Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card Review: $750 Cash Bonus, No Annual Fee

Posted on October 24, 2024 // 8 Comments

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The card_name is a small business credit card has a limited-offer of a $750 cash bonus (75,000 Ultimate Rewards points) for new cardholders and the simplicity of a flat, unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases and all with zero annual fee. Here are the details:

  • $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • Unlimited, flat 1.5% cash back (or flat 1.5X Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent) on all purchases with no limit.
  • Free additional cards for employees.
  • No annual fee.

Ultimate Rewards points. The cash sign-up bonus actually comes in the form of Ultimate Rewards points at 1 point = 1 cent in cash. 50,000 points = $500 cash. If you have one of the other annual fee cards that offer a boost in value like the Ink Business Preferred, Sapphire Preferred, or Sapphire Reserve, you can transfer your points between Ultimate Rewards accounts and redeem using that other card’s 25% travel bonus. This can increase the value of your points.

You could think of this card as the small business version of the Chase Freedom Unlimited card.

Prefer airline and/or hotel points? You can’t transfer points to miles directly with this card, but if you transfer over your Ultimate Rewards points to the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (or Ink Business Preferred card), then you can use that card to transfer into hotel and/or airline miles. If you value those miles/points at more than 1 cent per point, then your 1.5X rewards from this card can be significantly higher. Examples:

– You could earn 1.5 United miles per dollar spent.
– You could earn 1.5 Hyatt points per dollar spent.
– You could earn 1.5 British Airways Avios per dollar spent.
– You could earn 1.5 Southwest Rapid Rewards points per dollar spent.

For example, if you placed a perceived value of 1.5 cents on each United mile or Southwest Rapid Rewards point, then you’d receive 2.25 cents of perceived value per dollar spent with this card. Your actual numbers will depend on your own specific redemption choices.

Many people aren’t aware of the fact that they can apply for business credit cards, even if they are not a corporation or LLC. The business type is called a sole proprietorship, and these days many people are full-time or part-time consultants, freelancers, eBay/Amazon/Etsy sellers, or other one-person business owners. This is the simplest business entity, but it is fully legit and recognized by the IRS. On a business credit card application, you should use your own legal name as the business name, and your Social Security Number as the Tax ID.

Note that Chase has an unofficial rule that they will automatically deny approval on new credit cards if you have 5 or more new credit cards from any issuer on your credit report within the past 2 years (aka the 5/24 rule). This rule is designed to discourage folks that apply for high numbers of sign-up bonuses. This rule applies on a per-person basis, so in our household one applies to Chase while the other applies at other card issuers.

Bottom line. The card_name has a large sign-up bonus and flat 1.5% cash back with no annual fee. This card is best for people who want simple and straightforward rewards. If you have certain other Chase credit cards, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points over to those cards and increase your value. Be sure to compare with other Chase small business cards – Ink Business Preferred and Ink Business Cash.

Also see: Top 10 Best Small Business Card Bonus Offers.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, General, Reviews //

CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard® Review: 75,000 Bonus Miles (Limited-Time Offer)

Posted on October 24, 2024 // 18 Comments

Updated. The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard® is a solid business travel card from Citi and American Airlines. They have recently boosted their sign-up bonus with a limited-time offer. Here are the details:

  • 75,000 American Airlines bonus miles after $5,000 in purchases within the first 5 months.
  • First checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to 4 travel companions.
  • Preferred boarding on American Airlines flights.
  • Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, and on purchases at telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants and at gas stations.
  • Earn 1 AAdvantage® mile per $1 spent on other purchases.
  • Earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible mile earned from purchases.
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • $0 annual fee for the first 12 months, then $99.

Note the following fine print:

American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® account in the past 48 months.

To clarify, you can have both one of the consumer version of this card AND one of this business card version under your name. The bonuses are also separate.

Baggage fee value. Currently, American Airlines recently joined the other airlines and now charges $30 one-way for the first checked bag and $40 one-way for the second checked bag in Economy. That’s $60 roundtrip for a single checked bag, per person. With this card, your first checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to four companions traveling with you on the same reservation.

Redemption tips. American Airlines MileSAAver awards are still 25,000 miles for a round-trip ticket within the contiguous 48 states. Their online system is pretty good for looking for domestic AA awards. If the trip is less than 500 miles, then it is only 15,000 miles round-trip within the contiguous 48 states. Under-500 miles routes include Las Vegas to/from Los Angeles, Charleston to/from Miami, New York to/from Washington DC, Philadelphia to Boston, and many others.

Companion Certificate perk. I don’t see this available on the consumer version of this card: Earn an American Airlines Companion Certificate for domestic main cabin travel after you spend $30,000 or more in purchases each cardmembership year and cardmembership is renewed. Redeeming the certificate costs $99 for the ticketing fee plus $21.60 to $43.20 in government taxes and fees, based on itinerary.

Business card eligibility. Many people aren’t aware that they can apply for business credit cards, even if they are not a corporation or LLC. Any individual can be a small business. Perhaps you sell items on eBay, Craiglist, or Etsy. Maybe you do some graphic design, web design, freelancing and/or consulting. If you received a 1099-MISC tax form and filled out a Schedule C, that means you have business income, you pay self-employment taxes, and you’re a sole proprietorship. This is the simplest business entity, but it is fully legit and recognized by the IRS. On a business credit card application, you should use your own legal name as the business name, and your Social Security Number as the Tax ID.

Bottom line. The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard® offers a lot of potential value when you regularly fly on American and use the early boarding and free first checked bag benefit (now up to $80 per person, roundtrip). Right now, there is a limited-time sign-up bonus and the annual fee is waived for the first year.

Also see: Top 10 Best Small Business Card Bonus Offers.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, General //

Amazon: Pay with American Express Rewards Dollars, Get up to 40% Off (Targeted)

Posted on October 22, 2024 // 4 Comments

Amazon lets you “Shop with Points” from several different programs including Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou, and Discover. You can now pay with American Express Rewards Dollars at face value, which can be earned from the following cards:

They also offer targeted promotions from time to time, and they seem to come back periodically even if you’ve used them before. Check below:

(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. Just click here to view the links.)

I was able to purchase a physical (not e-Gift) Apple Gift Card with $100 face value for only $59.99 and $0.01 in Rewards Dollars.

Other “Shop with Points” Promos (Check again if targeted)

Link Credit Card to Amazon Wallet Promos. (Targeted, you may not see these if you already have a card linked.)

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Best Interest Rates on Cash Roundup – October 2024

Posted on October 15, 2024 // 9 Comments

Here’s my monthly roundup of the best interest rates on cash as of October 2024, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. There are lesser-known opportunities available to individual investors, often earning more money while keeping the same level of safety by moving to another FDIC-insured bank or NCUA-insured credit union. Check out my Ultimate Rate-Chaser Calculator to see how much extra interest you could earn from switching. Rates listed are available to everyone nationwide. Rates checked as of 10/15/2024.

TL;DR: Rates are still dropping at all maturities, from savings accounts outward. Still some 5%+ savings accounts. Still some 4%+ APY 5-year CDs. Compare against Treasury bills and bonds at every maturity, taking into account state tax exemption. I no longer recommend fintech companies due to the possibility of loss due to poor recordkeeping and/or fraud.

High-yield savings accounts
Since the huge megabanks still pay essentially no interest, everyone should at least have a separate, no-fee online savings account to piggy-back onto your existing checking account. The interest rates on savings accounts can drop at any time, so I list the top rates as well as competitive rates from banks with a history of competitive rates and solid user experience. Some banks will bait you with a temporary top rate and then lower the rates in the hopes that you are too lazy to leave.

  • The top rates at the moment are from newcomers Pibank at 5.50% APY and TIMBR at 5.25% APY. I have no personal experience with either, but they are the top rates at the moment. Most others have dropped at least a little. For example, CIT Platinum Savings is now at 4.70% APY with $5,000+ balance.
  • SoFi Bank is at 4.30% APY + up to $325 new account bonus with direct deposit. You must maintain a direct deposit of any amount (even $1) each month for the higher APY. SoFi has historically competitive rates and full banking features. See details at $25 + $300 SoFi Money new account and deposit bonus.
  • Here is a limited survey of high-yield savings accounts. They aren’t the top rates, but a group that have historically kept it relatively competitive such that I like to track their history.

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

  • No Penalty CDs offer a fixed interest rate that can never go down, but you can still take out your money (once) without any fees if you want to use it elsewhere. Marcus has a 7-month No Penalty CD at 4.20% APY with a $500 minimum deposit. Farmer’s Insurance FCU has 9-month No Penalty CD at 4.50% APY with a $1,000 minimum deposit. Consider opening multiple CDs in smaller increments for more flexibility.
  • Langley Federal Credit Union has a 10-month certificate special at 5.25% APY ($500 min, $50,000 max). This is a promo for new members only. Anyone can join this credit union nationwide; you must maintain $5 in their share savings account. Early withdrawal penalty is 90 days of interest.

Money market mutual funds
Many brokerage firms that pay out very little interest on their default cash sweep funds (and keep the difference for themselves). Note: Money market mutual funds are highly-regulated, but ultimately not FDIC-insured, so I would still stick with highly reputable firms.

  • Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund (VMFXX) is the default sweep option for Vanguard brokerage accounts, which has an SEC yield of 4.80% (changes daily, but also works out to a compound yield of 4.91%, which is better for comparing against APY). Odds are this is much higher than your own broker’s default cash sweep interest rate.
  • Vanguard Treasury Money Market Fund (VUSXX) is an alternative money market fund which you must manually purchase, but the interest will be mostly (80% for 2023 tax year) exempt from state and local income taxes because it comes from qualifying US government obligations. Current SEC yield of 4.86% (compound yield of 4.97%).

Treasury Bills and Ultra-short Treasury ETFs
Another option is to buy individual Treasury bills which come in a variety of maturities from 4-weeks to 52-weeks and are fully backed by the US government. You can also invest in ETFs that hold a rotating basket of short-term Treasury Bills for you, while charging a small management fee for doing so. T-bill interest is exempt from state and local income taxes, which can make a significant difference in your effective yield.

  • You can build your own T-Bill ladder at TreasuryDirect.gov or via a brokerage account with a bond desk like Vanguard and Fidelity. Here are the current Treasury Bill rates. As of 10/15/24, a new 4-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 4.80% annualized interest and a 52-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 4.19% annualized interest.
  • The iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) has a 5.08% SEC yield and effective duration of 0.10 years. SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL) has a 4.85% SEC yield and effective duration of 0.08 years.

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. If you redeem them within 5 years there is a penalty of the last 3 months of interest. The annual purchase limit for electronic I bonds is $10,000 per Social Security Number, available online at TreasuryDirect.gov.

  • “I Bonds” bought between May 2024 and October 2024 will earn a 4.28% rate for the first six months. The rate of the subsequent 6-month period will be based on inflation again. More on Savings Bonds here.
  • In mid-October 2024, 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. This is the mid-October post. I will have another post up at that time.

Rewards checking accounts
These unique checking accounts pay above-average interest rates, but with unique risks. You have to jump through certain hoops which usually involve 10+ debit card purchases each cycle, a certain number of ACH/direct deposits, and/or a certain number of logins per month. If you make a mistake (or they judge that you did) you risk earning zero interest for that month. Some folks don’t mind the extra work and attention required, while others would rather not bother. Rates can also drop suddenly, leaving a “bait-and-switch” feeling.

  • OnPath Federal Credit Union (my review) pays 7.00% APY on up to $10,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and login to online or mobile banking once per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization. You can also get a $100 Visa Reward card when you open a new account and make qualifying transactions.
  • Genisys Credit Union pays 6.75% APY on up to $7,500 if you make 10 debit card purchases of $5+ each per statement cycle, and opt into online statements. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization.
  • Credit Union of New Jersey pays 6.00% APY on up to $25,000 if you make 12 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and make at least 1 direct deposit, online bill payment, or automatic payment (ACH) per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization.
  • Andrews Federal Credit Union pays 6.00% APY on up to $25,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and make at least 1 direct deposit or ACH transaction per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization.
  • Pelican State Credit Union pays 6.05% APY on up to $20,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, log into your account at least once, and make at least 1 direct deposit, online bill payment, or automatic payment (ACH) per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization membership.
  • Orion Federal Credit Union pays 6.00% APY on up to $10,000 if you make electronic deposits of $500+ each month (ACH transfers count) and spend $500+ on your Orion debit or credit card each month. Anyone can join this credit union via $10 membership fee to partner organization membership.
  • All America/Redneck Bank pays 4.65% APY on up to $15,000 if you make 10 debit card purchases each monthly cycle with online statements.
  • Find a locally-restricted rewards checking account at DepositAccounts.

Certificates of deposit (greater than 1 year)
CDs offer higher rates, but come with an early withdrawal penalty. 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 building a CD ladder of different maturity lengths (ex. 1/2/3/4/5-years) such that you have access to part of the ladder each year, but your blended interest rate is higher than a savings account. When one CD matures, use that money to buy another 5-year CD to keep the ladder going. Some CDs also offer “add-ons” where you can deposit more funds if rates drop.

  • Synchrony Bank has a 5-year certificate at 4.00% APY (no minimum), 4-year at 4.00% APY, 3-year at 4.00% APY, 2-year at 3.90% APY, and 1-year at 4.40% APY. Early withdrawal penalty for the 4-year and 5-year is 365 days of interest.
  • Advancial Federal Credit Union has has a 5-year certificate at 4.09% APY (higher $50,000 min). Early withdrawal penalty for the 5-year is 365 days of interest. Anyone nationwide should be able to join via membership with partner organization US Dog Agility Association, but I would call or check first.
  • State Department FCU has a 60-month CD at at 3.91% APY ($500 min) or 4.11% APY (jumbo $100,000 min). Early withdrawal penalty for the 5-year is 360 days of interest. Membership is open nationwide by agreeing to join the American Consumer Council (ACC) membership. Try promo code “consumer” when signing up at ACC for a free membership.
  • You can buy certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. You may need an account to see the rates. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance and easy laddering, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. Right now, I see a 5-year non-callable CD at 3.75 to 3.80% APY (callable: no, call protection: yes). Be warned that both Vanguard and Fidelity will list higher rates from callable CDs, which importantly means they can call back your CD if rates drop later. (Issuers have indeed started calling some of their old 5%+ CDs as of Fall 2024.)

Longer-term Instruments
I’d use these with caution due to increased interest rate risk (tbh, I don’t use them at all), 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 long-term certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. You might find something that pays more than your other brokerage cash and Treasury options. Right now, I see a 10-year CDs at 3.75% (non-callable) vs. 4.03% for a 10-year Treasury. Watch out for higher rates from callable CDs where they can call your CD back if interest rates drop.

All rates were checked as of 10/15/2024.

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers, Investing // Tagged:

Bank of America Credit Cards – 2% More Rewards Day on Thursday 11/7/2024

Posted on October 11, 2024 // 18 Comments

Update for 2024, promo is back again with limit of $50 extra per card. Bank of America has a one-day credit card promotion called “More Rewards Day” on Thursday, 11/7/24. Depending on your BofA credit card type (all consumer and business cards are all eligible), you can earn an additional 2% cash back or 2 points or miles/$1 spent on purchases made on 11/7/24 only (Eastern time zone!), up to a $50/5,000 point cap per unique credit card account. That’s on on top of the rewards you’re already earning. No enrollment required. Specifically:

  • Cash Back Credit Cards. Earn an additional 2% cash back for every $1 spent on purchases made on 11/7/24. This one-day offer is good for the first $2,500 in purchases up to $50 cash back. That’s on top of the rewards you’re already earning.
  • Points Rewards Credit Cards. Earn an additional 2 points for every $1 spent on purchases made on 11/7/24. This one-day offer is good for the first $2,500 in purchases up to 5,000 points. That’s on top of the rewards you’re already earning.
  • Miles Rewards Credit Cards. Earn an additional 2 Miles for every $1 spent on purchases made on 11/7/24 ET. This one-day offer is good for the first $2,500 in purchases up to 5,000 Miles. That’s on top of the rewards you’re already earning.
  • Non-Rewards and All Other Rewards Credit Cards. Earn 2% cash back in the form of a statement credit on purchases made on 11/7/24. This one-day offer is good for the first $2,500 in purchases up to $50 cash back.

You can get the bonus on each of your unique credit cards. Note that it expires 11:59pm in the Eastern time zone. It appears that somehow they can track the “transaction date” separately from when it posts to your statement. Note that some retail websites don’t actually charge you until a physical item ships.

Only Purchases that post to your account and appear on your statement with a transaction date of 11/07/2024 will qualify. Merchants may impact when a transaction will appear on your statement, particularly if they delay processing of the purchase. Transactions with delayed processing of 90 days or more will not be eligible to be included in the promotional offer.

This is an interesting promotion that could work out well if (1) you have a BofA rewards card (or multiples) with good rewards already, (2) you have the Preferred Rewards boost, (3) you have larger purchases planned in one of your customized bonus categories, or just any larger purchase really, and (4) it is the type of purchase that applies the same day (sometimes you don’t get charged until something ships). Max out that $2,500 in purchases for each card. Some possibilities:

  • Pay estimated income taxes at PayUSATax.com for only 1.82% fee.
  • Pay your insurance premiums upfront. My State Farm grouped monthly bill can also be timed using manual payment.
  • Pay your utilities, property taxes, phone bills, and other monthly bills upfront. Sometimes it just costs a one-time flat fee to pay by credit card, which can be worth if you are charging $1,000+.
  • Make your annual charitable contributions on 11/7/23 this year.
  • Gas and EV charging stations; online shopping, including cable, internet, phone plans and streaming; dining; travel; drug stores and pharmacies; or home improvement and furnishings are choices for your 3% category for the BofA Customized Cash card (up to 5.25% with Preferred Rewards) for a total of 7.25% cash back total with this promo. You can change your category this month in app and then max out the $2,500 quarterly limit using gift cards at Amazon (online shopping), Home Depot (home improvement), gas stations, and so on.
Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers //

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

Posted on October 10, 2024 // 20 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Anyone understand the meaning of the cherry?)

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

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

Posted on October 8, 2024 // 2 Comments

I guess all the major retailers decided that we needed another big coordinated event in October, so here we are again. I looked through the sales and here are a few things that caught my eye. Amazon has refreshed some of their free trials and credits for this event, so check again if you are targeted. For some reason, a lot of stick vacuums on sale everywhere. (I do still love our Dyson stick vacuum…)

If you have the Pepper Gift Card app, this is a great opportunity to stack with their discounted gift cards at Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Remember, Sam’s Club gift cards can be used at Walmart. Pepper has continued to offer big flash discounts, and the gift cards can be redeemed instantly after purchase. New customers can still get double points for the first 15 days with my referral code 588494 on the first screen after downloading the app. I’ve stored up $1,000s of Amazon and Walmart gift card balances.

(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.)

Amazon Prime Big Deal Days

Amazon Free Trials

Amazon “Shop with Points” Promos (Check again if targeted)

Target Circle Week

Walmart Deals

Costco Member Savings Event

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

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

Posted on October 3, 2024 // 4 Comments

Updated with new 5X promo through October 31st. Kudos is a new mobile app and browser extension that aims to enhance your existing credit card rewards when shopping. It does this by tracking all your rewards credit cards and recommending the best one to use, recommending new credit cards (that’s how they make money), and doubling your credit card rewards when shopping through an affiliated Boost merchant (they are also a shopping portal). New members can get a $20 referral bonus, worth $20 in Amazon gift cards, after their first purchase on a Boost merchant site.

In my opinion, Kudos is not super-interesting unless they have a 5X “Flash Boost Sale”. The best scenario is when it combines with a 5X category from a rewards credit card. Right now they one running until October 31st, 2024. Official 5X October Promo details here.

If you just have a 2% flat cash back card, you can get a total of 10% back on any of the listed merchants (8% from Kudos, 2% from your card). But if you have a 5% cash back category, this turns to 25% total cash back (20% from Kudos, 5% from your card.)

Pet stores are a 5% category for the Chase Freedom/Freedom Flex card for 4th Quarter 2024, which means you can get up to 25% total back at PetSmart. In addition, you can stack this with 40% off your first Auto-Ship order (like Subscribe and Save with Amazon). We just got a new puppy and dogs are expensive, so I’ll take all the help I can get.

Another idea for this promo are to use any 3% back on Travel cards from Chase, BofA, Citi, etc. and get an additional 15% back on VRBO, TripAdvisor, or Booking.com. Those percentages are also better than standard cashback portals.

Get ready for a haunting good time with our biggest October Flash Boost sale yet! From October 1 through October 31, 2024, we’re conjuring up some frighteningly fantastic deals. We’re not just offering spine-tingling discounts – we’re multiplying your rewards by 5X at participating merchants. That means you could earn up to 25% in rewards, depending on your card! Here are the top retailers that we’re highlighting with this Flash Boost sale:

Stubhub
Booking.com
Vrbo
Expedia
Petsmart
Fanatics
Journeys
Nike
Tripadvisor
Neiman Marcus
Halloween Costumes
Dell
Backcountry
Stanley
Woot

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

  • Visit my Kudos referral link (I used Chrome Browser) and install their extension. Make sure the promo code JONATHAN_KUDOS_209109 is filled in when applicable to get the 2000 point ($20) referral bonus.
  • Add at least one rewards credit card and number. I recommend linking any Discover it card since it has 5% cash back cards that you hold.
  • After these various things as a new customer, it should be pretty simple to accumulate around 500 Kudos points (worth $5). However, to unlock the $20 referral bonus for myself, I need to make a purchase from a Boost merchant. For this promo, PetSmart would work great.
  • Make sure to turn off any potentially conflicting extensions, like the Capital One 360 Shopping plugin.
  • Chrome extension installed. Check. Card number saved. Check. Visited Boost Merchant from the Kudos site. Check.
  • During the Purchase process, look to the bottom right corner and click on the yellow dog. You should be presented with and click on the “Activate Boost” button. It should say “Boost Activated”.
  • During the Checkout process, I let Kudos fill in the card information.
  • When finished, the extension should confirm your rewards exactly.

Here’s what you should see:

When Kudos says you’ll get “double your rewards”, that means your existing credit card rewards is 1X, and then will also match 1X. When Kudos says you’ll get 5X rewards, that means your existing credit card is 1X and they’ll add 4X. Like other shopping portals, the points will be pending for 60-120 days because it takes a while for them to get paid from the merchant internally, and also to make sure that you don’t return the item.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

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

Posted on October 1, 2024 // 14 Comments

TradeUP is an app-first brokerage firm (though they do have a web interface) that is also competing for asset growth with a new ACAT Transfer Promotion. TradeUP offers $0 commission on trades like most competitors, and is a registered broker-dealer with SIPC insurance (FINRA Broker Check). Here’s how it breaks down, based on their full terms and conditions:

  • Base bonus is 2% of ACAT transfer size, with a limit of $1,000. You must maintain the assets for a 90 days. This works out to a $1,000 bonus on $50,000 transferred. Offer expires 12/31/24, or earlier if they pull it.
  • If you transfer $100,000+ and maintain assets for a full year, you will receive an additional 1% match (separate $1,000 cap). This again works out to a 2% bonus on $100,000 transferred ($1,000 + $1,000 = $2,000.)*
  • This promotion applies exclusively to an account’s first ACAT transfer that qualifies for this promotion. Subsequent ACAT transfers will not qualify for this promotion. (You can already have a funded Live Trading account, just no transfers yet; see below.)
  • Bonus will be distributed in quarterly installment payments. The maximum cashback amount per quarter is $350. So a $1,000 bonus will take three quarters to pay out.
  • As long as you make a full or partial ACATS transfer of at least $3,000, you can receive up to a $300 transfer fee rebate. You must email them a statement copy of the fee charged.

(* 2% + 1% = 3%, but I am a little mystified at how this could ever actually add up to a 3% cashback bonus, as advertised in their banner, given the different requirements and caps. Perhaps one of you clever readers can help me out…)

I already have an existing TradeUp account to take advantage of their new customer bonus (my referral link), which currently starts at 2 free stocks with $100 deposit, and moves up to 5 draws with $100,000 deposit. Each stock draw has a 1 in 500 chance of being worth $1,800, which is actually better than many other brokers’ odds. But mostly likely, it will only be worth the minimum guaranteed value of $10 each. Honestly, I’d just put in the $100 cash for the 2 free stock draws and hope you get lucky. I’d get the new customer deposit bonus first, and then go for the ACAT transfer second.

(Update: I mostly got shares of TU (~$16 a share) but did get one share of UBER (~$78 a share). Not bad, was expecting just the minimum $10 per share value.)

I confirmed with TradeUp customer service that this ACAT transfer bonus is open to existing TradeUp customers as long as this is your first ACAT transfer. See screenshots below. I also confirmed with them the terms are accurate since some of the landing pages don’t clearly show the $1,000 bonus option. Their Live Chat was refreshingly responsive. I am planning on transferred close to $50,000 of existing ETFs/BRKB in order to get the $1,000 bonus. Be sure to download a copy of your cost basis at your old broker before transferring, just in case. Note that TradeUP does have an outgoing ACAT transfer fee of $50, but hopefully that’ll be covered by the next broker if I decide to move out later.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Investing //

Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines Merger Takeaways and Tips

Posted on September 30, 2024 // Leave a Comment

Alaska Airlines has closed their acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, although they will continue with their separate brands for a while at least. Here the pages about the merger on the Hawaiian site and the Alaska site with details about how the programs and perks will work during the transition. I read through all of the coverage and here are my notes and takeaways.

  • You can now transfer miles in either direction on a 1:1 ratio here (50 miles minimum, may take 72 hours). Most people seem to feel that Alaska miles are worth more than Hawaiian miles due their long list of partner airlines including American, British Airways, and Cathay Pacific, but it’s possible that you have a specific use for Hawaiian miles.
  • You can currently still transfer Membership Rewards points to Hawaiian Airlines (and then Alaska). This may not last once the dust settles.
  • You can currently still transfer Bilt Rewards points to Alaska Airlines (and then Hawaiian). This may not last once the dust settles.
  • Marriott Bonvoy points convert to both Alaska and Hawaiian at a 3:1 ratio, so nothing really new, but it offers another pathway if you’re going for a big redemption. If you transfer exactly 60,000 Bonvoy points, you get a 5,000 mile bonus for a total of 25,000 Alaska/Hawaiian miles.
  • If you have a Hawaiian Airlines credit or debit card, you can use their Share Miles feature to transfer an unlimited number of Hawaiian miles from anyone else into your account (friends and family) with no fees. I just swept all of my kids’ miles into my account, which I can then convert to Alaska if needed.
  • This also indirectly means you can pool Alaska miles for free now from various people, and avoid those huge “gifting” fees. For example, transfer Kid #1 Alaska miles to Kid #1 Hawaiian miles account. Then use Share Miles to combine with your target primary Hawaiian account, and then transfer to target primary Alaska account..
  • You may want to consider getting a Hawaiian Airlines credit card from Barclays (or business version), in case they make a future change to the issuer or program. You also get that Share Miles feature. For now, it doesn’t appear you can use the discounted companion ticket from the Hawaiian card on Alaska flights.
  • You may want to consider getting an Alaska Airlines credit card from Bank of America (or business version), in case they make a future change to the issuer or program. For now, it doesn’t appear you can use the discounted companion ticket from the Alaska card on Hawaiian flights.

In the past year or so, I’ve gotten both the Hawaiian and Alaska cards and have been taking advantage of the perks, including the free checked bags, companion fares, Share Miles, and other discounts. I’m not a heavy flier, but hopefully the merging of all these accumulated miles can offer some useful award redemptions for the family.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Free At-Home COVID Tests via US Postal Service (September 2024)

Posted on September 29, 2024 // 10 Comments

Updated September 2024: You can now order another round of at-home COVID tests, this time 4 tests per household. Order via this US Postal Service website. Shipping is free. Details from site:

As of late September 2024, residential households in the U.S. are eligible for another order of #4 free at-home tests from USPS.com.

Here’s what you need to know about your order:

– Each order includes 4 individual rapid antigen COVID-19 tests (COVIDTests.gov has more details about at-home tests, including extended shelf life and updated expiration dates)
– Orders will ship free, starting September 30, 2024

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Quicken Simplifi App: Free 30-Day Trial (Offer Expires September 30th)

Posted on September 25, 2024 // 7 Comments

Quicken Simplifi is running a free 30-day trial of their personal finance app. Simplifi is their app-first “Mint-like” software that aggregates all your accounts daily, tracks spending, categorizes for budgets, analyzes investments, and all that. They also still offer their desktop-first Quicken Classic software (although Simplifi has a web interface and Classic has a companion app…). After the free trial, the cost is “$5.99/month, billed annually”, in other words… $71.88 a year. They’ll want your credit card at sign-up, so be sure to set a calendar reminder to cancel. They’ll tell you the date.

I haven’t replaced Mint with anything myself (I ending up deleting all accounts from Credit Karma and just directly log in to websites now), so I will give this a shot. Simplifi won the best budgeting/personal finance app from Wirecutter and PC Mag, but I’d also like to see how it handles investments. It doesn’t look as robust as Empower Dashboard (formerly Personal Capital) (most recent portfolio update). 30 days should be enough time to settle in and feel if it’s worth the cost. Offer ends soon on 9/30. The fine print:

30-day free trial only available to new customers. After 30 days, you will be billed at the then annual price. All offers are for the first year only when you order directly from Quicken by September 30, 2024, 11:59 PM PT. Offer good for new memberships only. Subscription billed annually. Offer listed above cannot be combined with any other offers. Upon the end of your membership term, the subscription will automatically renew at the then-current rates, unless you cancel or we terminate this agreement.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //
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