Archive for the 'Deals & Offers' Category
Citibank
You get a $100 bonus when you open an eligible Citi checking account with $1,000 and complete one direct deposit or repeated billpay usage. New customers only. Seems also to be for Citi credit card holders only.
Within the first month after account opening, customer must complete at least one direct deposit to, or at least two electronic bill payments from, the checking account each month for three consecutive months to get $100.
Bank of the West
This regional bank (west/midwest US) is offering a $100 bonus for doing a variety of activities: $25 for opening the account with a debit card, $25 for using it 10 times, $25 for direct deposit, and $25 for billpay. Must be opened in a physical branch.
Offer valid for a new personal checking account opened from September 8 through November 1, 2008 with $100 or more from a financial institution other than Bank of the West.
Provident Bank
Another regional bank (east/northeast US) offering a $100 bonus for opening a checking account with $25 minimum.
Provident Bank will award $100 to new personal checking customers that open a new Totally Free, Regular, Interest or Platinum checking account between 9/2/08 and 11/21/08 that have direct deposit and a Provident MasterMoney™ debit card by 12/31/08.
Wells Fargo
You get a $50 bonus when you open a Wells Fargo Free Checking Account with $100. No minimum balance, no monthly fees.
Limit one $50 bonus per household. To qualify for your $50 bonus, you must open and fund a new personal Wells Fargo checking account with a minimum initial deposit of $100 (not including the $50 bonus) by October 17, 2008.
Posted in Deals & Offers | 9 Comments »
Washington Mutual has raised the rate on their Online Savings + Free Checking combo to 4.0% APY. This is now the highest of the no-minimum no-fee savings accounts. Curiously, HSBC Direct actually dropped their rate to 3.25% APY earlier this week.
You can learn more about this account at my WaMu review post. They also again have 12-month CDs yielding 5% APY.
I’ve already laid out why I am sticking with Washington Mutual. In short, why would I mess with this nice setup as long as my money is still insured?
[Some pages still say 3.75%, but my account details confirm the 4.0% APY. Existing account holders can log in and click on “About this account”. Or just click here and hit Apply Today, and you should see the new rate.]
Posted in Banking, Deals & Offers | 58 Comments »
Through October 31st, the standard Scottrade referral promotion is now worth 7 free trades (instead of the usual 3) when you open an account with at least $500. At $7 per trade, that’s worth nearly $50. If you need a referral code, please contact me and I’ll send you one from another reader.
Both referrer and referee will receive 3 free online trades when the referee opens a qualified account with Scottrade. These free trades will usually be credited within 24 hours. An additional 4 free online trades will be credited to both accounts within 15 business days.
Referrals must be made and the new account must be opened by the new referee by the end of business day on October 31, 2008 in order for both accounts to receive the bonus 4 free online trades.
Related
Posted in Deals & Offers | 5 Comments »
Costco Junkies: The Costco TrueEarnings American Express card is now offering $25 bonus after your first purchase. This is a good all-around cashback card, offering:
- 3% cash back on gasoline (any, including Costco gas)
- 3% cash back at all restaurants
- 2% cash back on travel (airline, lodging, car rental, cruise line, travel agency and tour operators)
- 1% cash back on everything else, including Costco
There is no limit on cashback you can earn, and no annual fee with your Costco membership. It also doubles as your membership card, preserving some of that precious wallet space.
Business Version
If you have a business, or I guess a Costco Business membership, you should get the Business TrueEarnings American Express card because it offers a higher 5% back on gas in addition the same 3% on restaurants, 2% on travel, and 1% on everything else. No $25 bonus, though. For individuals, leave the “Business Tax ID” space blank and just use your Social Security number, and they will treat you as a sole proprietorship.
[Also related: My overall favorite cashback/rewards cards]
NYC Commuters: Chase Bank is offering up to $50 back towards your commuting costs when you use your Chase debit card to make the purchase:
Pay for your MetroCard® , Train and NYC Yellow Cab rides with your Chase Debit Card. Get a $10 Cash Reward (up to $50) for every $150 in qualifying purchases this September 1 to October 31, 2008.*
Credit Score Watchers: This is a follow-up to my popular post on Five Ways To Get Your Free Credit Score … With No Trials!. One of the options, CreditKarma, has re-scaled their proprietary credit score to be in the 300-850 range, matching that of the “official” FICO-branded score. Their score is based on your TransUnion credit report, so it should now be easier to understand.
Posted in Deals & Offers | 16 Comments »
One of my long-time favorite credit cards, especially for those that like to travel, is the highly flexible American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Card. Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) was originally a good hotel rewards program, but got even more popular because you could also transfer the points to a variety of frequent flier programs as well as things like Amazon.com gift certificates.
Today, they announced a new redemption option - any flight with no restrictions or blackout dates. Essentially, you can buy any ticket available on a site like Expedia using points. For example, a flight costing up to $150 with SPG can be bought with 10,000 points. This is a transfer rate of up to 1.5 cents per point. While I still like “topping off” my frequent flier miles to grab awards tickets, this is nice to have if you need to book a flight quickly and/or directly. Thanks to reader Eric for the tip. Here is the exchange chart:
| Ticket Price |
Starpoints |
| up to $150 |
10,000 |
| $150-$215 |
15,000 |
| $215-$280 |
20,000 |
| $280-$345 |
25,000 |
| $345-$410 |
30,000 |
| $410-$475 |
35,000 |
| $475-$540 |
40,000 |
| $540-$605 |
45,000 |
| $605-$670 |
50,000 |
| (continues on) |
|
And unlike frequent flier awards, you also get to earn frequent flier miles for the trip!
Rack Up Some Starpoints
Right now, if you apply for a Starwood American Express card, you will get 10,000 free points after your first purchase, which is good for a $150 ticket or a $100 Amazon gift certificate. You can get an additional 15,000 points by spending $15,000 on the card within the first 6 months. That’s a potential total of 25,000 points, which can now be redeemed for any airline ticket priced up to $345.
The annual fee is waived for the first year, $45 afterwards. Cancel within first year if you just want the bonus points. There is also the Business Starwood American Express Card, which is offering an additional 10,000 Starpoints after first purchase.
Finally, now that you are familiar with it, you can earn 250 Starpoints by taking this short survey about the new feature.
Posted in Deals & Offers | 7 Comments »
Enjoy free general admission for you and a guest to hundreds of museums and cultural venues nationwide on Saturday, September 27, 2008. This is a month from now, so mark your calendars if interested. Thanks to Julie.
The following Museum Day restrictions apply: One time use on September 27, 2008 unless otherwise specified. Card must be presented for free general admission. Admission Card will be collected upon entry. General admission only. Does not include entry to special exhibits or IMAX screenings. Admission Card is good for general admission for you plus one guest. One Admission Card per household. Not for use with any other offer. No rain checks. Some participating museums may already have a free admission policy year round and are participating in the “spirit” of the day.
You have to fill out a form to get an admission card. Find a participating museum here.
Posted in Deals & Offers | 3 Comments »
WaMu has rolled out a new 5% APY 12-month CD, which is a very high yield for that term length. Yes, WaMu has had some issues like other banks, but I’ve already explained why I am sticking with them as long as I’m under the FDIC insurance limits.
Convenience Factor
If you already bank at WaMu, you can fund it easily online with a minimum of $1,000. With their existing Free Checking and 3.75% APY Online Savings combo, it makes a convenient package:
Early withdrawal penalty is 90 days interest. You can fund directly from your existing accounts. I might move some money around for this one.
Combine with 0% APR Balance Transfers
For those that are interested in making some profit using 0% balance transfers, but have been holding off due to the narrowing interest rate spreads, this might be an opportunity to jump back in. You can get 0% APR for 12 months with a $75 fee from the Discover More card.
There is also 0% APR for 12 months + $100 Bonus from the Discover Business Card if you want to go that route. Details here.
Borrowing the money at 0% and putting it in 5% CD for 12 months gives the following rough math: Gain of 5% interest on $12,000 = $600. Minus $75 fee and taxes to get your final profit. You can do better if you get a larger credit limit. If you can handle the minimum payments of 2% of balance per month ($200 initially each $10,000) with your regular cashflow, then you could stick the entire amount in the CD. The actual terms say that the introductory period lasts “until the last day of the billing period ending during September 2009″.
Posted in Banking, Deals & Offers | 47 Comments »
An extension of the new Live.com Search Engine cashback system mentioned previously, it has been discussed ad nauseam here, here, and here. At first glance, I thought it would be a short-lived misprint/typo kind of deal, so I didn’t bother. It did disappear, but now it is back, so I guess Live.com is consciously choosing to continue with this promotion (for now).
In short, the cashback system is currently offering 25% off any item purchased on eBay, provided it is bought using the “Buy It Now” feature and using PayPal for payment. There is a limit to $200 in cashback per purchase, with a maximum of 6 purchases. Fine print is here. A quick and dirty walkthrough:
1. First read up on the general idea of Live.com cashback. You’ll need to wait 60 days to withdraw the cashback. If interested, sign up for an account.
2. Click on this link, this link, or this link. Look for the following:
3. Click on the circled link, which will send you to eBay. Find an item that you want with the Buy It Now option and that accepts PayPal. Click on “Buy It Now”. You should see this icon on the next screen:
4. Check out and pay with PayPal. You should get an e-mail or message from eBay with confirmation afterwards.
Clever people have been buying highly liquid items like gold, silver, and popular gift cards at 25% off. However, supply and demand has driven many prices up, making it harder to find profitable opportunities. Isn’t economics neat?
Posted in Deals & Offers | 28 Comments »
Online broker TradeKing.com has a new $50 sign-up bonus for new accounts as part of celebrating National Friendship Day. If you get a referral from an existing account holder, fund it with at least $1,000, and make a trade, both people will get $50. This is the best promotion from TradeKing in several months.
New qualifying account must be opened within the dates of 7-31-08 to 8-28-08. New referred client must fund their account with a minimum of $1,000 within 30 days of opening the new account. New referred client must also execute at least one trade in the new account within 180 days of the account opening. The minimum funds of $1,000 must remain in the account (minus any trading losses) for a minimum of 180 days or the credit may be surrendered.
I have an account, so if you’d like a referral just contact me, and I’ll be happy to send you one. I only need your e-mail address. For more information on TradeKing, please check out my TradeKing Review.
Posted in Deals & Offers, Investing | 3 Comments »
Microsoft’s Live Search engine now has a cashback system - the idea is that you can compare products and prices using their search engine, and then buy through them and get cashback. This is similar to existing cashback portals like eBates ($10 sign-up bonus), but they add in the price comparison component. Like the rest, you have to wait 60-90 days for your rebates (in case you make a return).
Every time you make a qualifying purchase, we’ll send you an email to confirm your Live Search cashback savings. Usually 60 days after your purchase (although this time period may vary for some stores), and when your cashback account reaches a balance of at least $5, you can claim your cold, hard cash.
They are currently having a Back-to-School promotion that is giving nearly double cash-back percentages at several stores (sorted alphabetically). Examples are
- 70% back at Magazines.com.
- 38% back at ShoeMall, 36% back at FootLocker and Eastbay, and 32% back at Shoes.com
- 12% back at Barnes and Noble
- 5.5% back at NewEgg (electronics)
At 70% off, you can get an entire year’s subscription to The Economist for under $30. I know that several readers like this magazine, which is very hard to find at a discount. Or you can just renew the rest of your magazine subscriptions on the cheap. Combining coupons may void the cashback, according to the terms and conditions.
Posted in Deals & Offers, General | 22 Comments »
It seems that one small silver lining of these ongoing bank troubles is that well, banks need more money in order to keep afloat. This means they are more willing to pay us more $$$ for the privilege of holding onto ours. 
Even the big banks are starting to play along. Thanks to Brian and John for their respective updates.
Big Banks
If you have a decent balance and are willing to lock up your month for a while, below are some nice rates with terms of a year or less. Interest rates might be going back up soon to combat inflation, so locking in a CD longer than that might not be the best idea.
Online Banks
The online bank arena remains the place to be if you want high yields and minimal restrictions, including the ability to withdraw money at any time. All are still FDIC insured.
- HSBC Direct is offering 3.50% APY with no fees and no minimum balance requirements, guaranteed until 9/15.
- FNBO Direct is also offering 3.50% APY with no fees and no minimum balance requirements, and has maintained a decent track record of consistently high rates.
- Everbank also has a savings account that offers a nice 4.65% APY for the first 3 months, and then 3.51% APY afterwards. Not bad, considering even the non-special rate is very competitive. I guess that is why they call it the Yield Pledge Money Market account, since it “pledges” to stay amongst the top 5% of competitive banks. There is a minimum balance requirement of $1,500 to avoid fees.
Posted in Banking, Deals & Offers | 30 Comments »
I’m usually not a big fan of paying for coupon books since I always forget to use them, but here is a way to get free access to Entertainment Book Online. Just visit this page, and enter the Access Code OPADINE08 (looks expired), or try OPADINE. You don’t need to provide a name or credit card number. Via SD.
After joining, you are allowed to print coupons for 10 “Premium Discounts” per month, which is often something like Buy-1-Entree-Get-1-Free or 20% off your bill at participating restaurants. I never seem to like any of these restaurants, but it’s worth a quick search by zip code. They seem to restrict the easy searches to Dining, but you can go to their regular page and find all their offers. Then go back and run a text search.
One option is to run a search for “blockbuster”, where you can print out a coupon for a free 12-month membership to the Blockbuster Rewards program. Retail value is ~$10, and includes one free Non-New Release Movie rental coupon each month.
Added: You can get another 3 Premium Discounts per month at this page. You’ll need to sign up as a new member again, but it is easier to search through non-Dining offers on this page for some reason.
Posted in Deals & Offers | 18 Comments »
Right now you can get $10 off your next Amazon.com order when you sign up for a free 1-month trial of Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime gives you free 2-day shipping on any purchase with no minimum order, so you don’t even need to get to $25 for the usual Super Saver Shipping. For example, you could order something priced at $12 for only $2 with free 2-day shipping. Via SD.
Promotional offer valid until July 28, 2008. Customer must sign up for a new Amazon Prime Free Trial by July 28th, 2008 and redeem promotional credit before August 28, 2008.
This offer is for accounts who have never signed up for Amazon Prime, trial or not. So if you are already logged in under another account on your computer, you may not see this offer. You will need to logout and either login into a different valid account or open up a new account. The cool part about Amazon Prime trials is that you can set it not to auto-renew ahead of time, so you don’t have to remember to cancel. Here’s how:
- Click on Your Account.
- If you’re not there yet, scroll down and click on Subscriptions Management > Manage Your Amazon Prime Membership.
- Look for green text. Click on the Do Not Upgrade button and you won’t automatically be charged $79 anymore. You’ll still get the entire 1st month of free Amazon Prime shipping.
Posted in Deals & Offers | 13 Comments »
To get your free Schick Quattro Razor, visit ShaveRyanNyquist.com, click to Enter the site, and vote on which facial hair design you want him to have. When they ask you if you want a free razor sample as well, click on “Sure Man”. If it tells you “Sorry, no more samples. Next time pedal faster”, try again later or with a different web browser. It appears to be a little hit and miss, but should come through eventually. Via FW.
First a razor giveaway involving a weird pillow fight video, now one where you get to influence an X-games athlete’s facial hair. Where do they get these ideas? I almost want to tell them to lay off the pot.
Posted in Deals & Offers | 15 Comments »
Quick links to more offers that may be of interest…
$10 Discover Gift Card for every $100 Spent
Get a $10 Discover Gift Card for every $100 you spend on your Discover Card at participating malls from August 1 through September 7, 2008. The mall list is pretty short, tough. See this post on a similar promotion for more information. Don’t forget your buy 1 get 1 free movie tickets with Discover as well.
Buy 1 Get 1 Free Jamba Juice Smoothie
I work hard to avoid Jamba Juice these days, as I am susceptible to overpriced smoothie addictions during these hot months…
Purchase any Jamba menu board item and get an additional menu board item of the same or lesser value free. Baked goods and snack items are not included in this offer. Expires 7/30/08.
Free iPod Nano or iPod Touch with new account at KeyBank
Open a free checking account + some other hoops, get a free iPod Nano. Open a Privilege (higher balance requirements) + some other hoops, get iPod Touch. KeyBank has a limited geographical footprint.
Between 7/12/08 and 8/15/08, you must open a Key Express Free Checking (this is the basic banking account in NY), Key Advantage Checking or a Key Business Free Checking Account and by 10/31/08 make one debit card transaction and a combination of two direct deposits or automated payments each of $100 or more to get an iPod® nano.
Posted in Deals & Offers | 19 Comments »
