Credit Cards for Your Wallet Quarter 4 2012

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Best Credit Cards

Credit Card Sign Up Offers

Sign up for Discover and Chase Freedom 5% Categories

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

These are the Credit and Debit cards that should be in your wallet from October through the end of December.  

American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries, 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else.  There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries.

   -$150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months

Discover it™- 5% cash-back on online purchases and department stores.
   - 5% cashback is actually more than 5%

Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back on airlines, hotels, Best Buy and Kohls and I use it for 1% cash-back backup everywhere else when American Express is not accepted. You get extra cash-back on up to $1,500 of spending in that category ($75 maximum per quarter) so keep that in mind.

    -$100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days
    - Save even more with Chase Exclusives (You need a Chase Checking Account)
         - 10% bonus on all cashback and get 10 cents for every purchase, even if the              purchase is one penny - my go to credit card for any purchase less than $10.00

Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.

   - This card is always in my wallet, though I have been using it less because there are great credit card sign up offers that I have been spending money with.

Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world

   - This card is always in my wallet

$400 Credit Card Sign Up Bonus - NFL Extra Points Credit Card

$400 Credit Card Sign Up Bonus - NFL Extra Points Credit Card

Edit: The deal is gone.  Congratulations to all those who were able to sign up for it!

Sign up for the NFL Extra Points Credit Card and you will get a sign up bonus of $400 after you spend $1000 !

Unfortunately, there are restrictions in how you can use redeem the $400, but we can work with them ;)

Here are the redemption options from the site:

Redemption Options: Cardmembers may redeem Points for a variety of rewards including NFL gift cards, certain NFL merchandise, NFL collectibles, NFL based experiences, and cash back via a statement credit towards any purchase transactions of $25 or more that posted to your account within the last 90 days. Statement credit redemption amount cannot exceed the amount of the qualifying purchase transaction

This means that you can either use the money NFL merchandise or, more realistically, you can spend $25 or more 16 ($25 X 16 = $400) times and use the $400 to pay for that.

Worst case scenario, you can buy 16 $25 gift cards to somewhere you go all the time (like the grocery store) and you have $400 for free!

If you buy one thing for $400 after the bonus posts to your account (30 days after you spend the $1000), that should work too.

Amazon MP3 and Facebook - $.05 Download

Amazon MP3 and Facebook - $.05 Download 

Update: I just checked my bill and they didn't charge me anything!

All you have to do is share a song title on facebook and amazon will let you download your next mp3 download for $.05.  The song can have a maximum value of $1.29

I just downloaded Machnisai Rachamim by MBD for $.05!


You can download Jewish themed music like Miami Boys Choir, Mordechai Ben David, Moshav Band and many others

6 Free Redbox Promo Codes

6 Free Redbox Promo Codes!

All you have to do is take the FIOS challenge after they determine if your location is eligible for FIOS.  Answer three questions about why FIOS is better and then you will be emailed your free codes.  Takes about 3 minutes.

Asus 14" Laptop - $299 from Best Buy

Asus 14" Laptop - $299 from Best Buy - only available in Blue at this price

4GB Memory - 320GB Hard Drive

Weighs 4.1 lbs and is 1.3" thick.

Check out the rest of the specs at the site

Does not have a CD/DVD drive, but you can buy an external drive.


Start your purchase at from Ebates and get 1.0% cashback as well.  You will still get your normal cashback from your credit card as well. 

Don't have ebates?  Sign up here for free.  You also get a $10 gift card to Target, Barnes and Noble, Home Depot or Magazines.com after your first $25 purchase 


When you are buying a laptop, make sure to use an American Express credit card.  American Express will double your warranty up to a year past the manufacturers warranty for free and they will often take the computer back even if the merchant will not.

SaveUp.com - Get Rewarded for Saving

SaveUp - Get Rewarded for Saving

SaveUp.com  "rewards" you for saving money.  You get bonuses for putting money in checking account and paying down your debt.  The credits will update automatically.  When you have your bonuses you can use that to enter into raffles for good prizes, though the odds of winning are not great.  

You can enter up to 3 raffles a day by default, but you can buy more entries with the credits you earn.

If you are consistent with it, you will win something good eventually, but it might take some time.

It's a free program, give it a shot if you have some time.  You never know what might happen.  Just click on the banner to get started.

Zenni Optical - BOGO

Zenni Optical - Buy One Get One Free

Update - dead
Zenni Optical offers cheap (both in price and quality) glasses.  Until September 23rd, they are offering buy one get one free as long as you spend $12.95 on the first pair.

Start your purchase at from Ebates and get 4.0% cashback as well.  You will still get your normal cashback from your credit card as well. 

Don't have ebates?  Sign up here for free.  You also get a $10 gift card to Target, Barnes and Noble, Home Depot or Magazines.com after your first $25 purchase 

Chase Freedom, Discover More and Citi Dividend - Activate Your 5% Quarter 4 Categories

Activate your 5% Categories for Chase Freedom, Discover More and Citi Dividend

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

These categories are from October 1st - December 31st and focus on holiday shopping

• Chase Freedom - 5% back on Airlines, Hotels, Best Buy and Kohl's.  Great for people who are going on interviews.
• Chase Exclusives -  with a Chase Checking Account, you will get an annual 10% bonus on all your points.  If you earned 10,000 points, you will get a 1,000 point bonus that year.
• Most important 5% card - if you only want one 5% card, get the Chase Freedom

• Discover it™  - 5% for online purchases and department stores.  Maximum of $75 cashback (spending $1,500 during the 3 months)
• Most important this quarter as I do a lot of shopping online.
• Important card to have, but secondary to Chase Freedom for those who don't like to have too many cards
• Citi Dividend - 5% for Electronic stores, Toy stores and Macy's
• I am not a big fan of this card.  Their 5% categories are usually inferior.  I have only added it because I was able to get a $200 sign up bonus after spending $500, which is the best sign up bonus for a card without an annual fee.  Even though it is clearly an outdated link (you can see the categories from January), I still got my $200 without having to call because the link still does work.

Related Links

My Favorite Credit Cards

Credit Card Sign up Bonuses

Discover 5% is Really 6.25%!

Canon Inkjet Cartridge - 10 Pack $8.95 Free Shipping

Canon Inkjet Cartridge - 10 Pack $8.95 with Free Shipping!

Make sure to click on "2 Sets" at the bottom and use coupon code MLC917YN




Start your purchase at from Ebates and get 1.0% cashback as well.  You will still get your normal cashback from your credit card as well. 

Don't have ebates?  Sign up here for free.  You also get a $10 gift card to Target, Barnes and Noble, Home Depot or Magazines.com after your first $25 purchase 

20,000 Pageviews!

20,000 Pageviews - Thank You!

Oren's Money Saver has now reached 20,000 pageviews!  Thank you everyone for reading - and American Express for all that free money ;)  (Make sure to get your free $25 from serve!)

It took from September 1, 2011 until April 15, 2012 to get to my first 10,000 pageviews, seven and a half months.  

It took from April 15th until September 18th to get the next 10,000 pageviews, only five months!  

Here is a graph of the trends in pageviews (The slope is down for this month because it resets at the beginning of the month and as the page views increase, the slope will straighten up.)

Hopefully, the next 10,000 are even faster!

The Hunger Games Paperback $1.50

 The Hunger Games: Movie Tie-in Edition - $1.50 with Free Shipping if you spend $25

JetBlue - $50 off Each Way!

$50 off Every Flight - Buy 2 one Way Flights and Get $100 off!

Use Coupon code 8XW36N2K and every flight will have a $50 discount.  Instead of buying a round trip ticket, but two one way tickets for each person separately and you will save $50 on each ticket.  You can fly from Buffalo to NY for Simchas Torah for $40 a person!

Works for flights before 11/07 and must be used by tomorrow (Friday)

Here is a link to JetBlue flights

At the bottom, put in 8XW36N2K for the coupon code.  Your discount will show up once you choose your flights.

Start your purchase at from Ebates and get $1.50 cashback as well.  You will still get your normal cashback from your credit card as well. 

Don't have ebates?  Sign up here for free.  You also get a $10 gift card to Target, Barnes and Noble, Home Depot or Magazines.com after your first $25 purchase 

Timberland.com 40% off

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

Timberland.com 40% off with coupon code BFF12.

Expires September 17th

Timberland has great customer service.  I have even been able to get two free pairs of shoes because the soles wore out and they were deemed manufacturer's defects.  In addition, they also have a free shoelace replacement program.  All you need to do is call them at 866-352-9580 and get to the warranty people and they will mail out the new shoelaces in a few days.

Start your purchase at from Ebates and get 3.5% cashback as well.  You will still get your normal cashback from your credit card as well. 

Don't have ebates?  Sign up here for free.  You also get a $10 gift card to Target, Barnes and Noble, Home Depot or Magazines.com after your first $25 purchase 

Start your purchase through the Discover it™ shopping portal and get 5% cashback.  You must buy it with your Discover card and you will not get any additional cashback.

My Favorite Credit Cards

I love credit cards, probably too much.  My wife thinks I'm crazy, but luckily she lets me do what I want as long as I don't tell her what's going on.  I personally have close to twenty credit cards and I am actively switching which cards I use every month or quarter.  

As my blog has grown (thanks everyone!) more people have been asking which cards to get.  When I start explaining the different cards, they usually get dizzy from the options so I am going to try to keep it simple.  Yeah, this is simple.  If you want to use multiple cards effectively, follow my quarterly "credit cards for your wallet" posts.

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Discover it®

Which credit card should I get?

The most important question to answer for yourself, and this is where it gets a little bit confusing, is to figure out what you spend your money on.  Most credit cards have a tiered system that value different categories of expenditures with higher or lower cashback.

Best Credit Card for Families

1. American Express Blue Cash Preferred - For most families, especially with large families, this is by far the most important card to have.
1. Rewards Breakdown - 6% back for groceries for your first $6,000 in this category, 3% back for gas and department stores and 1% back everywhere else
2. Annual Fee - $75 - 
1. The only card I recommend with an annual fee.  If you spend $50 a week on groceries, the annual fee pays for itself plus the possible benefits of other cards.
3. Sign up Bonus - $150 for spending $1,000 in first three months.
1. Update - The link above is for $100.  You can email me and I will refer you to the $150 sign up.

Best Credit Cards for Singles or Small Families - Categorized by Most Significant Expense

1. Groceries - 
1. PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature - Beware.  They can be a pain to deal with if you have a low income
1. Rewards Breakdown - 2% back for groceries, 3% back for gas, 1% everywhere else.  The numbers are 3% for groceries and 5% for gas until April.
2. Annual Fee - None
3. Sign up Bonus - None
2. American Express Blue Cash Everyday  
1. Rewards Breakdown - 3% back for groceries, 2% back for gas and department starts, 1% back everywhere else.
2. Annual Fee - None
3. Sign up Bonus - $100 for spending $1,000 in first three months
1. Update - The link above is for no sign up bonus  You can email me and I will refer you to the $100 sign up.
2. Gas Credit Card
1. PenFed Platinum Cash Rewards - Beware.  They can be a pain to deal with if you have a low income.  
1. Rewards Breakdown - 5% back for gas with a qualifying account, see the link for details
2. Annual Fee - None, if you have a qualifying account, see the link for details
3. Sign up Bonus - None
2. Bank of America Cash Rewards
1. Rewards Breakdown - 3% back for gas, 2% back for groceries and 1% everywhere else.
1. 10% bonus if you redeem into Bank of America checking account so it becomes 3.3%, 2.2% and 1.1%
2. You can also get the Bank of America Privileges card which gives you the same cash back but a 50% bonus instead of 10%.  $75 annual fee unless you have $50,000 in assets with Bank of America or its affiliates.
2. Annual Fee - None
3. Sign up Bonus - $100 for spending $500 in the first 90 days.
3. General Spending
1. Chase Freedom 
1. Rewards Breakdown - 1% everywhere and 5% rotating quarterly categories (you need to sign up every quarter or you will only get 1%).  Rotating categories are appropriate, like home improvement in the spring, gas, airlines, car rentals, and hotels in the summer, etc.
2. Annual Fee - None
3. Sign up Bonus - $100 for spending $500 in the first 3 months.
2. Discover it® - If you only want one card, don't get the Discover, get the Chase Freedom.  However, if you are willing to use multiple cards, this is a must have card because of the significant rewards you won't find with any other card.
1. Rewards Breakdown - Same as Freedom with 5% rotating quarterly categories, 
1. Discover has partner gift card that can make your bonuses worth 25% more.  5% becomes 6.25%!
2. In addition, Discover almost always gives the most cashback when you shop through Shop Discover.  Significantly better than Chase's Ultimate Rewards shopping portal.
2. Annual Fee - None
3. Sign up Bonus - None 
3. Fidelity American Express - If I had to choose only card to keep one credit card (an agonizing thought!), I would keep this card.  That being said, most people won't put in the necessary effort to get it going.  It is a large initial investment of time (a few hours more than all the rest) and money (you get your money back), but once it is set up, it is just as simple as the rest of the cards.  Don't bother if you want to keep things simple, but if you are willing to put in a little bit more effort, this cards is well worth it.
1. Rewards Breakdown - 2% back on everything.  No categories, no exceptions.  
2. Annual Fee - None
3. Sign up Bonus - None
4. Getting the card - Sign up for a fidelity investment account (no associated fees), which no longer requires any minimum.
4. Airfare
1. PenFed Premium Travel Rewards American Express - Beware.  They can be a pain to deal with, especially if you have a low income.  Apply at your own risk.
1. Cashback Breakdown - 5% back on airfare, 1% everywhere.  
1. Unlikely to be biggest expense, but a good supplement for those who do spend on airfare.
2. Annual Fee - None
3. Sign up Bonus - $200 towards your next roundtrip flight
5. Free Money 
1. Bank of America Better Balance Rewards Credit Card
1. $ 25 bonus every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month.  Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking Account. 

If I missed any details or if you want to suggest a different card, leave a comment or email me

Keep in mind that American Express is constantly running promotions that will get more free money and they have the best customer service by far.  If you have any trouble with a recent purchase, they will take it back even when the merchant won't, no questions asked.  It is worth it to have an American Express card (really, multiple cards) just for the promotions (without an annual fee, of course).

Mcdonalds and American Express - Spend $5 and get $5 back

Mcdonalds, American Express and Twitter- Spend $5, get $5 back

Here's how to do it:

1. Sync your American Express card with your twitter account (no need to do it twice).
2. Tweet #AmexMcDs
3. Wait for your confirmation tweet from American Express that you will be getting the credit
4. Spend $5+ at Mcdonalds and you will immediately get an email from American Express confirming the credit

Expires 10/31

Keep a record of which American Express card is synced to which Twitter account for the future.

Discover It Credit Card - 5% Cashback on all Your Online Purchases

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

Discover it™ is offering 5% cashback on all online purchases and department stores from October until the end of December, right in time for the holiday season.

You can already sign up for the categories.

If you don't have a Discover card, apply now to make sure you get your card to take advantage of this promotion

Remember to start your purchases from Ebates and you will get extra cashback as well.  

There is a limit of $1,500 for the three months for cashback total of $75.


Related Article
Review of Discover It Credit Card

Amazon MP3 $5 Credit from Scotts

Amazon MP3 $5 Credit from Scotts

Since everyone wants something to listen to as they're in the bathroom...

Amazon MP3 $5 Credit from Scotts

You can get one for every Amazon account you have as long as you sign up for a new Scott account.

Once you get your Scotts Amazon MP3 code, apply it to your account.  You must use your credit by the end of January.

You can download Jewish themed music like Miami Boys Choir, Mordechai Ben David, Moshav Band and many others

Thanks YP

Wegmans Coupons for College Students- Free Groceries

Wegmans on Alberta Drive is offering a coupon booklet for those who bring in a college ID with savings on products and coupons for completely free items.


I just got myself some free Wegman's O's (like Oreos only actually dairy) and Wegman's brand cereal.  I purposely got the Crunchy Raisin Bran instead of the regular because it costs another dollar and is still free ;)


They also have free Wegman's frozen pizza and Nog Shim Chajang Noodle (which I had never heard of before tonight - not your classic Jewish food) and coupons for a  $1 off of many of their prepared foods.


Expiration dates are soon (some are on Saturday) so hurry.  The two free Wegmans sports drinks are already expired :(    Just go to Customer Service and show your college ID and you will get the booklet free.

Living Social - Starbucks $10 Gift Card for $5

Living Social - Starbucks $10 Gift Card for $5


Start your purchase at from Ebates and get 2.0% cashback as well.  You will still get your normal cashback from your credit card as well. 

Don't have ebates?  Sign up here for free.  You also get a $10 gift card to Target, Barnes and Noble, Home Depot or Magazines.com after your first $25 purchase 

Chase Freedom and Discover - Remember to Activate 5% Categories

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

Remember to activate your Chase Freedom 5% categories and your Discover Credit Card 5% categories.  Deadline is September 15th.


Both give you 5% cashback at gas stations, Discover adds movies and theme parks and Freedom adds restaurants.

Even if you haven't signed up yet and have spent money at gas stations on the Chase Freedom, you will get the 5% bonus retroactively!



Discover it™

Chase Freedom Signup

After my main credit card, these are my two favorite card.

Related links
Main Credit Card
Gas Credit Cards
Discover 5% Cashback is really 6.25%!

Brooks Brothers Credit Card - $20 Promotion

The Brooks Brothers Credit Card is currently running a nice $20 promotion.  I got this in the mail, but you don't need to sign up for anything so it should work for everyone.

Use the card 5 times (no minimum) outside of a brooks brothers store in September, you will get 2,000 reward points, good for a $20 gift certificate at Brooks Brothers stores (Yay, more free socks!).


I have a Brooks Brothers credit card and it is a nice card, but it is certainly not an essential part of a credit card lineup.

Main benefit is 4% of your purchases at Brooks Brothers go towards $20 gift cards.  You have to spend $500 at Brooks Brothers before you are elegible for a reward.