Country Time Lemonade Will Pay Legal Fees For Unlicensed Lemonade Stands

Posted on June 10, 2018 // 3 Comments

Are you thinking of helping your kid setting up a lemonade stand this summer? Apparently, some young entrepreneurs are getting shut down due to a lack of small business permits. In a very savvy PR move, Country Time Lemonade has offered to reimburse any permit fees or fines (up to $300) that are incurred while operating a lemonade stand. Here’s their “Legal-ade” video:

On one hand, nobody likes bureaucracy. The United States is currently #6 in the world for “ease of doing business” according to the World Bank. On the other hand, perhaps navigating local business laws is a valuable lesson for teens and above. I mean, even the Legal-ade website is crammed full of fine print:

Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. (including D.C.), who are the parents or legal guardians of a child 14 years of age or younger operating a lemonade stand. Program ends 11:59pm ET on 8/31/18 or when $60,000 worth of offers have been awarded, whichever comes first. For complete Terms and Conditions, including status of available offers, and all other details, visit countrytimelegalade.com.

So many rules. You can’t even be 17 or younger to get reimbursed by Country Time. But hey, now motivated parents can get those permits reimbursed (as long as they haven’t exhausted their $60,000 budget). A framed official business permit for their first lemonade stand will go great on my kids’ walls, right next to their framed Berkshire Hathaway stock certificate… Class B share, unfortunately.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Free Happy Socks with $100 Amazon Gift Card

Posted on June 10, 2018 // 3 Comments

I’m a sucker for free. Amazon currently has a limited edition run of $100 Gift Card Boxes with Happy Socks. Pay $100 and get a $100 gift card, a nice gift box, and a pair of Happy Socks inside. You could make it an extra nice gift for someone else during this graduation season, or you could… treat yo-self and simply spend the gift cards without changing your spending habits. 🙂

Apparently, these Happy Socks from Sweden can run $10 a pair and up. The picture suggests this is their larger “41-46” size, which is US Mens 8-12 and US Womens 10-12.5.

Remember to get your 5% cash back if you have the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Sprint Kickstart Promo: Ongoing Unlimited Plan for $25/Month

Posted on June 9, 2018 // 10 Comments

Sprint just rolled out a Unlimited Kickstart promotion, which is unlimited talk/text/data for $25 per month, per line. No annual contracts. You can bring over your own compatible phone, or buy one from them. (Ex. Pre-Owned iPhone 7 at $12 a month.) Online orders only. New customers only. Requires port-in of your existing number.

Sprint has already been offering a year of free unlimited data for free. (I ended up paying about $3-$4 per line in taxes and fees.) But that requires a port-in from a postpaid carrier like Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile. If you are on a prepaid MVNO already, this may be a better deal since it has unlimited data. In addition, this offer lets you buy a phone from Sprint and they will finance it for you, so that you are paying $15 a month for a used iPhone 7 Plus for example. This could have you in a new phone and unlimited data for less than you are paying now for just cellular service. Both are opportunities to take advantage of the fact that Sprint really wants to up their numbers to improve their merger negotiating position.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

British Airways Fuel Surcharge Settlement: 12,500 Avios Minimum Claim

Posted on June 5, 2018 // 5 Comments

If you recently received an e-mail from “Fuel Surcharge Class Action”, don’t delete it. If you redeemed British Airways frequent flyer miles for an award ticket and paid a fuel surcharge between November 2006 and April 2013, check your spam folder. If you don’t find anything but still think you qualify, visit fuelsurchargeclassaction.com.

The e-mail subject should be “Dover v. British Airways Fuel Surcharge Class Action Notice”. At the top of the e-mail, you’ll find a Class Member Identifier, which you can enter here and see what they are offering you under the settlement. You can take either the points or a cash amount.

The points offered varies between 12,500 and 35,000 Avios, and it looks like 12,500 is the minimum offered. The cash amount is supposed to be 16.9% of the total fuel surcharges you paid during the Class Period for award tickets. For my account, I was offered either 12,500 Avios or $83.60. The deadline to file is July 29, 2018.

At a conservative valuation of 1 cent per Avios, I should probably take the points. However, it has been a pain to redeem award tickets for a family of five on the same flight (that needs to sit together for everyone’s sanity). It’s a close call, but I might just take the cash.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Best Interest Rates on Cash – June 2018

Posted on June 4, 2018 // 12 Comments

Here is my monthly roundup of the best safe rates available, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. Check out my Ultimate Rate-Chaser Calculator to get an idea of how much additional interest you’d earn if you are moving money between accounts. Rates listed are available to everyone nationwide. Rates checked as of 6/3/18.

High-yield savings accounts
While the huge brick-and-mortar banks rarely offer good yields, there are a number of online savings accounts offering much higher rates. Keep in mind that with savings accounts, the interest rates can change at any time.

  • VirtualBank has a special rate of 2.01% APY (guaranteed for first year) for new money ($100 min to open). After the first year, it goes back to the “normal” rate (currently 0.80% APY). CIT Bank Money Market recently raised to 1.85% APY (no min, $100 to open).
  • My “hub” bank account is the Ally Bank Savings + Checking combo due to their history of competitive savings/CD rates, 1-day external bank transfers, and overall user experience. The free overdraft transfers from savings allows to me to keep my checking balance at a minimum. Ally Savings is no longer at the very top anymore, with a current rate of 1.60% APY. I’ve moved some money into 12-month CDs, right now they have a 12-month CD at 2.25% APY ($25k min).

Money market mutual funds + Ultra-short bond ETFs
If you like to keep cash in a brokerage account, you should know that money market and short-term Treasury rates have been rising. The following money market and ultra-short bond funds are not FDIC-insured, but may be a good option if you have idle cash and cheap/free commissions.

  • Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund currently pays an 1.91% SEC yield. The default sweep option is the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund, which has an SEC yield of 1.72%. You can manually move the money over to Prime if you meet the $3,000 minimum investment.
  • Vanguard Ultra-Short-Term Bond Fund currently pays 2.32% SEC Yield ($3,000 min) and 2.42% SEC Yield ($50,000 min). The average duration is ~1 year.
  • The PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active Bond ETF (MINT) has a 2.3% SEC yield and the iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF (NEAR) has a 2.32% SEC yield while holding a portfolio of investment-grade bonds with an average duration of ~6 months.

Short-term guaranteed rates (1 year and under)
I am often asked what to do with a big wad of cash that you’re waiting to deploy shortly (just sold your house, just sold your business, legal settlement, inheritance). My usual advice is to keep things simple. If not a savings account, then put it in a flexible short-term CD under the FDIC limits until you have a plan.

  • As noted above, VirtualBank has a 1-year guarantee at 2.01% APY on their eMoney Market, where you can take out money at any time. Another alternative is the CIT Bank 11-Month No-Penalty CD at 1.85% APY with a $1,000 minimum deposit and no withdrawal penalty seven days or later after funds have been received. The lack of early withdrawal penalty means that your interest rate can never go down for 11 months, but you keep full liquidity. Full review. You can open multiple CDs in smaller increments if you want more flexibility.
  • Connexus Credit Union is offering a 1-year Share Certificate at 2.50% APY (90-day early withdrawal penalty) and a 3-year Share Certificate (180-day early withdrawal penalty) at 2.75% APY. Both have a $5,000 minimum deposit. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization Connexus Association for a one-time $5 fee.
  • Several other banks have 12-month CDs at 2% APY and above. Watch the early withdrawal penalties. For example, Synchrony Bank has a 2.35% APY 14-month CD, but the early withdrawal penalty is 180 days of interest. Meanwhile, Ally Bank has a 9-month CD at 2% APY and a 12-month CD at 2.25 APY with $25,000 minimum deposit and early withdrawal penalty of 60 days interest.

US Savings Bonds
Series I Savings Bonds offer rates that are linked to inflation and backed by the US government. You must hold them for at least a year. There are annual purchase limits. If you redeem them within 5 years there is a penalty of the last 3 months of interest.

  • “I Bonds” bought between May 2018 and October 2018 will earn a 2.52% rate for the first six months. The rate of the subsequent 6-month period will be based on inflation again. More info here.
  • In mid-October 2018, the CPI will be announced and you will have a short period where you will have a very close estimate of the rate for the next 12 months. I will have another post up at that time.

Prepaid Cards with Attached Savings Accounts
A small subset of prepaid debit cards have an “attached” FDIC-insured savings account with exceptionally high interest rates. The negatives are that balances are capped, and there are many fees that you must be careful to avoid (lest they eat up your interest). The offers also tend to disappear with little notice. Some folks don’t mind the extra work and attention required, while others do.

  • The Insight Card used to offer 5% APY on up to $5,000, but as of June 2018 is no longer accepting new accounts. Current cardholders will cease earning 5% APY at the end of June. The only notable card left in this category is Mango Money at 6% APY on up to $5,000, but there are so many hoops and restrictions that in my opinion make it not worth the troubl (especially when it likely won’t last much longer either).

Rewards checking accounts
These unique checking accounts pay above-average interest rates, but with unique risks. You have to jump through certain hoops, and if you make a mistake you won’t earn any interest for that month. Some folks don’t mind the extra work and attention required, while others do. Rates can also drop quickly, leaving a “bait-and-switch” feeling. For example, Northpointe Bank was mentioned for several months here but later dropped to 1% APY. That’s just how it goes with these types of accounts.

  • Consumers Credit Union offers up to 4.59% APY on up to a $20k balance, although getting 3.09% APY on a $10k balance has a much shorter list of requirements. The 4.59% APY requires you to apply for a credit card through them (other credit cards offer $500+ in sign-up bonuses). Keep your 12 debit purchases small as well, as for every $500 in monthly purchases you may be losing out on 2% cashback (or $10 a month after-tax). Find a local rewards checking account at DepositAccounts.

Certificates of deposit (greater than 1 year)
You might have larger balances, either because you are using CDs instead of bonds or you simply want a large cash reserves. By finding a bank CD with a reasonable early withdrawal penalty, you can enjoy higher rates but maintain access in a true emergency. Alternatively, consider a custom CD ladder of different maturity lengths such that you have access to part of the ladder each year, but your blended interest rate is higher than a savings account.

  • Connexus Credit Union is offering a 1-year Share Certificate at 2.50% APY (90-day early withdrawal penalty), a 3-year Share Certificate (180-day early withdrawal penalty) at 2.75% APY, and a 5-year Share Certificate (365-day early withdrawal penalty) at 3.25% APY. All have a $5,000 minimum deposit. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization Connexus Association for a one-time $5 fee.
  • You can buy certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance, but they don’t come with predictable fixed early withdrawal penalties. As of this writing, Vanguard and Fidelity are showing a 3-year non-callable CD at 3.00% APY and a 5-year non-callable CD at 3.25% APYfrom a few banks including Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo. Watch out for higher rates from callable CDs listed by Fidelity.
  • Ally Bank has a 5-year CD at 2.60% APY ($25k minimum) with a relatively short 150-day early withdrawal penalty. For example, if you closed this CD after 2 years you’d get a 2.07% effective APY after accounting for the penalty.

Longer-term Instruments
I’d use these with caution due to increased interest rate risk, but I still track them to see the rest of the current yield curve.

  • Willing to lock up your money for 10+ years? You can buy certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance, but they don’t come with predictable fixed early withdrawal penalties. As of this writing, Vanguard is showing a 10-year non-callable CD at 3.40% APY (Watch out for higher rates from callable CDs from Fidelity.) Unfortunately, current CD rates do not rise much higher even as you extend beyond a 5-year maturity.
  • How about two decades? Series EE Savings Bonds are not indexed to inflation, but they have a guarantee that the value will double in value in 20 years, which equals a guaranteed return of 3.5% a year. However, if you don’t hold for that long, you’ll be stuck with the normal rate which is quite low (currently a sad 0.10% rate). I view this as a huge early withdrawal penalty. You could also view it as long-term bond and thus a hedge against deflation, but only if you can hold on for 20 years.

All rates were checked as of 6/3/18.


CIT Bank No-Penalty CD

Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers //

Republic Wireless Review: New Phone + 3 Months Service $89 or Free SIM + Free 1st Month

Posted on May 28, 2018 // 9 Comments

rw2018freesimUpdated 2018. Republic Wireless is a T-Mobile MVNO that reduces costs by using WiFi for calls and texts whenever possible. They have settled into the simple pricing structure below, with no contracts.

rw2018

The best value plans allow a single user to pay $20/month for unlimited talk/text/1 GB LTE and $25/month for unlimited talk/text/2 GB LTE. The nice thing about these pay-for-what-you-use plans is that you save money on the months where you use very little data, as opposed to always buying the plan where you know you won’t pay for overages.

Buy new phone, get 3 free months of service (phones start at $89). Get 3 free months of service if you buy a new phone and activate a new line. This is with the Unlimited Talk/Text + 1 GB Data plan, so that’s $20 x 3 = $60 value for free. New phones start at only $89 for the Alcatel A30 Android phone. Moto E is $129.

Bring your own phone + Free SIM card + 1 free month of service. Right now, they are offering a Free SIM card + Free Shipping + Free 1st Month of Service. This is with the Unlimited Talk/Text + 1 GB Data plan ($20 value). If you use more data, you pay the difference. Taxes and telecom fees are not included. The idea is that you can swap out the SIM card in your phone and try them out with no obligation. You must activate by 6/30/18.

Phone options. You can either buy a phone from them or bring your GSM unlocked phone and use their SIM card. There are still no Apple phones on the list. Below is a partial list of eligible phones. The best thing to do is use their phone checker.

  • Google Pixel
  • Google Pixel XL
  • Google Pixel 2
  • Google Pixel 2 XL
  • Samsung Galaxy S8
  • Samsung Galaxy S9
  • Samsung Galaxy J7
  • Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
  • Samsung Galaxy S7
  • Samsung Galaxy J3
  • Samsung Galaxy S6
  • Nexus 6P by Huawei
  • Nexus 6 by Motorola
  • Nexus 5X by LG
  • Moto X Pure Edition
  • Moto X4
  • Moto G5S Plus
  • Moto G5 Plus
  • Moto E4
  • Moto E4 Plus
  • Moto G4
  • Moto G4 Plus
  • Moto G4 Play
  • Moto Z
  • Moto Z Play

Bottom line. Republic Wireless now allows you to bring your own unlocked GSM phone for use on WiFi and T-Mobile LTE networks. Right now, they are offering a free SIM + free month of service to try them out for free. Apple phones are not eligible. The cost is straightforward: $15 for unlimited talk/text and $5 per GB of data used, making it best for modest data users.

If you are willing to buy several months of service at once (or have an Apple phone), also check out Mint Mobile (formerly MintSIM).

Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Frugal Living, Reviews //

Plastiq Promotion: Pay Bills w/ No Fee with Masterpass ($250 Max Per Bill)

Posted on May 28, 2018 // 91 Comments

plastiq_logo

New promo. Plastiq has a new promotion where you can pay a bill using a Mastercard in Masterpass with no fee. Expires 9/30/18. Thanks to readers Jon and Bill. Here are the restrictions and details:

From now until September 30, 2018, we will waive the Plastiq fee when you use Mastercard in Masterpass for the payment. This promotion applies to any bills or invoices up to a maximum of $250 each.

To qualify for this promotion, you must:

Use a Mastercard in Masterpass for the payments (read here on how to add a Mastercard in Masterpass to your Plastiq account).
Submit or schedule payments between June 1, 2018 12:00 a.m. ET and September 30, 2018 11:59 p.m. ET.
The payments’ delivery date must be before or on September 30, 2018.
There is no minimum or maximum amount required for the transaction.
If the amount is over $250, you will incur a Plastiq fee on the remaining amount over $250.
If you have signed up with a referral code, you will need to hit the required minimum of $500 in successful payments and receive the fee-free dollar credit in order to be eligible for this promotion.

To clarify, there is a $250 limit per payment, but no limit on the number of payments. You could split up a larger bill into $250 increments if the payee accepts that. You could convert a mortgage, home equity loan, student loan, tuition, or property tax payment into a credit card payment that earns rewards or fulfill a sign-up bonus. For example, with the Citi Double Cash Card, the 2% cash back means every $5,000 in purchases could earn $100 cash back.

Original post:

Plastiq.com lets you pay bills and invoices with a credit or debit card, even if they don’t usually accept them. The standard service fee is 2.5% for credit cards and 1% for Visa and MasterCard debit cards. However, they run limited-time promotion with lower fees. They will charge your card and send out a paper check to the payee (direct bank transfers to a few), so you’d want to plan ahead for any snail mail delays. They recommend 10 business days to be safe. More ideas from their site:

  • Rent or Mortgage
  • Homeowners Association (HOA) dues
  • Tuition
  • Childcare costs
  • Buying a car, RV, or ATV
  • Income or business taxes

plastiq2

(Note: This was only an example given during a 1.5% fee promotion. The current fee may be higher or lower.) Why would I want to pay a 1.5% service fee?

Sign-up bonus spending requirements. Sign-up bonuses often having spending requirements. For example, you might get a $500 value bonus but need to spend $5,000. Well, that’s effectively 10% back so if you need a little help to get over that hurdle, it’s okay to pay a 1.5% fee. Here are some recent cards with big $500 value bonuses but also spending requirements:

2% cash back credit cards, or similar. If you have a rewards credit card that offers 2% cash back (or equivalent value in points), then you can still make a slight profit by putting them on your credit card. A simple example is the Citi Double Cash Card. For example, if you have a tuition bill or tax bill of $5,000 and you earned 2% cash back while paying a 1.5% fee, your net 0.5% is $25.

Combine a rewards card + 0% APR on purchases. Many credit cards offer 0% APR on purchases for an introductory period of 12 months or longer. If the card also has a half-decent rewards program on purchases, the combination of purchase rewards and spreading out the payments over a year at no interest could be attractive.

Referral program. Plastiq has a somewhat confusing referral program. If a new user signs up via a referral link and pays $500 worth of bills, they will then get $500 “fee-free dollars”. So first you’d have to pay the fee on a bill, and then on your next bill, $500 of it will be “fee-free” (at 2.5% that’s a $12.50 savings). The referrer will get $1,000 in fee-free dollars. If you take advantage of the promo above, that should trigger the bonus. Here’s my referral link. Thanks if you use it.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Google Express: 25% Off First Order, Free Google Mini for Existing ($125+ Order)

Posted on May 25, 2018 // 5 Comments

gexpressUpdated offers. Google Express has a couple more coupon codes that may be of interest.

  • 5RTC4Q545 – $10 credit towards your first order (i.e. $10 off $10). This is my referral code where you get $10 and I get $10 as well. After joining, you can also refer friends for $10 credits.
  • APPSPECIAL – 25% off your first order ($30 max). Supposedly must use Google Express App (iOS or Android). Use the best option between this one or the $10 off $10 above for your first order. Expires 5/27/18.
  • FREEMINI – Free Google Mini with $125+ purchase. Good for existing customers. Google Mini will appear in your cart after adding code. Does not stack with other codes. Expires 6/5/18 or while supplies last. Time order a lot of toilet paper?
  • $15 off any Target order. Good for existing customers. Must order through Google Express via Google Assistant. Expired.
  • SHOPCOSTCO25 – 25% off your Costco order, good for existing customers. Max discount $40. Expires 4/1/18. Expired.
  • APPFEB20 – 20% off for existing customers. Max discount $20. Must use Google Express app. Expires 2/27/18. Expired.
  • NEWYEAR20 – 20% off for existing customers. customers. Max discount $10. Expired.
  • APP20OFF – 20% off for existing customers. Max discount $20. Expires 2/11/18. Expired.

Google Express delivers things directly to your door from participating merchants like Costco, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Target. Free delivery is usually included above a certain amount that varies (i.e. $35). There is no longer an annual membership fee.

Note that some prices may be higher than from in-store. You will usually see a banner noting if this is the case. For Costco, there are reports that the “coupon book” items are still at the store price. Otherwise, a 20% off coupon may still offset the higher costs.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Frequent Flier Miles: Which Airlines Are Easiest To Redeem Economy Awards?

Posted on May 21, 2018 // 3 Comments

Cashing in your frequent flier miles for a free flight can be hit or miss, especially around a holiday. Which airlines are the most generous with making seats available? Each year, IdeaWorks tries to run a fair comparison of all the major airlines to keep them honest. This WSJ article discusses the results:

During March, IdeaWorks made more than 7,000 trip searches among 25 airlines, looking for two seats at the basic “saver” award level—25,000 miles for a domestic U.S. round-trip, for example—on 14 specific travel dates June through October. Each airline’s 10 busiest long routes and 10 busiest medium-length routes, both domestic and international, are queried to get the fullest picture of award availability.

frequentwsj2018

Most improved goes to American, which admitted that they significantly increased their overall seat availability, especially to Hawaii and Europe. Worst decline goes to Alaska, which says it didn’t change the amount of seats released, so perhaps there is simply more competition and usage of the program. Note that the survey focuses on economy tickets (not business or first class).

Southwest and JetBlue remain on top at close to 100% availability, but that is a bit misleading since both of their points are revenue-linked with no blackout dates. For example, 25,000 Southwest points will buy you basically any “Wanna Get Away” ticket that costs up to about $340. So the results are really just saying that Southwest’s busiest routes almost always have a flight that costs under ~$340. Southwest doesn’t fly to Europe at all, but they do have plans for Hawaii soon (which I look forward to, but will probably hurt their numbers).

Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Frugal Living //

iPhone 6S Plus + New Apple Battery = Best Used/Frugal Phone?

Posted on May 17, 2018 // 11 Comments

iphone6srose

Update 3/17: DailySteals just added new stock in iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S at under $200 (Verizon + Fully GSM unlocked). Compare with Swappa.

More and more people are being scared away from paying $1,000+ for a new smartphone as they realize that every September there will be another one that is a bit newer and shinier. I think the absolute amount that the iPhone improves each year is getting smaller and smaller. If you’re not committed to staying on the bleeding edge, why not save some bucks?

I recently took advantage of the special pricing on iPhone battery replacements on my iPhone 6, and it definitely made a difference in speed (and of course battery life). They performed the battery swap in the Apple Store in about an hour while I shopped elsewhere. This made me think about what the current best value would be for an iPhone (functionality/price).

My choice as of mid-2018 is the iPhone 6S Plus. They currently start in the $220 range, compare prices at sites like Swappa (person-to-person) and DailySteals.com (refurb deals). You have Touch ID. You get the bigger 5.5-inch high-resolution “Retina” screen for easier reading. From a superficial perspective, it’s really hard to tell it apart from an iPhone 7 or 8 (especially with case). The speed is adequate, even if you update to the current iOS. Of course, this assumes that you add a new battery ($29) direct from Apple. (You even get a physical headphone jack!)

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

eBay: Spend $150+, Get Free Google Home Mini ($49 Value)

Posted on May 14, 2018 // Leave a Comment

ebaymini

Google is offering eBay customers who spend $150+ in eligible items a free Google Home Mini ($49 retail). Eligible items exclude items from the Coins & Paper Money, Gift Cards & Coupons, and Real Estate categories. Expires 5/20/18 or while supplies last.

How to redeem your Coupon:

Include a Google Home Mini worth $49.00 direct from Google in your cart.
Shop for $150+ in Eligible Items. (See below for exclusions).
Enter the Coupon code in the redemption code field: PFREEMINI
Check out by 11:59 PM PST on May 20, 2018
Free Google Home Mini to arrive within 10 (ten) business days.

Not a bad deal if you were already considering such a purchase, or if something $150+ you wanted was a similar price on eBay. An alternative idea is to buy $150 worth of US Postal Service Forever Stamps.

Remember, you can also stack with cashback shopping portals like eBates ($5 new customer bonus), Mr. Rebates ($5 bonus), and TopCashBack ($5 right now, but varies).

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Urbanr: Pay Rent With Credit Card – 1.5% Transaction Fee

Posted on May 10, 2018 // 2 Comments

urbanr0Urbanr is an apartment rental website that allows renters to pay rent to landlords using a credit card. Urbanr accepts all Visa, MasterCard, and Discover credit and debit cards. The 1.5% transaction fee can be paid by renter, paid by the owner, or split evenly between them (owner pays 0.75% and the renter pays 0.75%). The owner/landlord must sign up on the service first to accept payments (direct deposited to their bank account).

Urbanr wants to make it so that everyone pays rent with a credit card, and they claim that they are not losing money on the transaction fees. If so, they must be very good negotiators. You’ll need both parties interested for this to work. That means renters perhaps with a 2% cash back credit card or similar miles/points card, and an agreeable landlord (easier rent collection?).

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //
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