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Pepper Rewards App: 8% Back on Amazon Gift Cards for 15 Days (New Users) + Recurring Flash Sales

(10/10 Only Flash Sales: Lowe’s gift cards 14X/14% Off. REI gift cards 18% Off. Amazon Fresh 10% Off. Netflix 20% Off, Macy’s 20% Off. Petsmart 20% off. See new offers daily in the Inbox under “Notifications”. Confirm the Boosts on screen before you click “Buy gift card”, as quantities are limited. A reminder that 2,000 points = $1.

10/9 Only Flash Sales: Amazon 10X/10% off Flash Sale today only, Ulta/Southwest 20% off, Kohl’s/Champs 18% off. )

Pepper continues to offer up “flash sales” that offer big discounts on gift cards from Amazon, REI, Sam’s Club, and so on. Plus you still get whatever credit card rewards from the Pepper purchase. Examples are Amazon at 12X/12% back, Sam’s Club at 10% back, IKEA 18% back, Airbnb 14% back in the form of points. Stock up quickly when you see the sale in the app. Redeem instantly into your respective store accounts, if you wish. (Tip: The math will work out. Every 2,000 points is worth $1 in future gift cards. 10,000 points = $5, and so on. Must redeem in increments of $5.)

Here’s the current offer for new Pepper users:

  • Download the Pepper Rewards app and be sure to enter a referral code 588494 on the first screen when joining.
  • Get double points for the first 15 days. The limits vary, but I was able to buy up to $500 in Amazon gift cards per day and $2,000 per month. The standard is 4% back on Amazon, for a total of 8% back (you might get more on select stores that go on sale). Be sure to finish up your purchases within the 15-day window.
  • You’ll also earn rewards from using your credit card for purchase. Use a 2% or better cash back rewards card, or use it to satisfy a credit card bonus spending requirement that is even better than 2%.

Pepper is an iOS and Android app that sells discounted, new gift cards in exact amounts that are delivered instantly on your phone. This lets you to wait until the moment before purchase when you already have the final purchase price (in-person or online), and then go buy a discounted gift card via the app down to the penny. The main problem with gift cards is when you don’t use up the entire balance. This helps to avoid the waste.

Robinhood HOOD Week Promo: 3% IRA, 2% Margin, 1% ACAT Bonus (10/16-10/27)

Robinhood brokerage app is jumping on the week-long promo trend and just teased Robinhood HOOD Week (“HOOD” is their stock symbol) from October 16, 2024 to October 27, 2024. The front page is vague but inside the full terms you can see exactly what they will be offering. They are still aggressively collecting assets, and are rolling back out some very competitive cash bonuses when you transfer in assets from external brokerages:

  • 1% bonus on ACATS transfers to your Robinhood joint or individual investing account from an external brokerage. Two-year minimum hold period.
  • 2% bonus on ACATS transfers with a margin balance of $10,000 or more to your Robinhood joint or individual investing account from an external brokerage. Two-year minimum hold period.
  • 3% on ACATS transfers to your Robinhood IRA with a Robinhood Gold subscription, excluding rollovers. Five-year minimum hold period.

Hodl on, though! Transfers must be initiated between 12 AM ET on October 16, 2024 and 11:59 PM ET on October 27, 2024.

Robinhood will also reimburse up to $75 in outgoing transfer fees with transfers of $7,500 or more. This is a one-time reimbursement per account type, per external brokerage.

The asset retention requirement requires that you maintain the transferred assets in your Robinhood account for at least 2 years for the 1% or 2% bonuses and 5 years for the 3% bonus. If you withdraw assets and the balance falls below the initial transfer amount, Robinhood reserves the right to reduce or revoke your bonus, in full or in part.

The 2% bonus with margin balances is an interesting new wrinkle, and it could very easily be worth it “create” a margin balance ahead of time in preparation for the promo week. You’d want to withdraw your cash, and then buy something on margin – even SGOV or another Treasury Bill ETF would work. Paying even 12% interest on $10,000 of margin for an entire month would only be $100 of interest. An extra 1% on $100,000 transferred is worth $1,000, an extra 1% of $1 million is $10,000, and so on.

I didn’t even know you were allowed to transfer margin balances, but apparently that is one of the features of the ACATS system. I suppose it’s like a balance transfer between credit cards, and Robinhood really wants your interest-accruing debt.

I’ve already written multiple articles about past flavors of these Robinhood promos, and I participated in the 3% IRA bonus previously. As always, read through the terms and understand that you’ll be locked into Robinhood for two to five years. Since I’m already partially locked-in, I am pondering that new 2% margin transfer bonus. 🤔

(Anyone understand the meaning of the cherry?)

October Deals Week: Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, Target Circle Week, Walmart Deals

I guess all the major retailers decided that we needed another big coordinated event in October, so here we are again. I looked through the sales and here are a few things that caught my eye. Amazon has refreshed some of their free trials and … [Read the rest]

MMB Portfolio Dividend & Interest Income Update – October 2024 (Q3)

Here’s my quarterly income update as a companion post to my October 2024 asset allocation & performance update. I prefer to track the income produced as an alternative metric to performance. The total income goes up much more gradually and … [Read the rest]

Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers – October 2024 (Updated)

Updated with new $1,000 value+ offers! That space in your wallet or purse is valuable, and you should be the one to get that value. By being smart and picky, you can find offers worth $500+ for a single card, all to encourage you to apply and try … [Read the rest]

Vanguard Adds Automatic, Recurring Dollar-Based ETF Investments

Vanguard has rolled out the ability to make automatic, recurring purchases of Vanguard ETFs using fractional shares (dollar-based purchases, $1 minimum) inside their in-house brokerage account. Trade commissions are still zero. I know that some … [Read the rest]

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Review: Limited-Time Offer, Now Up to $1,050 in Chase Travel(SM) Value.

Updated with new, improved offer with an additional $300 statement credits towards Chase Travel(SM) purchases within your first year. This is on top of the previous 60,000 point offer. Ha, I guess Chase really wants everyone to have this card if … [Read the rest]

OnPath Federal Credit Union: 7.00% APY Rewards Checking + $100 Refer-a-Friend Bonus

OnPath Federal Credit Union has a High-Yield Rewards Checking account that pay the top 7.00% APY on balances up to $10,000 if you satisfy the qualifying activities each month, as well as an improved $100 refer-a-friend bonus. I've mentioned this … [Read the rest]

Kudos App: $20 Referral Bonus, 20% Cash Back at PetSmart, 15% Back at VRBO, TripAdvisor, Booking.com

Updated with new 5X promo through October 31st. Kudos is a new mobile app and browser extension that aims to enhance your existing credit card rewards when shopping. It does this by tracking all your rewards credit cards and recommending the best … [Read the rest]

MMB Portfolio Asset Allocation & Performance Update – October 2024 (Q3)

Here's my 2024 Q3 update for our primary investment holdings, including all of our combined 401k/403b/IRAs and taxable brokerage accounts but excluding our house and smaller side portfolio of self-directed investments. Following the concept of skin … [Read the rest]

TradeUP ACAT Promo: 2% of Assets ($1,000 Bonus on $50k Transferred)

TradeUP is an app-first brokerage firm (though they do have a web interface) that is also competing for asset growth with a new ACAT Transfer Promotion. TradeUP offers $0 commission on trades like most competitors, and is a registered broker-dealer … [Read the rest]

Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines Merger Takeaways and Tips

Alaska Airlines has closed their acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, although they will continue with their separate brands for a while at least. Here the pages about the merger on the Hawaiian site and the Alaska site with details about how the … [Read the rest]