortunately, a rewards checking account would be way too much hassle for me. The Ally CD deal sounds tempting, though. Does anyone know what’s involved in redeeming a CD early, and how long it takes? Is it a matter of clicking a few times to set up an ACH transaction, or contacting the bank and asking them to put a check in the mail?

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 20:47:24 +0000

Is there any reason to think that Danvers will keep its high rate? Just about everybody else has dropped theirs, and surely some more rate chasers will invade Danvers now. 4.0% as a nationwide rate seems to be a failing proposition. I’d love to move my money there, but I have a feeling it will be a lot of work for very little money when I need to move it out again next month.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:34:52 +0000

@Jason and Monica – Thanks for reminding me about the Upromise connection. I also added info about 10% bonus you can get on Upromise earnings via Sallie Mae to the main post.

@Ryan – Good idea. I did the same, although I didn’t go to small to keep things manageable. With another bank, I once opened 5 x $1,000 instead of $5,000.

@Tony – I don’t know for sure, but there may still be a difference between what they tell you and the actual truth. Banks pretty much can’t tell the difference between an ACH and a direct deposit until they manually check every month, and most don’t. But this web page specifically states only “recurring ACH” which by definition should include a simple bank/paypal funds deposit.

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:23:14 +0000

For Jonathan or anyone with the Danvers RCA: regarding the last requirement in the list to receive the 4% rate, would a recurring ACH include a monthly push into the account from an external bank or paypal?

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 17:06:27 +0000

I recently opened several Ally 5-year CDs. I opted open multiple CDs versus one large one so that in the event that I want to access only a portion of my savings I could cash-out some of the CDs early and leave the others intact.

By: Jeet

Jeet — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:43:38 +0000

I think you should also compare IBonds along with the rest of the options. There are some limitations, but they are a good option for stashing away cash (and not many people know about them).

By: Monica

Monica — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:44:01 +0000

I just opened a Salle Mae saving account. It’s tied to Upromise and if you save education fund for yourself or kids, this might be a great deal.
You can get reward just linking your Upromise account and Sallie Mae. My husband linked to his student loan account, too.

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:01:53 +0000

If you’re not too impressed with the high fees associated with Upromise’s 529′s, you can link your Upromise account (which doesn’t earn interest) to a SallieMae checking account to sweep your Upromise earnings (when you make those qualified purchases). It sweeps only if you have a minimum $10 and only once a month. Upromise is owned by SallieMae. One has to open the SallieMae account through Upromise’s website and has to link the account to Upromise. The name of the Upromise beneficiary has to match the SallieMae account holder. I had to call Upromise’s customer service when I discovered it wasn’t sweeping.

By: Ken @ DepositAccounts

Ken @ DepositAccounts — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:30:37 +0000

For those concerned with an institution named SmartyPig, your deposits are actually held in a FDIC-insured account at a bank. That bank is currently West Bank in Iowa, but it will soon be BBVA Compass.