Newegg and Citibank Mastercard - $20 off $100 Purchase

Update: Dead!


Citibank sent out an offer of $20 off a $100 purchase at Newegg when you use Citi wallet and a Citibank mastercard.

The offer is good until the end of the end of the day or if 7,500 redemptions are made.  You need to use Masterpass to checkout

Use promo code CITIWALLET

HT - EW via email


Terms and Conditions:

Offer expires April 30th, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. PDT, or when 7,500 redemptions have occurred, whichever happens first. Not applicable to Pre-Order, Gift Cards, Marketplace or Open Box items. Taxes and shipping fees are not included when determining if order exceeds $100. Cannot be combined with other promotional codes, combos or promotions that include a free gift. Discount may only be used once per customer, is non-transferable, and is limited to a one-time $20 off of a purchase that exceeds $100. Promo code CITIWALLET must be entered at checkout. Purchases must be completed using MasterPass. Discount will be reflected at checkout and applied before shipping fees and taxes are calculated.

American Express Business Gift Cards - Up to 2.1% Cashback This Wednesday from Simply Best Coupons

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


HT: Frequent Miler Quick Deals



Simply Best Coupons will be giving 2% cashback on American Express Business Gift Cards on Wednesday (5/6/2015). That is better than the usual 1.5% from Top Cashback and others.

If you order $20,000 or more that day, even in multiple orders, your rate will increase to 2.1%.  If only I didn't order $16,000 worth last night at 1.5% :(   There is always next time.




American Express Gift Cards are great for loading RedBird and regular spending.



Feel free to use Frequent Miler's signup link or my referral link. You will get $5 and your referrer will get $5. In addition, your referrer will get 5% bonus on your purchases up to $50 so spread the love to others as well. Payouts start at $20.

1,000 Free American Airlines Miles Very Quickly

HT - My email inbox, DansDeals, Doctor of Credit, The Points Guy, Miles to Memories, Mile Nerd, Loyalty Traveler, Mile Value, Maximizing Money, View from The Wing, , The Flight Deal, One Mile at a Time, The Fare Deal, Deals We Like, Miles Quest



I guess I'm a little late to this party.


Direct Link to offer


Watch a couple videos (you can skip to the end) and answer a few short questions and you will get 1,000 American Airlines miles.  This will also extend the life of all the miles in your account by another 18 months.  I actually did it while writing this post.

Free Ice Cream Cone from Carvel on 4/30/2015 (Thursday)

Update: Today is free Ice Cream cone day from Carvel!


The Huffington Post reports that Carvel is offering free ice cream cone on 4/30/2015 from 3pm to 8pm.

Store Locator - I would call ahead to make sure your local store is participating.

HT - Reader YW  via email

Bank of America Museums on Us for May - This Saturday and Sunday

Bank of America Museums on Us program gives Bank of America card holders free access to select museums on the first Saturday and Sunday of the month.  May 2nd and 3rd are the dates for this month so that means this Saturday and Sunday are the free days this month. 

Paribus - Automatic Refunds Due to Price Reductions

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


HT - Frugal Hack - #11




Paribus is a brilliant website I found out about today.  There are can be some major privacy and security issues, which I addressed with the company.

You link your email with Paribus.  Paribus has algorithims that automatically monitor your inbox for your purchases.  If the price drops at the same store or if there is a best price guarantee and the price drops elsewhere, Paribus will automatically send an email from your account requesting a refund on your behalf.  Creepy and awesome at the same time.

The Next Manufactured Spend Frontier - Reselling Gift Cards and Merchandise for Fun and Profit!

Credit card sign up bonuses are by far the easiest way to get a lot of points and miles quickly.  The only problem is that if you get too many to quickly it can have some short term negative effects on your credit and you may start get rejected for cards.

After credit card bonuses, manufactured spend is usually the avenue of choice.  The problem with the usual manufactured spend is that avenues are constantly changing and it can be tough to keep up.  In addition, the most lucrative techniques are usually not talked about publicly on blogs.  

Also, many credit card issuers don't like this too much (not as lucrative for them and can look like fraud).  Some have been known to shut down accounts for this very reason (often justification is Perk Abuse - Why do you have the perk if it is abuse to use it?  I digress). 

So when you have exhausted all the worthwhile standard manufactured spend techniques, what is a points/cashback aficionado supposed to do?

 

Chase United 55,000 miles +$50 Statement Credit

HT-  Physixfan via Doctor of Credit





Update: As pointed out from a comment from Lantean on Doctor of Credit, the offer might be on the front page of the United site (I was able to see the ad when I went to United.com).  No dummy booking necessary. The link from the front page does not include the $50 staintment credit. 


Chase United credit card is offering 50,000 mile sign up bonus for spending $3,000 in 3 months.  Add an authorized user for another 5,000 miles.  You also earn a $50 statement credit.

To get the offer, just log in to your United account and start making a dummy booking, you will then be offered the card at the increased sign up bonus rate.

There is another 55k offer without the $50 statement credit available for both Personal and Business cards.  The only benefit is that the spending threshold is $2,000 instead of $3,000.  You need to sign into your account to see if you are eligible.


This is an increase from the regular 30,000 + 5,000 offer, but the offer is often available.  If you need United miles, it is a good time to apply, but based on history, I assume this will come back again at some point.

If you applied within the last 90 days, you can ask Chase to match the bonus via secure message.

You are eligible for a new Chase bonus every 24 months as long as you don't have the card currently.



A similar 50k offer is also available on the United Business Card as well.


https://www.theexplorercard.com/50kAFW

Select American Express Gift Cards 2% from Top Cashback - Not Good News!

Top Cashback is offering $2% cashback on select American Express Gift Cards with a limited supply. 

The problem is that the select gift cards have a maximum denomination of $200, as far as I can tell.  This is far worse than the regular business and personal gift cards that have maximum denominations of $3,000 (Top Cashback and other portals usually cap cashback at $2,000 denominations).

If anyone sees an exception, please comment below.

I hope this is not a sign of things to come.

Best Buy - $799 for Apple - MacBook Air (Latest Model) - 128 GB Storage - 4GB Memory - Silver

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


Best Buy is offering $200 off the Apple® - MacBook Air® (Latest Model) - 13.3" Display - Intel Core i5 - 4GB Memory - 128GB Flash Storage - Silver

Price is $799 - Compare to Amazon at $994.  Limit of 1 per person

You will also earn $15 of Reward zone gift certificates good towards your next purchase (or amazon gift cards)

Not a good resell item on Amazon since it can't be listed as new. 


Start your purchase from Discover Deals and you will get 5% cashback as well.  Start from Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping and you will get 3x miles per dollar spent.  Check out Cashback Monitor for more possible deals.

You can also buy a $50 coupon from eBay for $5.  I've never done that before so I can't be sure it works, but I don't see why not.  The coupon will be delivered in 2 days so it probably won't help for this deal, but it is something to keep in mind for the future.

HT - Slickdeals


If you got a targeted offer for 3x miles at computers and electronics stores from Citi (like I did), now is a good time to use it.  Keep in mind that you can only get 3x on up to $1,250 of spending.  I don't recommend buying expense items like these with gift cards since you lose a lot of protection if you don't use a credit card.  American Express and Visa signature will also add an extra year to your warrantee for free.

Dunkin Donuts - Free Beverage with Any Purchase This Week - Targeted?

I happened to be buying a drink from Dunkin Donuts this morning and I noticed an offer my Dunkin Perks for a free beverage for any purchase this week.   I don't know if it is targeted, check your account to see if you have it.

The free drink coupon is printed on your receipt so don't throw that out!  It was also sent to my email, so don't worry about that.

- Offer expires 5/3/2015
- You have to use a DD Card enrolled in DD Perks Program

Staples - 25% Rewards In Store Only

via Big Habitat

Staples has an in store coupon for 25% rewards.  Coupon code to tell the cashier is 68046.

If you are buying anything in store, this is a great coupon to have since it will give you 25% towards your next purchase.  If you are a reseller, this is effectively 25% off (instead of the regular 2-5% for Staples Rewards) since you can definitely use it for something.

Check out Big Habitat for some reselling possibilities to use with this coupon.  If you interested in merchandise reselling, you should always check Big Habitat for great ideas.


Coupon expires 5/2/2015 - there are no limits to how much you can spend, just limits on what you can buy.


Use your Chase Ink for 5x back or buy a $100 eGift card and receive a $20 gift card free for even more savings (you can buy up to 2).




Terms and Conditions - There are plenty of exclusions so read them before you buy.

• Not valid on desktop or laptop computers, tablets, netbooks, Amazon products, Apple®, Beats™, Bose®, Canon® ink, Epson® ink and toner, HP ink and toner, JBL®, Roku®, SquareTrade® warranties, Staples® EasyTech(sm), Steelcase®, custom printing orders placed online, gift cards, mobile phones and mobile phone services, phone cards or postage stamps. Customer may only qualify for one promotion in a single transaction. Staples Rewards® are issued online monthly in increments of $5. Rewards expire the last day of the month following the month in which they are issued and cannot be redeemed after the expiration date. Monthly balances of less than $5 will roll over through the end of the following calendar quarter. Unissued Rewards will expire at the end of the following calendar quarter unless a qualifying purchase is made during that rollover period. For full program details, visit staples.com/rewards. Expires 5/2/15.

Lowe's, Cabella and TGIF Gift Card Reselling Opportunity from eBay

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

Update: Well, unfortunately that died about 2 minutes after I posted. That's pretty annoying.  Though Cabella's Gift Cards can be sold at a slightly higher margin (1.5%) than Lowe's and TGIF Gift Cards can also be sold at the same 1% margin so there is still stuff to buy.  Limit of 5 for each.

Via Doctor of Credit and Dan'sDeals

eBay (via Gift Card Mall) is selling $50 Lowe's gift cards for $40 which is 20% off.  Limit of 3.  These will sell fast!

There are a bunch of others on sale as well, you can check out Doctor of Credit for the full list.  Lowe's was by far the most interesting that is still in stock.

According to Gift Card Granny, you can sell the cards for up to 81%.

So, here goes the math.

1% for reselling
1.5% from Top Cashback
2% in eBay Bucks towards a future deal
Up to 5% in credit card rewards (Chase Ink)

This is great for some extra cash or to hit a credit card minimum.

This is even better if you need to spend money at Lowe's or if your local Lowe's allows you to buy Amazon Gift Cards with them.

Use your existing eBay gift cards to buy them as well.

Doctor of Credit also reports that cash advance fees that have been charged on eBay gift card purchases from Gift Card mall have been solved.

$350 Cashback for New 2 Year Wireless Plan or AT&T Next Plan from AT&T via Top Cashback - Another $100 Cashback for New Accounts Possible

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



AT&T has increased its payout through Top Cashback.  Last week, if you signed up for a new 2 year plan or AT&T next through Top Cashback, the payout was $300.  This week, the payout has increased to $350.

If you switch from another provider and add a new account to AT&T next, you will earn an extra $100 credit to your bill.  Not too shabby!

According to Cashback Monitor's Best Rate History, this is the highest payout rate for AT&T, though they have only been tracking since March so it isn't super meaningful.


I found the new rate through Top Cashback's new feature called Trending Now.





Terms and Conditions:

Please note; cashback is not eligible on an iPhone purchase or plan.

Cash back is not valid on contract renewals. To earn the stated cash back amount, you must be purchasing a new contract with AT&T Wireless.

Cash back will not be eligible on transactions where the cash back value exceeds the transaction value.

Please note that the use of a AT&T Wireless promotional/coupon code not posted and approved by TopCashback, may affect your eligibility for cashback.

AT&T Wireless Cashback is available through TopCashback on genuine, tracked transactions completed immediately and wholly online.

AT&T WIRELESS CASHBACK can be earned simply by clicking 'Get cashback & visit retailer' button through to the merchant and shopping online as normal.

Please note, only purchases made on AT&T Wireless's US site are eligible for cashback.

$2,000 Business American Express Gift Cards No Longer Available?

Update: 4/23/2015 - Doctor of Credit suggests that the cards may just be out of stock.  Hopefully, he's right.  

Izz also posted a possible workaround if this is a permanent change.  You can order custom business cards for $2,000.  The transaction was tracked to Top Cashback, but the order was declined so we won't find out if they payout as usual.  If I remember, I will try it next month to see.


Commenter Izz pointed out that when he tried to buy some AMEX Business gift cards today, there was no option to buy $2,000 gift cards.

When I bought earlier this morning that option was there, but I don't see it anymore.

Personal AMEX gift cards still have the $2,000 denominations.

This is kind of annoying because $3,000 gift cards don't get any cashback and there is the same $3.95 fee for $1,000 gift cards as for $2,000 gift cards.

Everyone else seeing the same thing?

Free $20 Staples eGift card with Purchase of $100 Staples eGift Card

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


Via Doctor of Credit, Frequent Miler, Big Habitat



Staples is offering a free $20 eGift card with the Purchase of a $100 Staples eGift card.



Limit of 2 - a $200 eGift Card order will receive 2 $20 eGift Cards.
Deal expires 4/29/2015
$20 eGift card is a promotional gift card which expires on 5/13/2015
Only one $20 eGift card can be used per purchase.
eGift cards do not process as office supply purchases so will not get 5x points on Chase Ink cards.



Since the promo eGift Cards have expiration dates this is really best if you either have a purchase to make at Staples or you are planning on buying free after rebate items.


As pointed out by Chasing the Points, start your purchase from Top Cashback to Cashstar and you will get an extra 2% cashback.

American Express Gift Cards 2.25% Cashback from Top Cashback - Today Only

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

Via Doctor of Credit - his referral link is in that post, feel free to use his link instead.


Recently, there have been a few increased payouts on American Express Gift Cards from the different portals.  Luckily, I was too lazy to order before so I can get some extra money now.  Competition among the sites is good for everyone! On a $10,000 order, this is an extra $75.  Not too shabby!

Until the rest of 4/22/2015, Top Cashback is offering 2.25% cashback for buying American Express Gift Cards.


 Business cards only! Personal gift cards are the standard 1.5% cashback.  Promo codes invalidate cashback and cashback is only for $2,000 denominations and below.


American Express Gift Cards are great for loading RedBird and regular spending.

No promo codes! Your cashback from Top Cashback will be invalidated.

Blogs and Resources I Follow/Use Everyday

Here is a list of the blogs I try to read everyday.  I use the app Feedly which automatically aggregates new posts and allows you to save posts to read for later.

• Doctor of Credit - They have't been around for so long, but have quickly rose to the top of my list.
• IMO, this is the most comprehensive blog in the manufactured spend world.
• Specializes in bank bonuses and credit cards, but also talks about all financial topics related to credit, credit cards, manufactured spend and more.  Well worth your time.
• Sign up for the newsletter (after every post) for the juicy deals that aren't for public consumption.
• Frequent Miler - 1 post a day (usually), which is always worth a read
• Quick Deals are also great.
• Big Habitat
• Best website I know regarding reselling merchandise on Amazon for profit and miles.
• Chasing the Points
• Best website I know regarding reselling gift cards for profit and miles.  Doctor of Credit is also great for this
• Frugal Hack
• Just starting to read it, but me likes.
• Miles to Memories
• Great stuff overall
• DansDeals
• Most of my airline mile redemption knowledge is from here.  I don't talk about that much because I am not knowledgeable enough, but he is a great resource.
• Jewish posts - large Jewish following so really great if you are into that.
• DansDeals Forums - the best deals from the site are in the forums, not the main site.
• A lot of random product deals you may be interested in.
• The Free-Quent Flyer
• Probably the most unique perspective out there about everything.   Doesn't post so frequently on the public blog, but always worth reading.
• Travel with Grant
• A nice smorgasbord of deals.  Covers AMEX offers for you very well

Forums

• Slickdeals
• Fatwallet
• Flyertalk
• Saverocity - just starting to grow

American Express Gift Cards 2% Cashback Today Only on Ebates Mobile App

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



HT - Miles Per Day via Doctor of Credit


Ebates mobile app will be giving 2% cashback on American Expre Gift Cards today. This is better than the usual 1.5% from Top Cashback and others. On a $10,000 order, you will earn an extra $50, which is nothing to sneeze at for doing the same amount of work.

Personal and business cards are eligible, promo codes invalidate cashback and cashback is only for $2,000 denominations and below.


American Express Gift Cards are great for loading RedBird and regular spending.



Feel free to use Miles Per Day's referral link or my referral link. $10 bonus for signing up and getting a $20 payout which you will likely get for this.

Staples - $30 off $150 Purchase with Visa Checkout until 4/28/2015

Staples is offering $30 off a $150 full price purchase if you use Visa Checkout until 4/28/2015.

Limit 1 per person.  I don't think this is targeted, but make sure you see it on the Staples homepage before you buy.

United Mileage Plus shopping is offering 5x miles per dollar spent at Staples which should be able to be combined.  Check out all the possibilities on Cashback Monitor.

You should still get Staples Rewards money as well.

I don't know how Visa checkout at different stores are categorized so you may not get 5x points for using a Chase Ink card.

Top Cashback New Feature (Trending Now) and Free Money and Decent Deals Available Through Top Cashback

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



Top Cashback has a new feature when you log onto their site called "Trending Now" on the right hand side.  You will see % increases of purchases through the top 5 companies.  Usually it is becuase they are running some sort of special so it is a good idea to check it out.

Time to Close Santander Extra20 Account? Also, My Surprising Santander Bank Customer Service Interaction (Separate Issues)

I recently signed up for a Santander Extra 20 savings and checking account.  The account offers $20 a month for free that can be automated via ACH Bank Transfers as laid out by Doctor of Credit.


The most important development for me and anyone else who has the account is that they seem to have recoded ACH transfers from direct deposits to P2P transfers.  I transferred money on 3/19/2015 and it was considered a "Schwab Bank Transfer" and I got my bonus for the month.  However, when I transferred money on 4/14/2015 from the same account, it is considered a P2P transfer.  I'm pretty sure this has to do with a new way that bank ACH transfers are being cataloged in general, but not positive.

Here is a picture of my online account.

American Express Business Gift Cards from Simply Best Coupons - 2% Cashback Today

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


Update 4/16/2015 - Keep in mind that that 2% is only for business gift cards.  Personal gift cards are 1.3% cashback.

Via Frequent Miler Quick Deals



Simply Best Coupons will be giving 2% cashback on American Express Business Gift Cards today. This is better than the usual 1.5% from Top Cashback and others.  On a $10,000 order, you will earn an extra $50, which is nothing to sneeze at.


American Express Gift Cards are great for loading RedBird and regular spending.



Feel free to use Frequent Miler's signup link or my referral link. You will get $5 and your referrer will get $5. In addition, your referrer will get 5% bonus on your purchases up to $50 so spread the love to others as well. Payouts start at $20.

eBay Gift Cards from Paypal Coding as Cash Advance for Barclays and No More 5x Points from Chase Ink

Doctor of Credit is reporting that digital eBay Gift Cards bought from Paypal are being coded as Cash Advances by Barclays (fees and no miles) and that you will no longer earn 5x Points from Chase Ink for buying the gift cards.

Check out his post for more details.

Posts from Around the Web

Some Nice posts from Around the Web

• $20 Statement Credit when you spend $20 at Amazon with American Express - Targeted - Every Blogger today.
• One example from Doctor of Credit 
• My 90,000 Ultimate Rewards Mistake - Frequent Miler
• Almost happened to me.  I was reminded by the rep as I was cancelling to move over my points before I lose them
• When are more points more valuable than fewer points? - Freequent Flyer
• I love American Express Gift Cards.  I use them to load onto RedBird and in non bonused spend since I can buy significantly more than I am able to liquidate through manufactured spend.  However, I buy them with a Fidelity American Express rather than any of the points earning cards he suggests since I would rather have 2% cashback than the equivalent points. 
• $100 Bonus for Setting Up Schwab Account with $10,000 deposit - Hustler Money Blog via Doctor of Credit
• Schwab is my main account due to their ATM refunds, lack of fees, low maintenance fee and commission free ETFs (SCHB is my favorite) and smartphone deposits of money orders.
• Defending the Sapphire Preferred from its Critics - View from the Wing
• I tend to agree with the "haters" on this one (See "The Devil's Advocate" and "Travel is Free".  I love it for the sign up bonus, but not much else.
• 2x points on restaurants isn't great.  
• Most people don't spend too much on restaurants.  You can also get 5x this quarter from Chase Freedom or Discover.  You can buy restaurant gift cards this quarter to get 5x in later quarters.
• 2x on travel is ok
• You can get 2 cents with Fidelity American Express and it would take a lot of spending to make the miles worth the extra $95 annual fee.
• Transfer partners is great, but...
• You can unlock Ultimate Rewards Transfer partners if you or your spouse has a Sapphire Preferred or an Ink Plus.  Ink plus has the same annual fee, but also has 5x at office supply, cable, phone and internet.  A far better card for the same fee.
• How to Find Manufactured Spending Opportunities by Yourself - Miles to Memories
• I actually think this will probably work very well to reach a spending threshold for a sign up bonus.  Sign up bonuses aren't usually clawed back in my experience, but I'm not positive.  Once the bonus posts you can ask for your refund.  I don't usually like refund techniques, but for some reason this one feels different.  
• No Hotel Status? Get Upgraded Perks with Visa Signature! - Deals We Like
• I've never of this so it was an interesting read.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Board Book - $2.05 at Walmart and Amazon

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

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Board Book on sale for $2.05.  A classic kids book.


From Walmart - Free Shipping if you spend $50 or more or if you choose store pickup.  Shipping is $5 if you spend less than $50.  That's clearly not worth it.
From Amazon - Eligible for Prime and Super Free Shipping


If you buy from Walmart, according to Cashback Monitor you can start your shopping at Discover Deals (requires a Discover Card) or UPromise for 5% cashback, Top Cashback for 4% and Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping for 3 miles per dollar.  Pick whichever suits you best.  It's not going to make much of a difference if you are just buying a $2 item, but sho



Keep in mind that Southwest is having a shopping portal bonus, but this isn't going to get you much closer.

American Express Gift Cards 2% Cashback Thursday from Simply Best Coupons

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


Via Frequent Miler Quick Deals



Simply Best Coupons will be giving 2% cashback on American Express Gift Cards on Thursday (4/16/2015).  That is better than the usual 1.5% from Top Cashback and others.

American Express Gift Cards are great for loading RedBird and regular spending.



Feel free to use Frequent Miler's signup link or my referral link.  You will get $5 and your referrer will get $5.  In addition, your referrer will get 5% bonus on your purchases up to $50 so spread the love to others as well.  Payouts start at $20.

2x $50 Sears Gift Cards for $40 each, 2x $75 eBay Gift Cards for $72 each

 Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Top Cashback, Ebates and eBay


Update: Sears gift cards are out of stock but you can still buy the eBay gift cards.


There are a bunch of eBay Gift Card deals going on now that can be used in multiple ways.

These deals are courtesy of Doctor of Credit and Miles to Memories 1 and Miles to Memories 2.  I recommend following both of their blogs, as they are both excellent.

I've been talking about a lot of eBay gift card deals lately.  That's because they are an easy and quick way to make some money, build up points, or easily hit a spending threshold.

Sears Gift Cards

• 2 $50 sears gift cards for $40 each.  20% off.  They can be resold for 84.5% or $84.50 if you buy both according to Gift Card Granny.
• $4.50 profit or you can use it at Sears.
• Start your purchase at Top Cashback and you will may get an extra 1.5% cashback.
• $1.20 profit
• Eligible for eBay Bucks
• $0.80 in eBay Bucks

eBay Gift Cards

• 2 $75 eBay gift cards for $72 each.  4% off
• Can be used to purchase other gift cards, but will be sent in the mail so it won't come fast enough for the Sears Gift Cards
• Not eligible for eBay Bucks, but you will get eBay Bucks when you buy something else.
• Start your purchase at Top Cashback and you may get an extra 1.5% cashback.  Terms and conditions exclude eBay gift cards from 1.5% and I have sometimes received cashback for it in the past.  Frequent Miler reports that readers have said that Ebates is more reliable.  I have no personal experience with this.

Purchases of eBay gift cards from Paypal Digital Gifts have been getting 5x Ultimate Rewards points from Chase Ink.  Other purchases sometimes have not been getting 5x.   Miles to Memories recommends buying a digital eBay gift cards from Paypal Digital Gifts to purchase your other eBay Gift cards so that you can be sure to get 5x for the purchase.  In this way, you can also double dip on the shopping portal money.

Pajama Money - Free Money Without Leaving Your Home

I love pajama money.  I hate leaving my house if I don't need to so if I can make money without leaving my computer, even better.  I mean, look at the guy in the picture.   He looks so happy and relaxed!



Here are some of the easier ways to make some extra money at home.  So far, this will equal a minimum of $50 a month per person in your household.  I hope to add to this over time.

• Serve - $20 a month.   
• Really easy and simple.  All you need is a Serve card and Fidelity American Express.
• You can automate loading the credit card, but you need to log in once a month to liquidate the money from Serve.
• Santander Bank - $20 a month
• A big pain, but once it is set up, everything is automatic.
• Bank of America Better Balance Rewards - Up to $10 a month per card
• Requires a Bank of America checking or savings account to get the full $10 a month of value.  Otherwise it is $8.33 a month
• Completely automatic once set up.
• Multiple Better Balance Rewards cards are possible (I currently have 4 and I hope to get more) which can add to your month rewards.

Any other ideas?  You can email me or post a comment

Living Social - $5 off $15 purchase and $10 for New Customers

Living Social is offering $5 off a $15 purchase with Coupon Code 5OFFAPR.

In addition, if you sign up with my link (or anyone else's link) you will get $10 of Living Social Bucks.


Start your purchase from Top Cashback and get another 15% cashback as well if you are a new customer or 7% if you are an existing customer.  I'm pretty sure that if you sign up from my link or someone else's link you will automatically be considered an existing customer.

Santander Bank Extra20 - $20 a Month For Free of Pajama Money

I've thought about signing up for the Santander Bank Extra20 checking and savings account since October 2013, but I never did because I didn't to switch my Direct Deposit at work.  I was inspired by Doctor of Credit's post to finally go for it since almost any ACH transfer will work to trigger the Direct Deposit requirement for Santander.

The Basics

Sign up for an Extra20 Checking account (savings account will come with it) and fulfill the requirements and you will get $20 for free every month.  $40 a month if you do it for a spouse as well.  The best part is that everything can be set up at home in your PJs!

Requirements:

• 2 bill pays of $10 or more per month.
• $1,500 direct deposit every month.

The account is a pain in the butt to set up, but you can eventually set it up to be entirely automatic.   Once you put in some hard work, you will have to do literally nothing at all.  In addition, you can fund the initial funding with a credit card, up to $500 which is a nice way to hit a minimum spending requirement or just get some extra miles.

I will show you how to do it with a Charles Schwab Checking account because that's what I use.   There is no way to pull money from another institution via Santander so the process will be different with every bank.

Fees

None if you set up the "direct deposit" of $1,500.  There is a $10 monthly fee if you don't.  Monthly fee begins after the second month.

The Process

As I already said, this is a long and arduous journey, but the payoff is significant.

• Sign up for an Extra20 Checking Account
• I recommend signing up for checks and a debit card.  It isn't necessary for the bonus, but they ask for that information as verification to send money from one account to another even if you didn't sign up for a debit card to begin with.

They send you a lot of paperwork.  Keep it all until everything is set up, you might not realize you need something until you threw it out.

• Here is what is absolutely essential from the initial paperwork
• Signature - fill out your signature and mail it back
• Checks - has your routing and account number
• Initial username is your social security number
• Initial password is random and comes in the paperwork
• Debit card and 4 digit pin which come separately

• Sign in
• Username is your SSN.  They send you an initial password which can be changed

2 Automatic Bill Pays

• There is a tab at the top that says "Bill Pay".  From there you can set up a bill pay to a utility, phone, cable company or credit card.  
• I chose two credit cards I use on a regular basis.  All you need is the credit card company name and account number on the front of the card.
• Once you add the information for the bill, you can click on "Manage My Bills" on the left side and you can set up the bills to be sent automatically every month.
• I recommend both bills to be exactly $10 ($20 total).  Since the bonus is $20, you can use that bonus to pay your bills and never have any extra or less money.  $1,500 goes in, $1,500 goes out.  $20 bonus goes in and it is used to pay your bills.  No wasted moves.

Transfer from Savings to Checking Account

• For some reason, the $20 bonus is deposited into your savings account.  The bill pays come from your checking account.  This means that you need to set up an automatic transfer from your savings account to your checking account.
• Monthly transfer has to be after the bonus comes in and before the bill pays go out.

$1,500 Transfer into Santander from Schwab Checking Account

• Under "accounts" click on Transfers and Payments
• Click on Manage External Transfers
• Click on "Add External Account"
• Click on Enroll Online
• Add your routing number and account number from Santander Bank.  Click continue.  Click verify.
• You will receive an email in a few days from Schwab asking you to verify the trial deposits which were sent to Santander. Click on the link in that email to add the amounts added to Santander.   You are verified.
• Go back through the process to your external accounts.  It should be listed there separately for in and out.  On the right side there is a button to click that allows you to set up a monthly transfer.  Set up one for in and out, each $1,500.  Set the one for out first and then the one for in to come in about a week later just to be sure.

By this point I was exhausted, but done.  This promotion better last because I put way too much into for it to die in a couple of months.

5% off $100 eBay Gift Cards

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

Via Frequent Miler's Quick Deals

 

eBay is selling $100 Gift Card for $95

These gift cards can be used to buy other gift cards. When you purchase non eBay gift cards you will also get eBay Bucks.

Start your purchase at Top Cashback and you will may get an extra 1.5% cashback.  Terms and conditions exclude eBay gift cards from 1.5% and I have not received cashback for it in the past.  Frequent Miler however reports that he received 1.5% for buying eBay gift cards last week so it is worth trying.

Use a Chase Ink Business Credit Card and you might get 5x points per dollar spent at Ebay.

Upgrade GameStop Gift Card to Amazon Gift Card

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



A friend of mine let me know that GameStop gift cards can be used to purchase other types of gift cards in store including Amazon Gift Cards.  I spend a ton of money on Amazon every year so Amazon Gift Cards equivalent to cash in my mind.

This is quite nice since GameStop Gift Cards can be bought at a discount online.  I went tonight to check it out myself and it worked like a charm!

A quick check on Gift Card Granny shows that you can buy a GameStop gift card for 10% off via eBay and 8% off via giftcards.com.

Buying gift cards on eBay is great since you can get an additional 1.5% cashback from Top Cashback and you are eligible for eBay Bucks which can be used for future purchases.  If you use a Chase Ink Business credit card you might even get 5x points for the eBay purchase.


Once I knew about this I checked online and there have been others who have talked about it before.  One is in the Frequent Miler Laboratory which is a great resource to check for any gift card or shopping portal questions.  It is also discussed on Slickdeals.

• Make sure you buy physical gift cards, not eGift Cards so that it can be used in store. Amazon Gift Cards are not sold online by GameStop
• Buy close to $50 or numbers divisible by 50 since Amazon Gift Cards are sold in GameStop in $50 denominations, at least in my local store.  Otherwise you are paying for the rest with a regular credit card.

Random Good Posts from Around the Web You Might Want to Know About

It seems like every Blogger now has a weekly roundup of deals and posts from themselves and around the web.  I personally enjoy them, but I was trying to avoid copying everyone else. My Feedly was getting backed up on articles I read and enjoyed and wanted to comment on.  I can't write a full post on all of these, but they are nice to know about.  Here they are in short form.  

Let me know via email or the comments if you like this type of post.

• $25 off any $25 Purchase on Stubhub - Dan's Deals 
• Speaks for itself.  This has been making the rounds of the blogs so it will probably be removed soon.  Make sure you put in the code in CAPS.
• New Linking Out Policy - Doctor of Credit
• Yikes!  I hope it isn't me! ;)  This is one of many reasons I really like Doctor of Credit.  They always give credit to where they got something.  There are very few blogs that can consistently come up with deals that are completely new.  There are too many forums and bloggers for that to happen.  It's not a problem.  Just quote your sources.  
• Don't Delete Your Credit Card from Serve - Miles to Memories
• Nice little tip for the last month of non-Amex credit card loading onto Serve.  Time to apply for Fidelity American Express if you don't already have one.
• Extra 2% Cashback from Discover - Doctor of Credit 
• Nice little tidbit.  I actually did it myself as I was typing this post and got an offer for rotating 5% categories!  Wait, everyone gets that.  That makes me sad :(  Still worth a shot for you.  
• Free Coca Cola Zero Mobile Coupon at Target - Points, Miles and Martinis
• Mobile Cash Deposits from Citibank - Personal Finance Digest
• I've started to accumulate a lot of cash lately with Amex for Target (not RedBird) and Visa Buxx though I am no longer accumulating for Visa Buxx (it's worth it to do your own research on that one!).  If only it wasn't an April Fool's joke!
• Why Fidelity American Express is Better than Citi Double Cash - Doctor of Credit
• There are a couple of great articles he quotes in there to show how your Fidelity American Express can turn into a 2.8% travel expenses card.  I really like Fidelity AMEX because I can invest in iShares ETFs via Fidelity for no commission. I invest in ETF symbol ITOT which is a total market ETF (I am a bit of a Boglehead).  I can buy one share at a time as the rewards allow me to.  I have successfully increased my Fidelity portfolio in that way.
• Credit Card Retention Bonuses - Doctor of Credit
• You can apparently ask for them a lot from different card issuers.  This is news to me and I will try it soon.

Exxon Mobil $100 Gift Cards on Sale for $90 on eBay - Limit of 3

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


This deal was actually available last week, but they were sold out before I could post.  If you bought then, you won't be able to buy again.  I recommend buying them right away.  Worst case scenario you will be able to sell them for a profit or just use them to pay for gas

Check out Doctor of Credit's post on the subject who has all the details.

Here is the link for the Exxon Mobil Gift Card.  Limit of 3 per person

The bottom line is that if you buy 3 gift cards, you can make at least $20 reselling them online.  I would check giftcardgranny.com to find the best price.  It seems that they can be sold for $93 each, which is $9 of profit just on the sale.

Start your purchase at Top Cashback and you will get an extra 1.5% cashback as well.

When you purchase non eBay gift cards you will also get eBay Bucks.  In this scenario, you will get $5.40 in eBay Bucks for your next purchase

. 

Use a Chase Ink Business Credit Card and you will get 5x points per dollar spent at Ebay.

This is a great way to use up existing eBay bucks or eBay Gift Cards, make some extra money or get close to hitting a spending threshold or all 3!