Chase Freedom 10% Back on Hotels and Car Rentals via Ultimate Rewards

Posted on July 5, 2016 // 1 Comment

The Chase Freedom credit card has a new special promotion offering 10% cash back on up to $2,500 in combined hotel and car rental purchases made through Chase Ultimate Rewards in July. Details:

  • The purchases must be made July 1–31, 2016.
  • Your actual travel dates can be any time.
  • Applies only to hotels and car rentals booked through ChaseUltimateRewards.com.

In general, ChaseUltimateRewards.com offers prices that are comparable to Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, etc. Hotel prices do vary more than airfare, so I would still comparison shop side-by-side. Note that their hotel room quotes include taxes, which some other sites (like Expedia) add in very late in the checkout process. Also, I found how they listed rooms by TripAdvisor rating to be interesting.

This is addition to the quarterly 5% cash back category, which currently includes Restaurants and Wholesale Clubs (Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s).

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

JetBlue Will Match Virgin America Points For Potential $1,000 Airfare Value

Posted on June 28, 2016 // Leave a Comment

jetblueva0Earlier this year, JetBlue wanted to merge with Virgin America, but Alaska Airlines ended up winning the bidding war. Now they are just fighting over potential customers, which means some interesting things for us!

The newest promotion offers to match your Virgin America Elevate points subject to certain conditions:

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How good is this deal? If you have 50,001 Virgin America points and fly one roundtrip on JetBlue by 8/31, you can get 75,000 free JetBlue points. 75,000 JetBlue points will vary in value, but a reasonable estimate is $1,050 in airfare. This is based on 1.4 cents per JetBlue point as calculated in my JetBlue credit card review. Assuming you live near a JetBlue-served airport, a roundtrip will cost a minimum of $68 to $200. Therefore, there is a lot of room for “profit” on this deal.

Additional details:

  • Elevate® members must email a screenshot of their account dashboard to pointsmatch@jetblue.com by 7/4/2016. Screenshots must include first name, last name, and points balance. Please include your TrueBlue number in the email. If you are not a TrueBlue member yet, sign up now.
  • Once we assess your balance and eligibility, we’ll email you to let you know if you’re officially registered for the promotion.
  • Then book and fly one roundtrip JetBlue flight by 08/31/16.

How do I get Virgin America Elevate points?

  • You might already have some from being a Virgin America customer.
  • You can transfer Starwood Preferred Guest points on a 1:1 basis. If you transfer a minimum of 20,000 points, you’ll get 25,000 Virgin Elevate points. Thus, if transfer 40,001 SPG points, that would give you exactly 50,001 Virgin Points.
  • You can transfer Citi ThankYou points on a 2:1 basis. So 10,000 Citi ThankYou points would be 5,000 Virgin Elevate points.
  • You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points on a 2:1 basis. So 10,000 AmEx MR points would be 5,000 Virgin Elevate points.

Reality check. This is possibly a great deal for a net “profit” of $900+ of free JetBlue airfare, but there are a lot of moving parts:

  • You’ll need a plan to get 50,001 Virgin points. Are you willing to give up 40,001 SPG Starpoints to get there? This isn’t a big hurdle, considering that you can simply buy 30,000 Starpoints per account for $735 right now, and you can combine Starpoints from multiple accounts.
  • You’ll need to have a plan to redeem those Virgin America Elevate points, so hopefully you live next to an airport served by Virgin America or partner airline like Hawaiian and want to fly somewhere on their route map. If you’re patient, Alaska Airlines. Based on previous calculations, 50,000 Virgin America points can buy roughly $800 to $1,300 in airfare. Virgin America route map.
  • You’ll need a plan to redeem those JetBlue points, so you should also live near an airport served by JetBlue and want to fly somewhere on their route map. Again, 75,000 JetBlue points is worth roughly $1,050 in economy airfare. JetBlue route map.
  • You’ll need to buy a roundtrip ticket on JetBlue and complete your flight by August 31st. Fares start at a little under $100. Some people will just do a “mileage run” and effectively spend a day flying around in a circle to qualify. If you needed to fly anyway, that would be even better.
Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Costco Members: Free Sam’s Club Access Through July 4th

Posted on June 27, 2016 // 2 Comments

samslogoSam’s Club must be tired of Costco getting all this free publicity from them switching from American Express to Visa. Their Twitter account just announced that showing your Costco Membership card will get you a free day pass to any Sam’s Club location through July 4th, 2016.

They really want you to know that Sam’s Club accepts all major credit cards including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. (Of course, you know that Costco negotiated some really low credit card processing fees from Visa, so hopefully that results in lower prices.)

I’m a Costco regular myself, but Sam’s Club does offer a different selection and I like to visit them from time to time. For example, back in the Spring I bought a large amount of organic gardening soil at Sam’s for a good price, while the same weekend Costco had no soil of any type available at all.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Free Amazon Credits from Apple eBooks Antitrust Settlement

Posted on June 22, 2016 // Leave a Comment

kindlebooksThe short version: Apple settled an e-Book antitrust lawsuit for $400 million. Click here and log in to instantly check if you were awarded any credit automatically to your Amazon account. Note the purchases that count would have been made sometime 2010-2012, so if you used a different account back then, log in with that one. The credit will expire on June 24, 2017.

The long version:

In November 2014, a federal court approved a Settlement of antitrust lawsuits brought against Apple, Inc. (“Apple”) by State Attorneys General and Class Plaintiffs about the price of electronic books (“eBooks”). Those settlements resulted in credits for qualifying Kindle books purchased between April 1, 2010 and May 21, 2012. These credits are funded by Apple.

Eligible customers do not need to do anything to receive these credits. If you are eligible, we have already calculated your credit for you and added it to your Amazon account. As long as you have credit remaining we will automatically apply it to your purchase of qualifying items through Amazon.com, an Amazon device or an Amazon app. The credit applied to your purchase will appear in your order summary as a gift card during checkout and in your account history. Eligible customers should have received a notification email from Amazon on June 21, 2016. This credit will expire at 11:59pm PDT on June 24, 2017. You can learn more about the settlements at www.amazon.com/help/ApplebooksettlementFAQs.

I didn’t receive anything myself, but I usually only pay for physical books and just pick up Kindle books when they are free.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi: My Review

Posted on June 21, 2016 // 48 Comments

Citi and Costco have new co-branded credit cards, the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi and the Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi. Here are the highlights for each card.

Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi highlights: (For Personal Use)

  • 4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging purchases for the first $7,000 per year and then 1% thereafter. You will not get 4% cash back for gas purchased at superstores, supermarkets, convenience stores and warehouse clubs other than Costco.
  • 3% cash back on restaurant and eligible travel purchases
  • 2% cash back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com
  • 1% cash back on all other purchases
  • No foreign transaction fees on purchases.
  • No annual fee (with paid Costco membership).
  • Will also serve as your Costco membership card.

Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi highlights:

  • 4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging purchases for the first $7,000 per year and then 1% thereafter. You will not get 4% cash back for gas purchased at superstores, supermarkets, convenience stores and warehouse clubs other than Costco.
  • 3% cash back on restaurant and eligible travel purchases
  • 2% cash back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com
  • 1% cash back on all other purchases
  • No foreign transaction fees on purchases.
  • No annual fee (with paid Costco membership).
  • Will also serve as your Costco membership card.

The rewards will accrue in the form of “Costco Cash Rewards”. This means you’ll get a paper coupon snail-mailed to you once every year in February based on your previous year’s spending, which you can either (1) use as payment for goods directly at the Costco cash register or (2) convert to cash or check at a Costco customer service desk. You may also do a partial redemption at a cash register and they’ll give you the remaining balance in cash. Coupon must be redeemed in person on or prior to its expiration date of December 31 in the year in which it is issued.

Bottom line. The new Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi maintains the overall simplicity of the old consumer card while improving the rewards percentages. You can also use it as your membership card, which means getting this card won’t add take up more space. The improved 2% cash back at Costco and Costco.com (formerly only 1%) is significant, as it means that you finally won’t be as tempted to use a non-Costco-branded card at Costco! Both the personal and business cards now have the same rewards percentages.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

I Tried Harry’s Free Razor Trial and This Is What Happened…

Posted on June 17, 2016 // 36 Comments

harrysad
…that’s the ad text that they used to target me, apparently someone who may be interested in bright-orange, modern-looking razor blades. I couldn’t find the exact ad again, but a similar one is to the right. (Alternate title: Harry’s Free Trial Review: Bendy Razor Blades, Easy Cancel)

Well, they were right. I decided to try the Harry’s “Free” Trial which includes a razor and some gel for $3 including shipping. If you don’t like it, just remove the subscription plan in your online account and you get to keep everything else.

Okay, so what happened? The primary reason that I will not be buying any more Harry’s Razors doesn’t involve cost at all. I simply don’t like their design. The blades are proprietary and have a unique “bendy” hinge that I describe as like having a tongue lick you. A tongue that makes it impossible to get the firm shave that I prefer.

I created an animated gif to help illustrate:


via GIPHY

After doing this trial, I found that the Wirecutter review site had a similar opinion:

Rather than clipping to a pivoting axis, the way most modern razors do, Harry’s cartridge attaches with a flexy rubber pseudo-hinge that bends when you press it into your skin. Harry’s claims that this design yields an effect that, like “a paintbrush on a wet canvas … flexes to the contours of your face for precise control.” In fact, the opposite is true: The cartridge yields too much, resulting in a sloppy shave.

I don’t consider myself a picky razor user, for a while I’ve been using a basic Gillette Mach 3 bought from Costco for $1 or under each. (I was surprised to see The Wirecutter also chose a Mach3 blade cousin as its winner.) As I can last more than a month with each razor (dry after each use), I am already spending less than a dollar month on razors. I have not tried the Dollar Shave Club. For me, buying a bulk pack of razors once every two years requires less mental bandwidth than having to manage an online subscription.

I’ll keep the rest of this review short and simple:

  • Ordering was easy, site design is nice, and the trial shipped promptly.
  • Canceling the trial was also easy with no hard sell.
  • I did not like the razor design, and for that reason will not be ordering any more Harry’s razors.

Shaving preferences are very subjective. I would still recommend the Harry’s trial itself.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Frugal Living //

WalletHub Review: Free Daily TransUnion Credit Score and Report

Posted on June 10, 2016 // Leave a Comment

wallethub0

Here’s a quick review of a new credit service called WalletHub. While the stated mission is to help improve your financial situation, at its core is a service that offers free credit score, free credit reports, and free credit monitoring. In exchange, it will use your personal data to show match you up with advertised offers like car loans, credit cards, and prepaid cards. Highlights:

  • Free non-FICO credit score, updated daily. Credit score model is the VantageScore 3.0, scale 300-850. Credit bureau is TransUnion.
  • Free daily access to full TransUnion credit report. You can take a look at your full TransUnion credit report on any day, but keep in mind that TransUnion only updates the data once a month.
  • Free daily credit monitoring. Since they are already checking your data every day, Wallethub will send you an e-mail alert if there any significant changes to your TransUnion credit report.

wallethub1

The competition. As noted, this is not a FICO score but something called the VantageScore 3.0. These “FAKO” scores are still useful for tracking changes to your credit report information. However, competitor CreditKarma.com already offers the VantageScore 3.0 for both your TransUnion and Equifax credit reports. CreditKarma updates your score once a week, as opposed to WalletHub’s daily. Both offer daily credit monitoring based on TransUnion data.

Bottom line. For most people, I would say covering two out three credit bureaus by Credit Karma on a weekly frequency is better than the single bureau on a daily frequency. However, I know there are some folks that are meticulously rebuilding their credit and may appreciate daily score updates. The same folks may appreciate full TransUnion report access. I am satisfied with ongoing daily monitoring from Credit Karma and the free annual report mandated by the government. You could always use both if you are okay with providing both services your Social Security number and other personal information.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Wells Fargo Platinum Visa® Card – 0% Intro APR for 18 Months, Cell Phone Protection, Free FICO Score

Posted on June 8, 2016 // Leave a Comment

The Wells Fargo Platinum Visa® Card is a credit card that is best for those looking to transfer in balances from another issuer. It also offers a unique cell phone protection benefit with a low deductible, as well as a free FICO score. Here are the highlights:

  • 0% Intro APR for 18 months on purchases and balance transfers
  • Get up to $600 protection on your cell phone (subject to $25 deductible) against covered damage or theft when you pay your monthly cellular telephone bill with your Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card
  • Easy access to your FICO® Credit Score with Wells Fargo Online®
  • No annual fee.

There is a balance transfer fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

Due to its longer 0% Intro APR period of 18 months and 120-day window to make transfers, I have added this card to my list of Best No Fee 0% APR Balance Transfer Offers. I would compare this card against those options.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Finimize Insider Access for Daily Finance Newsletter

Posted on June 2, 2016 // 6 Comments

finimizelogoIn response to the flood of information constantly coming at us, there are daily e-mail round-ups that curate and summarize. A popular general news newsletter that I enjoy is NextDraft, but there is also one specifically for finance news called Finimize. Basically, it is the day’s financial events edited into roughly two top stories using straightforward language and takes under 5 minutes to read.

Finimize recently approached me about offering some perks for My Money Blog readers. (I don’t get anything if you sign-up.)

  • All readers who sign up using this special link within 1 week will automatically become a Finimize Insider. You would usually have to refer 5 other friends to get this status. The extra perks include early access to new features like a weekly review edition, and possibly some branded swag.
  • In addition, the first 200 people to sign up will receive an email within 24 hour with an invite to their new limited-release app (iOS only right now).

I’ve subscribed for a while, and the content is more economic and business finance news and less personal finance. You can read past editions in their Archives. Unsubscribe easily at any time.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Netspend Card 5% APY Savings Account Review

Posted on May 31, 2016 // 49 Comments

netspend0

(Update: On 5/31, NetSpend effectively issued a 30-day notice that the rate structure will be changed as of July 1st, 2016 such that the 5% APY will apply up to $1,000 and anything above that gets 0.50% APY. The 5% APY will apply to up to $5,000 until June 30, 2016 which is when the next quarterly interest payment will post. Thanks to all who notified me of this change.)

Prepaid debit cards are a growing niche for the “under-banked” or “un-banked” who can’t or don’t want to use traditional checking accounts to hold their cash. In order to promote the adoption of prepaid debit cards as their sole financial hub, many now offer the option of an attached high-interest savings account.

The NetSpend Prepaid Visa offers 5% APY on balances up to $5,000. For balances over $5,000, it pays 0.50% APY. Even with the balance limit, this is an attractive rate and worth a look even if you don’t need a prepaid debit card otherwise. I’ve had this card open since September 2015, but a quirk of this card is that interest is only paid quarterly, so I waited to see if the 5% APY (4.91% APR) would post correctly. As you can see in the screenshot below, the interest for all 3 months was credited as promised at roughly $20.50 per month. (The 0.50% APY on balances above $5,000 is credited on a separate line.)

netspend5

For the purposes of this review, I will not focus on most aspects of the prepaid debit card. I am primarily interested in maximizing the savings account feature and the avoidance of any fees.

Account opening process. Visit the Netspend website and enter your personal details to order a card (name, address, e-mail). No credit check. No application fee. You will eventually need to provide your Social Security number as required by law, since you’ll be opening a FDIC-insured bank account. If you are referred by an existing user (links above are mine, thanks if you use it), both get an additional $20 bonus after depositing at least $40. After signing up, you can also refer your own friend and family for more $20 bonuses.

Once the physical card arrives in about a week, follow the included directions and activate your account online. You will be provided your unique account number and a routing number, which will allow you to make electronic ACH transfers from your external bank accounts. You can also use this information to have direct deposit set up with your payroll or government benefits.

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5% APY savings account funding directions. Previously, you had to upgrade to Netspend Premier to get the 5% APY savings account option. This requirement appears to have been removed. You must use an external bank to “push” money over into the Netspend card. I used my Ally Bank savings account as the transfer agent (screenshot below). I used the account and routing numbers provided, which confirmed that the underlying FDIC-insured bank is MetaBank of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Other banks that they say may be used are BofI Federal Bank and The Bancorp Bank.

netspend2

Then, all you need to do is move over $5,000 from your external bank to your Card Balance, and then move that $5,000 over to your Savings Balance. Your Card Balance is the part that can be spent via prepaid debit card, but it will not earn any interest, so be sure to move it over to Savings Balance. They are separate buckets! Here are the before and after screenshots (click to enlarge).

netspend3

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The Savings Account has no monthly minimum balance requirement and no monthly fees. Transfers between Card Balance and Savings Balance are free, but the number of withdrawals from Savings Balance are limited to 6 per calendar month by federal banking laws.

Avoiding Debit Card fees. Now, the Savings Account has no monthly fees, but the Debit Card does have a choice of plans with their own fee schedules. Since I don’t plan on making any actual purchases using this debit card, I chose the Pay As You Go plan with no monthly fee. Now, with this plan there is also an account maintenance fee of $5.95 per month:

Account Maintenance Fee $5.95 per month (fee applies if Card Account has not had any activity, that is, no purchases; no cash withdrawals; no load transactions; or no balance inquiry fee for 90 days). If enrolled in any FeeAdvantage Plan and your Card Account has had no activity as described above, this fee applies instead of the Plan Fee.

The simple solution to avoid this fee is to load a few dollars once every 90 days via your original ACH transfer source. Most banks will even let you set up an automated transfer schedule; I like every month just because it serves as a monthly reminder to check the balance, APY, etc. You could also use their mobile app and make a check deposit.

Withdrawals. The easiest way to make a withdrawal is again via “ACH pull” from your external transfer bank. Remember, you’ll have to move the funds over from “Savings” to “Card”. Another free alternative is to use the BillPay feature and pay down a credit card bill using your funds. If you have a credit card that you use regularly, you can even make an overpayment and simply hold a negative balance until it gets used up by future credit card purchases. Finally, you could just use the Visa feature to buy something or make an ATM withdrawal (subject to daily limits), but you may be subject to transaction fees.

Additional cards. If you have a spouse or partner, you could both get a NetSpend Prepaid card which would bring your 5% APY limit to $10,000. There are also other cards which offer a similar setup, including Brink’s Prepaid (I have this one as well), Ace Elite, and Western Union. If you had one of each of these (which is still allowed to the best of my knowledge), then that would bring your theoretical limit to $20,000 for an individual or $40,000 for a couple.

Recap. Yes, it really works, as long as you set it up properly and maintain an active account. As compared to a 1% APY savings account, each $5,000 balance at 5% APY would earn $200 more in taxable interest income each year. It is up to you to weigh the potential reward vs. effort, also taking into account the size of your cash balances.

Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers, Reviews //

Free 1,000 United Miles with Prosper Daily App (Expired)

Posted on May 24, 2016 // 4 Comments

prosperdaily0Promo expired early. Marketplace lender Prosper acquired the BillGuard app in late 2015, and has re-branded it as Prosper Daily. Right now, you can get 1,000 free United miles if you register here first with your United MileagePlus number, install the iOS or Android app by 6/30/15 using the link they text you, and then register a new account in the app.

Miles will be posted in 6-8 weeks. United MileagePlus miles currently expire after 18 months of inactivity, so this can be a good way to reset the expiration countdown clock. One per person – I always try to get these types of bonuses for both my spouse and myself.

Prosper Daily highlights:

  • View all of your bank and credit accounts. You provide login credentials to each account, and they will track all your balances. Like Mint app.
  • Budget and bill tracking. They analyze your accounts to track due dates and chart your budget and spending.
  • Free credit score. You must provide additional personal information for this service; I chose not to for now. The score is non-FICO and based on your TransUnion report (I already have that from elsewhere).
  • As with similar services, they will make money by showing you advertisements based on your personal information.

Fine print:

To be eligible, you will need a valid United MileagePlus® account and you must be a new Prosper Daily app user. Each eligible and participating person may earn miles one time under this offer.

To earn miles for this offer, you will need to download the Prosper Daily app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, then register in the app. You can then begin using the app by enrolling to receive your free credit score and connecting the financial accounts you want to track in the app. Download by June 30, 2016 to qualify for the miles offer. […] Award miles earned by an eligible participant will be posted 6-8 weeks after download and registration.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Free FICO Score For Everyone via CreditScoreCard, No Credit Card Required

Posted on May 22, 2016 // Leave a Comment

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Discover has rolled out a new service called Credit ScoreCard, which provides everyone access to their FICO score for no charge with no trials or credit card relationship required. (Well, free in exchange for right to market things to you based on your personal information.) Checking your own credit does not impact your credit score. This post provides updated information and instructions regarding this service.

FICO Score details.

  • FICO Score version: FICO Score 8, or FICO 08. This is the most widely used of the many FICO flavors. Score version is directly shown on the website.
  • Credit bureau: Experian
  • Update frequency: Either monthly or when you log in, whichever is longer.
  • Limitations: Available to everyone. You do not have to be a Discover cardholder.

Is this legit? The name is a little generic and perhaps even phishy-sounding, but you can view information at discover.com/free-credit-score, which links directly to creditscorecard.com/registration. The domain registry information matches that of Discover Financial Services.

How to get your score. Here’s a preview of the application and approval process:

  1. You must provide personal information, including Social Security Number. Name, address, etc. This is required for any service that checks your credit score. You do not need a Discover credit card.
  2. You must agree to their Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. Basically, they will give your free access to your credit score and other credit information, and they will also collect personal information to market Discover products and other services to you. Don’t miss this chart:

    creditscorecard2

  3. Identity verification questions. They will ask you some multiple choice questions based on your Experian credit report data in order to verify your identity. If you don’t pass this quiz, I would go over to AnnualCreditReport.com and get a copy of your report to scan for errors.
  4. Set your personal security questions. At this point, you are approved. You just need to set up the standard security questions like “Who was your 2nd grade teacher?”

What kind of information do you get? The score model is FICO Score 8, based on your Experian credit report. This is the same score model and credit bureau offered by American Express, and is within a few points for me (the check dates are slightly off). The other two major bureaus are TransUnion and Equifax. Note that Discover also offers their cardholders access to FICO Score 8 based on their TransUnion credit report. From their terms:

The FICO® Credit Score we provide is the FICO® Score 8. The score range is 300-850. FICO® Credit Scores are based on information on your credit report, and give you a snapshot of your credit report information at a very specific point in time. As the information in your report changes, your score may also change. According to FICO®, 83% of the population experiences changes to their score by up to 20 points month to month. FICO® Credit Scores as well as other credit scores are based on credit bureau information, and may be different from one credit bureau to the next.

You also get access to data points like Total Number of Accounts, Length of Credit (Oldest Account), Revolving Utilization Percentage, and Missed Number of Payments.

How often is it updated? As often as every 30 days, but only if you log in to the website. Many sites operate this way, as it reduces their costs of grabbing your score if you are no longer interested. Also, they want you to log in so that they can show you advertisements. From the terms:

Unless you cancel this authorization, we’ll pull fresh credit report information for you the later of every thirty days or the next time you log into your Credit Scorecard.

Screenshots. Here’s a peek at mine:

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Bottom line. CreditScoreCard by Discover is one of the first free services I’ve seen that offers a FICO Score without requiring you to be an affiliated credit cardholder. If you already have access to this score model and credit bureau combination through other means, you may not want another entity to have access to your personal data. If you don’t, you may find this a very reasonable way to get free access to your Experian FICO 8 score.

Related: Here is additional information about other major credit card issuers with free FICO programs:

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //
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