Archives for November 2024

Amazon Black Friday 2024: Deals Roundup, Free Trials, Points Promos, Stuff I Like

Posted on November 29, 2024 // Leave a Comment

New Gift Card deals, Earnify 25 cents/gallon gas offer. Amazon Black Friday 2024 is here. Is it Black Friday Week? Black Friday Month? Who knows anymore. Hopefully this curated post will help you find the good stuff. I also like to check this “Buy Again” tab for any steep discounts on the specific stuff that you already buy. There are also several refreshed promos for linking certain credit cards as payment methods and/or using their points. I recommend trying all the links again.

(Note: If you are reading this in an email/RSS reader, unfortunately I am not allowed to include any Amazon affiliate links in e-mails, so they have been removed. Please click here to view the links.)

Some deals require a Prime membership. New members can sign up for a 30-day free trial. Amazon Prime Student (student OR age 18-24) has a 6-month free trial and 50% off the regular price ($7.49/month). If you’ve already done the trial, you can simply buy a month of Prime for $14.99 ($6.99 with SNAP, EBT or Medicaid card).

Deals and Offers

Amazon-related Services

Credit card linking bonuses (check again if targeted). Offers for simply adding a specific credit card type as Amazon payment method.

Set as default payment method bonus (check again if targeted). Offers for simply making a specific credit card type your default payment method.

Shop with points (check again if targeted). Offers for using your rewards points to offset your Amazon purchase. If you haven’t linked your card, you may enroll your card and check back in after 24 hours.

Stuff I Like

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, Inspirational, Monthly Updates //

H&R Block Tax Software 2024: Federal w/ e-File $25.99 (w/ State $29.99)

Posted on November 28, 2024 // 8 Comments

Black Friday deal for 2024. The benefit of “old-school” desktop tax software is that it doesn’t require your Social Security Number and financial details to be stored in the “cloud”, a fancy word for a third-party server where it can be copied or hacked. Amazon often runs one-day deals on H&R Block Desktop Tax Software. Black Friday is usually one of them, and right now I see:

H&R Block Deluxe includes guidance for stock gains and losses, home mortgage interest deduction, and other itemized deductions. Premium adds “advanced” Schedule C guidance and Schedule E guidance for rental property income. All flavors include “Refund Bonus” where you can a 2% bonus if you take your refund in the form of an Amazon gift card.

Keep in mind that for these products 5 Federal e-Files are included but State e-File is extra ($19.95 per state). I would consider just printing the (usually shorter) state return out and snail mail it in if you don’t have a free State e-File option.

Have the Amazon Prime Visa card? Get an additional 15% cash back on H&R Block with the Amazon Prime credit card as one of its Prime Card Bonus items. Through 12/5 at 4pm EST, you can still get an instant $200 Amazon gift card with new Amazon Prime Visa approval.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Max Black Friday: $2.99/Month for 6 Months (with Ads)

Posted on November 27, 2024 // Leave a Comment

Max (formerly HBO Max) has a Black Friday deal of $2.99/month for 6 months on their Ad-supported plan that includes two devices and HD resolution. Regular price is $9.99/month. Works for new and returning members. Make sure to click “Get the deal”. Set a calendar reminder if you don’t want to auto-renew after 6 months. Offer ends 12/2.

You can also try to stack with a cashback portal like TopCashback or Rakuten.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Frugal Living //

Hulu Black Friday: $0.99/Mo. for 12 Months & Disney+ or Starz Add-on Promo

Posted on November 27, 2024 // 3 Comments

Hulu has a Black Friday deal of $0.99/month for 12 months on their Ad-supported plan that includes two devices and HD resolution. Regular price is $9.99/month. Ends 11:59pm PST on 12/2.

After you sign up, you can also add on Disney+ (Ad-supported) for $2/month or add Starz for $0.99/month for 12 months. Works for new and returning members (must have canceled for at least a month). Set a calendar reminder if you don’t want to auto-renew.

Savings compared to current regular monthly price. Offer for Hulu (With Ads) plan only: $0.99/month for 12 months, then auto-renews at $9.99/month or then-current regular monthly price. Ends 11:59 PM PST on 12/2/24. Cancel anytime, effective at the end of your billing period. No refunds or credits for partial months. New and eligible returning subscribers (who have not been Hulu subscribers in the past 1 month) only; Disney+ Basic and Disney Bundle subscribers are not eligible. Additional terms apply.

You can also try to stack with a cashback portal like TopCashback or Rakuten.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

NBC Peacock TV Premium: 1-Year for $19.99 (75% Off Black Friday)

Posted on November 25, 2024 // 14 Comments

You can sign up for Peacock TV Premium (ad-supported) at $19.99 for 12 months with promo code REALDEAL. Works for new and returning customers (but not current ones). Or get $1.99/month for 6 months with promo code REALDEALMONTHLY. If I am not mistaken, you can cancel at any time after purchase and you can watch the rest of the year without auto-renewal. Otherwise, remember to set a calendar reminder to cancel if you don’t want to auto-renew.

Limited time offer. Excludes current Peacock Premium and Premium Plus subscribers. Current retail rate applies after offer ends (currently $79.99/year or $7.99/mo). Cancel anytime. Eligibility restrictions and terms apply.

Honestly, this is about the right price for me. I just ended the same $20/year offer from last year, but will take another year for $20. The kids enjoyed Despicable Me 4.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Amazon: $15 Promo to Make Discover Card Your Default Payment Method (Targeted)

Posted on November 21, 2024 // 1 Comment

Discover is offering a new $15 promotion simply for setting your Discover card as the *default* payment method. You should see the promo immediately after activating. I recommend to keep Discover as your default method for that next purchase using the $15 promo credit; you’ll get 5% back as well during this quarter.

If you don’t already have your Discover card linked, try this link for a different $15 bonus for adding your Discover Card to Amazon as a payment method.

This is separate from the Discover Shop with Points promo, where you actually redeem your Discover cash back rewards on an Amazon purchase.

Finally, try this link to see all your Discover + Amazon offers.

This is a recurring perk for existing Discover cardholders, which is why I never cancel a card with no annual fee. Check out my Discover it credit card review, one of my keeper 5% cash back cards. From now until December 31, 2024, Amazon is one of their 5% categories.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, Inspirational, Monthly Updates //

Amazon: Pay with Discover Card Points, Get $10 off $50 or 30%/40% Off (Targeted)

Posted on November 21, 2024 // 13 Comments

Discover it 14 ImageCheck offer link again to see if eligible for this new round. If you have a Discover card with cash back rewards, you can redeem them to buy eligible items at Amazon.com. The redemption rate is $1 in Cash Back Bonus = $1 to spend at Amazon, which is the same rate as their statement credit redemptions. Check if you have a targeted promotion and activate for an additional discount for redeeming a single penny’s worth of points. (To see the link, you may need to visit this page on the internet if viewing this via e-mail or RSS.)

Here are some additional tips:

  • If you haven’t linked your Discover yet, first check if you can get a bonus here. If not, you can link your Discover Cashback points balance to your Amazon account here. Check again, possibly waiting a day or two.
  • If you have already linked your Discover card previously and aren’t targeted, consider removing your Discover card from your account completely, and then linking it again after a day. Try again in a day or two.
  • Items must be marked as both sold AND shipped by Amazon.com.
  • Be sure to select your Discover Card as your payment method and redeem at least 1 point or $0.01 in value of Discover points.
  • You should see the promo credit on final order checkout page, right before final purchase.

This is a recurring perk for existing Discover cardholders, which is why I never cancel a card with no annual fee. Check out my Discover it credit card review, one of my keeper 5% cash back cards. From now until December 31, 2024, Amazon is one of their 5% categories.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Last-Minute Tax Payment? Increasing Paycheck Withholding (W-4) is Better Than Direct Estimated Tax Payments (1040-ES)

Posted on November 20, 2024 // 4 Comments

It’s late in the year, and you may have realized that you will owe more income tax than you thought. In order to avoid penalties, you’ll need to send some extra money to the IRS or your state tax collector. Here is the *general* rule to avoid a penalty for underpayment of estimated tax, according to the IRS:

Generally, most taxpayers will avoid this penalty if they owe less than $1,000 in tax after subtracting their withholdings and credits, or if they paid at least 90% of the tax for the current year, or 100% of the tax shown on the return for the prior year, whichever is smaller.

But again, that’s generally. Even if you send it by the end of the year, you may still be on the hook for some penalties because the IRS wants you to pay your taxes evenly throughout the year. For example, technically you’ll need to pay 25% of the tax shown on the return for the prior year for each of the four quarters, adding up to 100% over the entire year. They don’t allow you to pay everything on December 31st.

There are two ways to pay your taxes during the year:

  • Withholding from your pay, your pension or certain government payments, such as Social Security.
  • Making quarterly estimated tax payments during the year.

However, there is a small but potentially important different between the two options. No matter when your withholding is taken out from your paycheck during the year, it is viewed as being paid in evenly. In contrast, any 1040-ES estimated payments are assigned to a specific quarter.

So if you think you’ve underpaid your taxes by enough that penalties may apply, you should consider changing your paycheck withholding to increase your tax payments instead of making a direct payment to the IRS. Many payroll providers will let you adjust things online and you can specifically set the amount of extra withholding for them to take out. Or you may have to submit a W-4 directly to your HR department. This will be step 4(c) on the official W-4 form. Note that this will be the flat amount taken out of each paycheck until you change it back. See top image for reference (source).

Filed Under: Taxes //

Qatar Airways Credit Card: Up to 80,000 Avios + OneWorld Status Perks (Limited-Time Offer)

Posted on November 19, 2024 // 2 Comments

Qatar Airways has new limited-time offers on their two US co-branded credit cards through a small issuer called Cardless. Even if you have no plans to fly on Qatar, these cards offer many perks useful to even domestic-only US travelers. For example, Qatar Airways Avios are easily transferrable to British Airways Avios and can be used to book award flights on American Airlines. These cards also include different levels of OneWorld Alliance status, which includes perks to American Airlines travelers like access to priority check-in lines and even business-class lounges with the premium version. Here are the highlights of the two card versions:

Qatar Airways Privilege Club Signature Credit Card

  • Up to 60,000 bonus Avios. 30,000 bonus Avios after first transaction. Additional 30,000 bonus Avios after spending $3,000 in the first 90 days.
  • Qatar Airways Privilege Club Silver tier benefits instantly after being accepted for this credit card. Importantly, this in turn gives you OneWorld Ruby status. Applies to the first year only.
  • 4X Avios on Qatar Airways spend.
  • 4X Avios on restaurant spends till Dec 31, 2024. Usually 2X.
  • 2x Avios on other eligible spends till Dec 31, 2024. Usually 1X.
  • $99 annual fee.

OneWorld Ruby status includes:

  • Access to Business Class priority check-in (shorter lines)
  • Access to preferred or pre-reserved seating
  • Priority on waitlists and when on standby
  • Alaska Airlines MVP status and perks
  • American Airlines AAdvantage Gold status and perks
  • British Airways Executive Club Bronze status and perks

Qatar Airways Privilege Club Infinite Credit Card

  • Up to 80,000 bonus Avios. 40,000 bonus Avios after first transaction. Additional 40,000 bonus Avios + 150 Qpoints after spending $5,000 in the first 90 days.
  • Qatar Airways Privilege Club Gold tier benefits instantly after being accepted for this credit card. Importantly, this in turn gives you OneWorld Sapphire status. Applies to the first year only.
  • 5X Avios on Qatar Airways spend.
  • 6X Avios on restaurant spends till Dec 31, 2024. Usually 3X.
  • 2x Avios on other eligible spends till Dec 31, 2024. Usually 1X.
  • $499 annual fee.

OneWorld Sapphire status includes:

  • Access to Business class lounges (including American Airlines lounges)
  • Priority boarding
  • Extra baggage allowance
  • Priority baggage handling
  • Access to Business Class priority check-in (shorter lines)
  • Access to preferred or pre-reserved seating
  • Priority on waitlists and when on standby
  • Alaska Airlines MVP Gold status and perks
  • American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum status and perks
  • British Airways Executive Club Silver status and perks

The application will check your Experian credit report, so be sure to unfreeze/unlock that first. You can only have one Cardless-issued credit card at a time.

This is one of those cards that you may not get as your first airline card, but once you’ve gotten most of the other ones you’ll start to look for other smaller issuers. This niche card still earns Avios which are very flexible.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

TreasuryDirect Customer Service Delays and Estate Planning Concerns

Posted on November 17, 2024 // 14 Comments

TreasuryDirect.gov is the official site for individuals to directly purchase US savings bonds and US Treasury bonds, including new T-Bills and TIPS at auction. But is it still worth the hassle? Back in August 2024, TreasuryDirect sent me the following e-mail when converting my paper bonds to electronic:

Cases are worked in the order they are received in our office. Your request is important to us and will receive attention as soon as possible. Please be aware of our estimated processing times to process your case which are based on the case type (bolding is mine):

Cases requesting to cash Series EE and/or Series I paper savings bonds held in your name, at least 4 weeks.
Cases requesting to cash Series HH savings bonds held in your name, at least 3 months.
Unlocking your TreasuryDirect account, updating bank information in that account, or converting your paper savings bonds into electronic bonds in TreasuryDirect, at least 4 weeks.
Claims for missing, lost, or stolen bonds, at least 6 months.
All other cases, at least 20 weeks.
If we require additional information to process your case, we will contact you. Thank you for your patience.

That’s at least a month for some pretty basic stuff like unlocking your account because you forgot what you said was your favorite movie. In October 2024, the WSJ published TreasuryDirect to Bond Buyers: Moving Your Money Could Take a Year regarding long delays transferring Treasury bonds to outside brokerages.

The resulting customer service backlog is straining the Treasury Department’s antiquated system, which can require verified signatures and paper forms sent through the mail. People transferring securities from TreasuryDirect to third-party brokerages face especially long waits because those requests are processed manually, according to people familiar with the matter.

TreasuryDirect tries to complete most of them within six weeks, but can take 12 months, depending on capacity. A notice on the TreasuryDirect website says some customer service requests “may require 12 months or more to process.” The notice had said the longest delays were about six months until the end of July.

Finally, there are multiple posts on the Bogleheads, Early Retirement, and Reddit forums about the difficulties of dealing with TreasuryDirect after the account owner passes away. Here’s one example from a user that was already familiar with the website, knew all the account information, and had the beneficiaries assigned correctly, but still encountered multiple forms, conflicting instructions, and months of delays – Treasury Direct – The Eternal Wait and No Way To Track Transfer:

I’m closing in on 3 months waiting for Treasury Direct to transfer several EE bonds and an I bond that were in my dad’s online Treasury Direct account to my online Treasury Direct account. My dad passed away at the end of December 2022 and I was registered as the beneficiary with POD on all of the bonds.

And the follow-up (emphasis mine):

My dad’s I bonds were transferred to me around the 4-5 month mark.

After that experience, I decided to liquidate all of my TD accounts, and will encourage my husband to do the same. I personally don’t want a repeat of this experience, or make my heirs go through such a lengthy process in resolving my estate.

What I learned from this experience is to not discount how much stress and mental bandwidth it takes to deal with TD when you’re also grieving the loss of a family member, and trying to settle the estate so you can move on financially.

Another similar estate horror story here.

Takeaway #1: Expect and prepare for slow service. It’s very clear that TreasuryDirect is an underfunded government program with very limited resources. Even most mega banks no longer cash in old paper savings bonds, so that has increased their workload as well. Any time there is a surge in demand, either due to relatively attractive rates on savings bonds or Treasury bills, they are going to get backed up. If you happen to lock yourself out of your account during one of these times, it may take months to fix it! Be very careful before you close that old bank account linked through TreasuryDirect. Use a reliable password manager, and be sure to add your answers to questions like “Who is your favorite child?”. Be sure to note your account information in multiple documents, in case someone needs to find it.

Takeaway #2: Never use TreasuryDirect for anything besides US savings bonds. TreasuryDirect.gov is the only place where you can purchase US savings bonds, but it is not the only place you can buy individual Treasury bonds and TIPS. Just open an account with a broker with better resources and a bond desk like Fidelity, Schwab, or Vanguard and go through them.

Takeaway #3: Consider your heirs and simplifying your accounts as you age. In my opinion, I would also avoid TreasuryDirect if you are older and you don’t want to burden your estate executors with dealing with TreasuryDirect. You can save them several months and many hours of calls and paperwork by liquidating your assets and consolidating them elsewhere. TreasuryDirect will likely take the longest to resolve out of all of your financial accounts.

Personally, I continue to gradually liquidate the savings bonds in my TreasuryDirect account and buying individual TIPS in an outside brokerage account instead. I will have to pay some taxes on the deferred interest, but since I am getting a 1% to 2% higher fixed rate via TIPS in many cases, it’s not that bad. I also worry that my survivors might completely overlook this account if something unexpected happens (there are no mailed paper statements, or even monthly e-mails of online statements.) I’d like to minimize any unnecessary headaches and consider this part of my overall portfolio simplification process.

If I was younger and still grinding for every small edge, I would probably still accept these shortcomings for the right interest rate and tax deferral properties, but nowadays the calculations are different.

Image source: Sitejabber

Filed Under: Banking, Estate Planning, Investing, Savings Bonds, Treasury Bills and Bonds //

United Explorer Card Review – 80,000 Miles Offer + Annual Fee Waived First Year

Posted on November 15, 2024 // 1 Comment

The United Explorer Card is a Chase-issued credit card that offers unique perks on United Airlines including free checked bags and expanded award seat availability for redeeming miles. Here are the highlights:

  • 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.* Plus, earn 5,000 bonus miles after you add an authorized user to your account in the first 3 months your account is open.*
  • Free first checked bag for both you and one traveling companion on the same reservation (worth up to $160 per roundtrip) when you use your Card to purchase your ticket. Terms Apply.
  • Expanded award availability. Having this card makes it easier to find that saver award economy ticket.
  • Up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS fee credit.
  • Enjoy priority boarding privileges and visit the United ClubSM with 2 one-time passes each year for your anniversary.
  • 2X miles on dining, on hotel stays, and on United(R) purchases.
  • 25% back as a statement credit on purchases of food, beverages and Wi-Fi on board United-operated flights and on Club premium drinks when you pay with your Explorer Card
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • Your miles don’t expire as long as your credit card account is open, with no limit to the number of miles you can earn.
  • Use your miles for any seat, any time, on any United flight.
  • $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150.

Keep in mind the following terms and conditions:

This card product is available to you if you do not have this card and have not received a new Cardmember bonus for this card in the past 24 months.

This card is very focused on making it a better experience to fly on United. You have the first checked bag for free on United flights, both for your and a companion traveling on the same reservation. The bag fee is now $40 per person, each way, so that adds up to $160 each roundtrip. Before you board, you might use one of your free United Club lounge passes. You also get Priority Boarding, which helps you find space for your carry-on. While onboard, you get 25% back on your inflight purchases of WiFi, food, and drinks.

Expanded award seat availability. You earn United miles for all your purchases (double miles on restaurants and hotel stays), but then they also make it easier for you to redeem those miles on Saver level tickets with no blackout dates. Expanded award seat availability is another of the top perks from this card, and I’ve found a very significant difference when searching. If you’re constantly trying to find economy tickets for the entire family like me, this is a big deal. Saver Award ticket redemptions start at 12,500 miles one-way within the continental U.S. and Canada.

Another unique feature of this card is that it offers primary coverage on the Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver. On most other consumer cards, this coverage is offered as secondary coverage, meaning it only kicks in after your personal auto insurance has been exhausted.

Bottom line. The United Explorer Card offers great perks for folks that fly United even just once or twice a year. The card provides lounge passes, a free checked bag, priority boarding, and inflight discounts. There are bonus categories to earn more miles, and special expanded award seat inventory for credit card holders to make it easier to actually redeem those miles for flights.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

The information for the United Explorer Card has been collected independently by My Money Blog. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Coinbase: $50 Bitcoin Bonus for New Customers (Ends 11/22)

Posted on November 14, 2024 // 3 Comments

Coinbase is offering a $50 BTC new user bonus for new customers that complete their first trade of at least $1. Offer expires soon on 11/22/24. The promo code GET50 should already be populated. Fine print says $50 in Bitcoin should arrive within 24-48 hours (arrived within 5 minutes for me). This limited-time offer is better than the standard offer ($5 bonus) and the current referral offer ($20 bonus).

Coinbase continues to try to be the largest, most reputable US-based cryptocurrency exchange platform. If you were ineligible for a Coinbase account in your state previously, I’d check again because they are now live in more states. As with a bank account, you will need to verify your identity using passport, driver’s license, or state ID card. I was able to upload my photo and get it approved instantly.

I linked my PayPal account for simplicity and bought $5 in BTC, and my $50 bonus arrived nearly instantly. For the purchase, there is either a $0.99 commission or you can sign up for a 7-day free trial of Coinbase Pro and pay zero commission (just remember to cancel).

Coinbase also has a program called “Learning Rewards” that regularly offers additional small bonuses ($3 to $5 a pop) for watching videos about new crypto and completing a short quiz.

Fine print:

After your first trade, $50 worth of BTC will be added to your account. Limited redemptions of code may apply. Promotion code expires at 11:59 PST on 11/22/2024. Offer available to new users in the U.S. who have not previously made a crypto purchase on Coinbase. Minimum trade of $1. Allow 24 hours for the bonus to be deposited into your account. Offer not available to new users who were referred to Coinbase through the Referral Program or who have previously opened an account using different contact information. Coinbase may update the conditions for eligibility at any time. Cannot be combined with another offer or promotion.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Investing //
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