Ask for Fees to be Refunded!

It has been my experience that it isn't that difficult to ask for fees to be refunded, even when they are legitimate fees.

Here is my example from this morning:


I signed up for a checking account from Citizen's Bank for the $125 sign up bonus.  There is a $9.99 fee associated with the account unless you have 5 transactions a month.  Therefore, I go in once a month and withdraw $20 5 times and immediately deposit $100 so that I don't incur a fee.


This morning I noticed that I was charged a $9.99 service fee.  I went over to ask why and it turns out that the 5 transactions are not based on the beginning and end of the month (ie - 5 transactions in February), rather it's based on your billing cycle and mine starts and ends on the 14th.


I had never been explained this, but it was in the details of the brochure I was given and didn't read carefully enough.  I asked if they could make a one time adjustment and they refunded my money without any trouble.  I then proceeded to withdraw $20 5 times and deposit $100 right in front of him ;)


The moral of the story is to ask for fees to be refunded, even if they are legitimate.   The worst that can happen is that they say no.

McAfee Antivirus - Free After Rebate + $10 Newegg Credit

McAfee Antivirus Plus 2013 is free after Rebate from Newegg.  It also comes with a $10 newegg credit.


Start your purchase from Top Cashback and get 2% back as well!

Don't have Top Cashback?  Sign up here for free.   They usually have the best cashback percentages (even better than Ebates ) although it take a little longer to get your money.

AARP Defensive Driving Online Course $5 in February (even non members)

In honor of Black History Month, AARP is offering their online defensive driving class for $5 for members and non members alike through the end of February.  The normal price is $19.99 for non members and $14.99 for members.

Use Promo Code BHM2013 when you sign up and the price will automatically drop down to $5.

The course is 340 minutes (5.67 hours) and is done completely online.

In New York, you will get a 10% reduction on your auto insurance bill for 3 years and up to 4 points off from your license if the points have been posted in the last 18 months.

Southwest Airlines - Double Points Until May 15th

Register now for double points and double tier qualifying points for travel between now and May 15th

From Southwest's website

Nationwide Double Points PromotionFrom now through May 15, 2013, you can earn double points on every flight you take on Southwest Airlines!  You'll receive 24 points (instead of the standard 12 points) per dollar spent on Business Select® Fares, 20 points (instead of ten points) per dollar spent on Anytime Fares, and 12 points (instead of six points) per dollar spent on Wanna Get Away?® Fares.

Bluebird, Citi Dividend, Chase Freedom, Vanilla Reload and Confirmed Free Money

I've already talked about how you can use a Bluebird prepaid card (Joint venture of American Express and Walmart), Citi Dividend (or Chase Freedom) and Vanilla Reload to get plenty of free money.

Without too much work you can get up to $240 for every Citi Dividend card and $60 for every Chase Freedom card.

You need to make 6 trips to CVS for the Citi Card and another 2 for the Chase Freedom and then a few minutes each time online, but then you have $200 for free.

Check out this post to see how the process works


Here is my Citi Dividend statement from last month that show what I am talking about:

As you can see, I spent a total of 2017.80 at CVS and got 100.89 back, which is exactly 5%.   I got over $100 last month too, but that statement has more identifying features so I won't post that picture.



A few notes:

- Vanilla Reloads can be bought at CVS with a credit card.  There was a rumor that they were being pulled, but I just bought some yesterday and today so they are still there.  There is a $1,000 maximum purchase per day limit so don't try to buy more at one time.

- You have until the end of March to do the spending so even if you don't have the right credit cards now, you can still apply for the Bluebird (cancel your Serve card if you have it because you can't have both), Citi Dividend and/or Chase Freedom.

- You can only load up to $5000 per month ($1,000 max per day) onto bluebird, but you can still buy as much as you want to get your bonus and then load excess of $5000 the next month.

- Maximum bonus for Citi Dividend is $300 or buying $6000.  You will net $240 after fees.  Maximum for Chase Freedom is $75 or buying $1500.  You will net $60 after fees.  Both 5% categories expire at the end of March.


For more information, check out my other post on the same topic which breaks down the exact percentages.

Another Reason to Love JetBlue - Know Your Bill of Rights

Whenever I fly domestically, I consistently fly JetBlue when they fly that route.  Besides for often being the cheapest, especially when they are running one of their frequent sales, they also have great customer service.

Know what you are Entitled to

It's important to know what you are entitled to when you are flying and something goes wrong because sometimes you only get it when you ask.

For example, on Continental, alav hashalom, and still on United, I knew that if the flight was delayed for a while (I think it was 2 or 4 hours, not sure anymore) you are entitled to a $10 voucher and I once got two $10 vouchers for me and a friend when no one else got one simply because I knew to ask.

On JetBlue, it is also important to know what you are entitled to, but they make it easier to you to find out.  I have gotten $15 a passenger for a broken DirectTV for part of a flight and I usually hope for short flights that the TV is broken :)

Here is the JetBlue Bill of Rights - a simple, one page guide that lets you know what to ask for

My Wife's Trip Last Night - Free $75 Credit

My wife flew last night on JetBlue and unfortunately her trip was delayed by 3 hours because of a mechanical issue with the plane that had been scheduled to arrive.  

I looked up the Bill of Rights and saw that she was entitled to a $75 credit for a 3 hour delay that is based on a controllable irregularity.  

I sent an email to customer service explaining the situation and within an hour JetBlue sent out an email saying that everyone on the flight was going to get a $75 credit for their inconvenience.  

I am not naive enough to think I got a credit for everyone, but JetBlue did not have to send out the message to everyone, they could have waited for complaints.  Even though everyone got the credit this time, it's still important to know what you are entitled to.!

$1 Free Amazon MP3 Credit

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


Free $1 Amazon MP3 Credit when you download Zillow Rentals - Apartments and Houses app which is also free.




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

Every couple of months Amazon gives away some MP3 credits so make a list of songs you want to download eventually and download them over time.

Niagara Outlet Mall Green Savings Card Free with American Express

I went to the Niagara Outlet Mall today to buy some shoes for my ever growing son.  Many outlet malls have a coupon book that you can get for free or sometimes have to pay for.

Woodbury Common, for example, has a coupon book that you can get at the service desk.  It costs $10 and many people are forking over the money for the book.  If you go here and sign in you can print out a coupon that gives you a coupon book for free.  You can also print coupons for individuals store that are different from the coupon book.

Niagara Outlets has what they call a "green savings card."  They have one card instead of a book (green because it saves paper, not money) and you show the card to stores and you can often get a discount.

I saw a sign that says that you can get a green savings card for free with a AAA or CAA card.   I asked them how I can get a green card without a AAA card and they said that I can get one for free with an American Express card as well.  I took out an American Express card and got one for free.  It didn't help me with Stride Rite today, but it was a good piece of info to know, especially since the card doesn't expire until 2014.


My wife then said, "The sad part is that they could have said any credit card company and you would have had that in your wallet too."  I didn't think that was very sad ;)

16GB and 8GB Storage Mediums Cheap from Best Buy

Click on the Banner below or click here and search SKU values:

9737196 - 16GB USB $7
9737178 - 8GB USB $4
3460736 - 16GB SDHC $7
2300569 - 8GB SDHC $4

Free Shipping for all products mentioned








Sign up for Best Buy Rewards Zone and you will get a $5 Best Buy Gift Card for every $250 you spend at Best Buy (2%) in addition to all your other savings 

Start your purchase from Top Cashback and get 6% back as well!

Don't have Top Cashback?  Sign up here for free.   They usually have the best cashback percentages (even better than Ebates ) although it take a little longer to get your money.

Stella Artois Engraved Chalice Free By Mail

Free Stella Artois Engraved Chalice when you order one through the mail.  Offer ends 3/15

*Beer not included :)

McCafee Antivirus Plus 2013 3 PCs $30 + $50 Dell eGift Card

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

If you buy McCafee Antivirus Plus 2013 from Dell for $30 which works on 3 PCs, it comes with a $50 Dell eGift Card.

Start you purchase from the ShopDiscover Portal from the Discover It Credit Card™ and you will get another 10% cashback.

Start your purchase from Ebates and get 4% 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 

Martha Stewart Living Free

Rewards Gold is offering a free subscription to Martha Stewart Living.  Rewards Gold seems to randomly offer a magazines and newspapers for free.  It can take a long time for your subscription to start but they eventually get there.


Hat Tip - HeyItsFree.net - Love this site - Lots of new freebies listed all the time.

KitchenAid 4.5 QT Mixer $199 After Rebate

KitchenAid 4.5 QT Mixer $199  After $30 Rebate.  Must be purchased before 2/14/13

Start your purchase at from Ebates and get 6% 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 

ESPN Magazine and Insider Subscription Renewal $1 for 1 Year

You can renew your subscription for a year to ESPN The Magazine and Insider (Let's be real, you only want the magazine for Insider access) for $1.

Existing Subscribers only


You need to login to see the promotion.

$25 American Express Gift Card for $15 with Twitter

Update: Sold out!

Buy a $25 American Express Gift Card for $15 with American Express and Twiiter


Here's how to do it:

1. Sync your American Express card with your twitter account (no need to do it twice).
2. Tweet #BuyAmexGiftCard25
3. Wait for your confirmation tweet from @AmexSync with the confirmation #hashtag
4. Tweet this #hashtag within 15 minutes of the confirmation tweet from American Express and you will automatically buy a $25 Amex gift card for $15 and it will arrive within 2 businness days

Here are the terms

You can have multiple twitter accounts and sync different American Express Cards to each account.  

Sony 32GB SDHC Memory Card $15

B&H photo and video is offering a 32GB SDHC Memory Card for $15 with free shipping

Oneida Pizza Stone $9

When my wife and I moved to Buffalo, one of our first and best purchases was a pizza stone.  There are no kosher pizza stores in Buffalo and the pizza stone allows you to make great homemade pizza with a crispy crust in a regular oven.

The pizza stone is now $9.

Use coupon code DH11 and you will save another 11% sitewide and $2.99 shipping with orders over $25.


Here are some other items that are majorly on sale in order to get you past $25

Measuring Cup - $1.49
9" Glass Pie plate - $2.99
9.5" Deep Pie Plate - $3.99
5 Bamboo Tools - $5.99
4 Quart Oval Roaster - $5.99
15 Piece Bakeware Set - $23.99
Kitchen Shears $3.49

Full Kitchen Liquidation Sale


tart your purchase from Top Cashback and get 7% back as well.

Don't have Top Cashback?  Sign up here for free.   They usually have the best cashback percentages (even better than Ebates) although it take a little longer to get your money.

Mr. Coffee Single Serve Coffee Brewer Keurig $59

I am a big coffee drinker and I have always wanted a single serve coffee machine because I think it tastes much better than the alternatives.  I never got one because the machine is usually pretty expensive and the coffee is even more expensive than regular coffee.


If I wasn't moving soon I would consider getting the Mr. Coffee machineMr. Coffee Single Serve by Keurig, which is $59 (regularly $79) but I would only get it along with a Refillable Cup so that you can refill the coffee with your regular coffee.

NFL Credit Card - $400 Bonus - Sign up Now!

Barclays is offering the an NFL extra points credit card with a $400 sign up bonus.

The actual card is not too good, but the sign up bonus is incredible.  I have no idea how long it will last so sign up now!  I got the bonus one time before and I got my full $400.

• You need to spend $2,500 in three months, which shouldn't be too hard.  
• Worst case scenario you can go to any CVS and pick up a few $500 Visa gift cards and pay a $5 fee for every $500 and come out way ahead.
• You will get 40,000 points which can be used to pay your statement balance for future transactions of $25 or more.
• My experience was that the 40,000 points posted right when I hit my spending threshold.  I was able to use my points to pay that bill.  I still had to pay the full statement balance, but I ended up being owed the $400.  I then requested a check for the $400 which was sent.  If you wait to use your points until the next month, you will have to spend an extra $400 and use the points for that $400 of spending.
• Example - If you spend $2,500 the first month, you will get 42,500 points which can be used towards your statement balance of $425.  You still need to pay the full $2,500 but once that bill is settled your balance will be -$425 and you can request a check for $425.

Discover More Changing to Discover It

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

The Discover More Credit Card is changing over to the Discover it™ credit card.  The Discover it™ still isn't on the top of my list, I thought it was a great card before the changes and the changes are only for the good!


The only change I care about is that every purchase that doesn't get 5% cashback will now get 1% cashback, just like the Chase Freedom and Citi Dividend.  It used to be 0.25% for the first $3,000 and then it would be 1% after $3,000.  Now it is always 1%!

Another change is that your first late payment won't change your APR or occur any interest.  I have never paid a late fee for a credit card so this doesn't affect me.  If you are chronically late with credit cards, you shouldn't be using them at all.  That's my mussar for the day.


I had the old Discover More and I called up this morning to change over my card to the Discover it™ and the person on the phone said that the new card still only got 0.25% on the first $3,000.  I gently told them they were misinformed and they should check with a superviser to confirm and 5 minutes later they were back to tell me that in fact since December it is 1% with no minimums.  This is an important lesson, don't believe what a rep tells you, find out for yourself, or check my blog of course ;)


Here is what I think about the Discover It card:



Advantages

1. 5% cashback rotating categories in categories that you actually spend money in.  
1. 5% cashback is really 6.25% and 1% is really 1.25%! Once you accumulate $20 of rewards, you can redeem that for a $25 gift card in many stores.  
1. Examples are Bed Bath and Beyond (I use it for refills on my Soda Stream), Banana Republic, Old Navy, Gap, The Children's Place, Brooks Brothers, DSW, Eddie Bauer, Lands End, LL Bean, Motherhood Maternity and many more.
2. Extra cashback when you shop through Discover's shopping portal.  
1. Before you buy anything online you should always check ebates or your credit card's shopping portal to see if you will get extra cashback.  I have found that Discover is consistently better than every other credit card for cashback online.  
3. No foreign transaction fees
1. If you use the Discover Card in a foreign country you will not be charged an extra fee.  Most cards do charge you.
1. Credit cards without foreign transaction fees

Disadvantages

1. Not as widely accepted as Visa and Mastercard, but it is accepted in most places, more so than American Express

4 Pack Cheerios 14 ozs for $8 Amazon

Cheerios Cereal, 14-Ounce Box (Pack of 4) for $8 from Amazon.  Eligible for Super Free Shipping or free shipping with prime.

Temporarily out of stock but you can buy it now at this price and it will be sent when they are back in stock

Zennis Optical - Glasses 4 for $55

My wife just got glasses for the first time so I took the opportunity to get myself a few extra pairs of glasses.  We paid $54.65 for 4 pairs of glasses and we are both happy with our purchases!

I last ordered from http://www.zennioptical.com in August of 2011.  I ordered 3 pairs of glasses and within a year I had already lost 2 of the pairs.  Zenni's glasses are not of the highest quality, but when they cost under $20 it is ok.  They are perfect for me because I end up losing them before they have a chance to break.  Also, since I am very stylish Zenni's allows me to change my glasses with the changing fashions ;)


Start your purchase from Top Cashback and get 8% back as well.

Don't have Top Cashback?  Sign up here for free.   They usually have the best cashback percentages (even better than Ebates) although it take a little longer to get your money.

As you can see, I got $3.98 back from Top Cashback for my purchase