Archives for November 2016

Attention cord-cutters! DirecTV has gone live with their new streaming TV service called DirecTV Now. This join existing competitors Sling TV and Playstation VUE. Here’a an image that breaks down the $35/$50/$60/$70 per month tiers (click to enlarge). HBO and Cinemax can be added on for $5 a month each. Below are a list of current promotions as well as brief pros and cons.

Current Promotions.

• Free 7-day trial for everyone. Credit card is required, they will auto-bill you at the end of the 7 days.
• “Go Big” Package is $35 a month for a limited time. Regular price is $60 a month. Here is their exact wording on future pricing: “Customers who sign up for this offer will continue to enjoy this special price for as long as you keep the package, subject only to future reasonable programming price increases applicable to all packages.”
• Free 4th-gen Apple TV ($149 retail) with 3 months pre-paid of any DIRECTV NOW package. You’d basically be paying $105 for 3 months of service and an Apple TV.
• Free Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa ($40 retail) with 1 month pre-paid of any DIRECTV NOW package.

Pros.

• Competitive price, more niche channels. The channel line-up does differ from Sling and VUE – check this CNET table for a specific network. DirecTV in general includes more niche channels in its packages.
• Simplicity. No installation fees, satellite dishes, annual contracts or credit checks required.
• Cancel anytime. You can cancel or pause your subscription online without calling in.
• AT&T Wireless customers get free app streaming that won’t use up mobile data limits. This is a handy feature if you have AT&T service already, but such favorable treatment is not good for net neutrality.

Cons.

• Limited local network broadcasts. Depending on where you live, you may not get live local network broadcasts from ABC, FOX, or NBC. However, you can see some network shows on demand the next day. CBS is not included anywhere.
• No DVR capabilities. You can’t pause live TV or record anything. DVR features are supposed to arrive “sometime in 2017”. To mitigate this, DirecTV has added in video on demand from many networks after a 72-hour delay. In other words, you can still watch a bunch of shows later on at your convenience, but not everything.
• Sling TV has a basic $20 a month level. Sling TV’s lowest tier includes 30 of the more popular cable networks (ESPN, CNN, TNT, TBS, Food Network, etc) but is only $20 a month. The lowest tier for DirecTV Now is $35 a month.
• DirecTV Now limits you to two simultaneous streams on different devices (ex. TV + iPad). Sling and Playstation limit you to three simultaneous streams. This may or may not affect you.

Compatibility. Works with the following for now. Notably, Roku boxes and Samsung Smart TVs are not yet compatible.

• Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
• Android mobile devices and tablets
• iPhone, iPad and Apple TV
• Chromecast (Android at launch; iOS in 2017)
• Google Cast-enabled LeEco ecotvs and VIZIO SmartCast Displays
• Internet Explorer, Chrome and Safari web browsers

Commentary. A little preview of the future. DirecTV differentiates itself with volume, offering more channels than streaming competitors. The current promotions basically get you a free streaming unit from either Apple or Amazon. The free data allotment for AT&T customers is unique and ideal for those who watch TV away from WiFi. (AT&T now owns DirecTV.) If I’m going to cut the cord, $35 a month is probably close to the max I’d pay for live content given I’m likely also paying for NetFlix. Personally, the lack of DVR capabilities continues to be a deal-breaker for me.

Promotion back again starting 11/29. A recent study found that free pizza was a better motivator than cash. How about some free coffee?

Starbucks is again offering a free $10 bonus Starbucks eGift card if you use the Starbucks smartphone app to load a minimum $10 onto your Starbucks Card using Visa Checkout as your payment method. Details:

Download the Starbucks® app and create a Starbucks Rewards™ account.
Existing Starbucks® app users: Simply go to the “Pay” section of the app to get started.
Reload $10+ in the Starbucks® app with Visa Checkout (sign in/sign up link below).
Receive your $10 Starbucks® eGift within 1 day courtesy of Visa Checkout.

Valid between 11/29/16 and 12/22/16, or while supplies last. Usually if they run out of free codes, they will take down the offer page. However, if you’re interested I’d take advantage of this offer as soon as possible.

Qualifying customers will see the $10 Bonus Load in the form of an emailed Starbucks eGift card within 24 hours. (Update: I got my $10 bonus within 8 hours.) You will not see any mention on your initial $10 load receipt. You can check which Visa card is linked to your Visa Checkout by going through the “Add card with Visa Checkout” button.

Target is offering a flat 15% off your entire purchase on Sunday 11/27 and Monday 11/28, both online at Target.com and in-store. This is a nice and easy way to save some money on your everyday shopping at Target, and it stacks with the 5% off with Target REDCard.

Alternatively, you can try to buy something specific that rarely goes on sale otherwise. Examples of eligible items include Apple iPads, Apple Watch, Beats headphones, and Kitchenaid appliances. There restrictions include no gift cards and no prepaid phone cards (though you can get 10% off select phone cards as part of a separate ongoing sale):

*Offer excludes all gift cards, prepaid cards (airtime, entertainment, iTunes, and online gaming), Beauty Advent Calendar, Elf on the Shelf, LEGO, Cards Against Humanity, Joking Hazard game, Vitamix, Simple Human, Weber, DSLR cameras and lenses, LG TVs, Samsung TVs, Google products, Bose, Sonos, GoPro, alcohol, dairy milk, Tylenol, CVS pharmacy, clinic, Target Optical, and Portrait Studio. Target.com orders also exclude Traeger and Company Store purchases.

Finally, if you shop online, you can use a cashback shopping portal. Many offer new customers bonuses, including eBates ($10 bonus), TopCashBack ($10 bonus, you see it after entering e-mail), and BeFrugal ($10 bonus). I have cashed out of all of these before.

Here are the details of T-Mobile’s Black Friday deals. Three separately available offers:

• Free Apple iPhone 7 32GB, or Samsung Galaxy S7 32GB, or LG V20 64GB with trade-in. Free when you trade in a qualifying device with T-Mobile ONE or Simple Choice Unlimited, after 24 monthly bill credits. This deal is available until Sun., Nov. 27 at 11:59pm PT. Details on Apple iPhone 7 qualified trade-in devices here.
• Get $200 for every line you switch to T-Mobile (up to $2400) with trade-in. For a limited time, when you switch a number to T-Mobile with T-Mobile ONE, we’ll give you $200 per line to spend however you want on a prepaid Mastercard. Valid 11/24-12/31/16.
• Free hour of In-Flight Wi-Fi for Everyone – even AT&T, Verizon & Sprint Customers. Starting today through Sat., Nov. 26, the Un-carrier is giving everyone a free hour of Wi-Fi for their smartphone on Gogo-equipped domestic flights. Now, everyone can enjoy one of the perks T-Mobile customers already enjoy during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.

If you prefer to set up your service with T-Mobile over the phone, you can call 855-407-3034 and ask for this offer.

Supposedly, Verizon Wireless will be matching these deals as well. It should be shown on this Verizon Wireless Black Friday deals page.

Barnes & Noble is offering 30% off any one item with coupon code BNBFRIDAY16. Offer is also valid in-store with Store Coupon #30164100000. For each customer, this coupon can be redeemed only once at any Barnes & Noble retail store or only once per billing address online. Valid from 11/24 to 11/27 (technically until November 28, 2016 at 2:59am ET). The discount will be applied to the most expensive eligible item in the order.

Just in time for the holiday travel season! Uber and American Express are running a new promotion for 2 free Uber rides from an eligible airport up to $65 each. This promotion is valid for both new and existing users.

• Enter code AMEXAIRPORT in your Uber app under Promotions or Payment.
• Be sure that an American Express card is linked to your Uber account and selected as your payment method for the ride. (Prepaid cards not eligible.)
• Good for two rides, up to $65 each. Any amount over $65 will be charged to your American Express. Valid on all Uber options.
• Your ride must originate from one of the eligible airports listed below.
• You must complete your trip by 11:59pm on 12/31/16.

Hera are the eligible airports:

• LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
• John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
• Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
• Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW)
• Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
• Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
• McCarran International Airport (LAS)
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
• Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)

If you don’t have an Uber account yet, you can get $20 off your first ride via this special link or by using promo code uberMYMONEYBLOG at signup. But remember – Uber promo codes cannot be combined or stacked. When you enter multiple promotion codes in the Uber app, the most recently entered code that is eligible for the ride will be applied to that ride. Once you have added a promotion code to your Uber app, you cannot delete it.

If you’ve been in withdrawal from “proper” Top Gear, the new Amazon series The Grand Tour premiers on Friday, November 18th (press release). The three original stars Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May have gotten back together and there are 12 new episodes that will stream weekly.

To try and attract these new gearheads, Amazon is running a one-day Grand Tour Prime promotion on Friday 11/18 from 12:00am ET to 11:59pm PT.

For one-day only, eligible new Prime members can join Amazon Prime for $79 (normally $99) and save $20 on your first year’s membership in celebration of The Grand Tour launch.

The promotion does not apply to existing or gift memberships. I’m not 100% positive on this, but I believe that a “new” membership simply means that your account must not currently have an active Amazon Prime membership, not that you’ve never had one in the past.

Here’s the official trailer on YouTube. If you already have Amazon Prime, here is the Grand Tour streaming link. I’ll definitely be watching. 🙂