Chime Prepaid Card

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

I really didn't want to get a Chime prepaid card.

Between Serve, Paypal Debit, Visa Buxx, UFB Direct Airlines Debit, Visa and American Express Gift Cards, I already have too many things to keep track of before even discussing the ridiculous number of credit cards I have.

When Doctor of Credit's first post about Chime came out, I just plain ignored it.  When he started posting about easy promotions for free Amazon Gift Cards, I assumed it was a one time thing.  When another promotion came, I pretended I didn't want it anyway.  When the promotions kept coming, I couldn't ignore them any more.  As much as I hate having another card, I caved and got one for me and my wife so I'm in now.


Here is why you  might want to get a Chime card as well:

- $10 sign up bonus.  If you sign up with my referral link, or with Doctor of Credit's referral link, you will get $10 and the referrer will get $10 as well if you load $50 or more.  When I signed up for myself, I got $10.  When I signed up my wife we both got $10 so we got $30 right away for two accounts.

- Chime promotions.  Chime has rotating promotions where if you spend money on your Chime card at certain stores, you can get significant savings.  Some examples that impressed me for next month

1. Tomorrow - Free $5 store credit at Amazon
2. Tuesday - Free $2 Store credit at McDonalds
3. Wednesday - Free $3 store credit at Bath and Body Works
4. Sunday December 7th - Free $3 Store credit at Old Navy.
5. Wednesday December 10th - Free $2 Store Credit at Chipotle
6. Tuesday December 16th - Free $2 Store Credit at Subways
7. Tuesday December 23rd - Free $2 Store Credit at Wendy's
8. Thursday December 25th - Free $3 Store Credit at Starbucks

There are lots of other great deals, like $5 cashback on a $50 purchase at Walmart, Best Buy, Target and many other 10% cashback deals at places I want to shop, but these are the ones you don't even have to spend any money to get.

Loading

I loaded $200 the first time via my Paypal Debit Card for free, but after that there is a 3% fee for Paypal Debit card.  It is free to load from a checking account ($500 daily max) and some debit cards.  I recommend loading via a free method.

Fees

- $2.50 ATM withdrawal ($500 daily max)

- $5 monthly fee if you have 0 transactions in 180 days (about 6 months).  If you partake in any promotions over six months you will never pay this fee.  If you buy any item not involved in a promotion every 6 months you will again not pay any fee  That being said, this isn't a card you can forget about and never use, you need to somewhat actively manage the card.

$50 Signup Bonus for Fidelity American Expre

$50 Sign Up Bonus available for Fidelity American Express.


Fidelity American Express is one of my favorite credit cards to use.  It is the Sarah Plain and Tall of credit cards so  it doesn't get as much attention as it deserves. There is usually no sign up bonus, but it's my trusty old card that's always in my wallet.  In fact, when I am asked what is the one card I should get, I will usually tell people to get this card and have a Visa as a backup for when American Express isn't accepted.  




There are no rotating bonus categories or any special purchases.  The reward is 2 points for every dollar you spend.  When you redeem your points into a Fidelity Account 5,000 points will equal $50 so it is a true 2% cashback credit card.  Every purchase gets two points and there are no limits to how many points you can earn.


Right now, you can get a $50 sign up bonus if you spend $500 in the first 60 days.  If you have been thinking about this card, now is the time to get it.


Sign up for a Fidelity account (free with no account minimums) and then sign up for the Fidelity American Express and get yourself a great card with a sign up bonus.


HT - Points Centric

Raise, Top Cashback and Black Friday - Extra 10% Cashback on Discounted Gift Cards

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

Raise.com sells gift cards to retailers at a discount, but they are having a special sale for Black Friday on 50 brands of gift cards.

Use Coupon code BLKFRI5 for an extra 5% off the already discounted prices.

Start your purchase from Top Cashback and get an extra 5% cash back as well.

Most interesting brands to me are Dunkin Donuts (Base price is 15% off), Walgreen's (Base price is 9% off)

With the 5% cashback, you will pay $80.27 right now for a $100 Dunkin donuts gift cards.  Then  you will get another 5% cashback from Top Cashback.  Not too shabby!

Keep in mind that the base price for the gift changes with inventory so I will list its current price, but it might not be the same if you try to buy it.  The prices have changed significantly in the past few days.




Don't have a Raise account?  Sign up free
Don't have a Top Cashback account?  Sign up free

Extra $6 at Carlos and Gabby's Riverdale - Small Business Saturday

Carlos and Gabby's is one of my favorite fast food places.  All Carlos and Gabby's locations are participating in Small Business Saturday, but the location in Riverdale is offering a special deal for Small Business Saturday.


For every American Express card that you bring to Carlos and Gabby's on Saturday night, they will charge the card $10 x 3 times and you will receive a $36 gift card instead of $30.  American Express will then reimburse your $30.

In addition, if you don't want to come into the store, you can email your credit card information to CandGManager@gmail.com or CandGRiverdale@gmail.com and they will charge the cards based on your email.  You will get the same deal by email.  Please email by Friday.


Here is a sample of what you should send

Name Account Number  Expiration Security Code        Address        Phone number
Oren   123 45678 9012       01/15       4567          123 Anywhere st.    123-456-7890
Oren   234 65789 1234       02/16       7654          234 Wherever st.     123-456-7890


- Carlos and Gabby's gift cards do not expire.  
- Gift cards for Carlos and Gabby's Riverdale can only be used at the Riverdale location.


Check out other ideas of places to go here

Kosher Small Business Saturday Ideas

I currently have 57 American Express cards that are registered for Small Business Saturday and I hope to have 59 by the time Small Business Saturday rolls around.  That's $1,770 to spend this Saturday Night.  Besides my plan to donate 10% of my merchandise to charity (merchandise the charity would want), I need to start finding places to spend that amount of money in one night.



Where can the Kosher consumer go this Saturday night to spend money?  Ideally, it should be a place you would go to anyway that sells gift cards/certificates so that you don't have to spend all the money in one night.

I live in Teaneck, so this list is going to focus on Teaneck.  If you know of kosher places that are participating, please email me a link or an email that shows they are participating.

I have emailed the Teaneck stores to see if you can email them your credit card information ahead of time  so that you don't have to walk into the store.  Some have responded and others have not.  I will update as responses come in.

Here is a sample of what you should send to those participating via email

Name Account Number  Expiration Security Code        Address        Phone number
Oren   123 45678 9012       01/15       4567          123 Anywhere st.    123-456-7890
Oren   234 65789 1234       02/16       7654          234 Wherever st.     123-456-7890


All of these stores are on the Small Business Saturday map.  This doesn't mean they are open this Saturday night, but I assume they will be.

Seforim For Everyone

Tuvia's in Monsey -  Call 845-426-0824 to place your order 

Eichler's - email dovids@eichlers.com with your credit card information and they will give you an Eichler's gift card to be used that night or a different night.

Teaneck

Grand and Essex - Kosher Grocery Store - confirmed over the phone that they are participating and you can buy gift cards.

Cedar Market - Kosher Grocery Store.  Link confirms participation.

Glatt Express - Kosher Grocery Store. 

Dougie's -  email your email credit card information to teaneckdougies@msn.com before Friday at 12pm.
ChopStix

Nobo - Steakhouse - Email credit card information to hstimmel@optonline.net 

ETC - Steakhouse - 
Sammy's Pizza and Bagels

EJ's Pizza

Sushi Metsuyan

Mocha Bleu

Noah's Ark - Must come in to the store with your credit cardson Saturday night to order gift cards

Five Towns

Judaica Plus

Z. Berman Books

Wok Tov

Sushi Mesuyan

Carlos & Gabby's

Pious Pizza

Oh Nuts

Yali Wig's 

Cherel's Hats

Riverdale

Carlos and Gabby's - email credit card information to CandGmanager@gmail.com or CandGRiverdale@gmail.com between now and Friday.  Carlos and Gabby's will add $6 to every $30 of gift cards you buy.

Monsey

Purple Pear

Kosher Castle

Yossi's Bagels

Zishe's Homemade Bakery

Monsey Shoes
The Ridge Steak and Sushi

Kew Garden Hills

Seasons - Kosher Grocery Store
Aaron's Kissena Farms - Kosher Grocery Store
Grill Point

Shimon's PIzza

Sushi Mesuyan

Carlos & Gabby's

Benji's Pizza

Hapisgah Steakhouse

Wasserman's Supermarker

Eshet Chayil

Brach's

Passaic

Jerusalem Pizza Falafel

Z. Berman Books

Flatbush

Z. Berman Books

Chap a Nosh

Carlos & Gabby's

Sushi Tokyo

Olympic Pita

Essen New York Deli

Prestige Shoes

The Living Torah Museum

Lakewood

Circa

Bagel Nosh

Pizza Plus

Four Corners Bagel and Cafe

Hot Box

Prestige Shoe

Thank you SW for helping me compile this list last year

Discover It Quarter 4 - Online Gift Cards Not Automatically Qualifying for 5% Cashback

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

Discover It has rotating quarterly categories where you can earn 5% cashback on different purchases.

Quarter 4, which is from now until the end of the year includes online shopping.  Last year, I used this category to buy Discounted Gift Cards from places like Raise and Junkcard.  I assumed the same would be for this year, I was wrong.

I made a purchase on Junkcard and didn't get my 5% cashback.  Normally, this means I need to message Discover to make a manual adjustment.  I did that and got back this response.  Bolds are my own.

Hello Oren, Thank you for your email regarding the current 5% Cashback Bonus Program.* I understand you would like to know why you did not earn 5% Cashback Bonus on a specific purchase, and I am happy to help you with this today.After reviewing your account, I see the purchase made with Junkcard LLC did not qualify as an online transaction because it is not listed in this specific category. JunkCard LLC is considered a service provider since no merchandise is sold. However, you will still receive the standard Cashback Bonus for this purchase.**I appreciate you taking the time to contact us today and hope this explanation was helpful. Thank you for choosing to use Discover!Best Regards,

I don't have first hand knowledge of this, but I have to assume that anything purchased from Gift Card Mall or from American Express is going to be treated the same way.

Dunkin Donuts Gift Cards Up to 24% Off from Raise

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

Raise.com sells gift cards to retailers at a discount.

Keep in mind that the base price for the gift changes with inventory so I will list its current price, but it might not be the same if you try to buy it.  The prices have changed significantly in the past few days.


Don't have a Raise account?  Sign up free

Here is how to save up to 24% off of Dunkin' Donuts Gift Cards from Raise:

• 14% 
• Dunkin' Donuts gift cards are currently 14% off at raise without any discounts.
• $86 for a $100 gift card
• $5
• Use Coupon code TCB60 for $5 off of a $60 purchase for new customers only.  
• $81 for a $100 gift card
• 5%
• Start your purchase from Top Cashback and get an extra 5% cash back
• $4.05 in cashback
• 2%
• Use your Fidelity American Express to get 2% cashback on every purchase.
• $1.62 cashback

When you count all of the discounts and cashback, you end up saving about 24% off.  Not too shabby!

In related news, it seems that Raise is now allowing for American Express payments.  Nice!

My Children's Place Purchase

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


My wife and I recently bought a coat for my son and I thought the process might be helpful for others.  If you follow regularly, you won't notice anything much out of the ordinary, but it can be nice to see how it comes together for an everyday purchase.

If you have any tips for me or if you like or dislike this type of post, please comment below!


It usually works like this in my house.  My wife picks out something she wants for herself or one of my son's, sends me a link and then it becomes my job to figure out the best way to buy it.

My wife chose this coat for my son from The Children's Place.

When I bought it, the full price was $52.46.  I could be a sucka and pay $52.46 or I can figure out a way to pay less.

To be fair, I had a $5 Loyalty Coupon, which you can only get from previous purchases so let's assume the price is $5 less or $47.46.

The Discounts

Here is what I look for, in order.

• I want to figure out the final price after shipping and taxes.  I will usually buy a discounted gift card and I don't want any balance left over so I want a gift card that has slightly less than the final price.  In this case, I wasn't able to find one, but I got one for slightly more than the price of the coat and I will keep the balance for a later purchase.

• Promo code: ~$9.50
• I just Google something like "Children's Place promo code" and see what comes up.
• In this scenario, I found a promo code that took 20% off.  So the price dropped from $47.46 to $37.97, a savings of around 9.50.

• Buying a Discounted Gift Card - ~$5.70
• I check Gift Card Granny for the best prices on gift cards.  Gift Cards are currently only available in higher denominations ($85 or above), but they are 15% off, the same as when I bought my gift card.  15% off $37.97 is $5.69

• Using a Shopping Portal - ~$3.00-$3.80
• I check Cashback Monitor to see which shopping portal gives the greatest percentage back.  Right now, the highest cashback is 10% from Shop Discover (requires a Discover Credit Card).  If you don't have a Discover card and aren't planning on getting one, Be Frugal is awarding 8% cashback.  
• This cashback will be 8-10% off the final purchase price ($37.97).  Shop Discover and Be Frugal don't care that you paid less than face value for the gift cards.  

• Using the Correct Credit Card - $1.90
• This actually applies for when you are buying the gift card, but I'll mention it now.  Until the end of the year, Discover It is offering 5% cashback on any online shopping.  5% of $37.97 is $1.90.

• My Place Rewards - 2.5% or $0.95 towards the next purchase
• The Children's Place will give you 5 points for every $1 you spend.  1,000 points can be redeemed for a $5 loyalty card.  This is effectively 2.5% towards your next purchase.

The Final Tally

• Original price = $47.46

• Discounts - $9.49 + $5.69 + 3.80 + $1.90 = $20.88 + $0.95 towards the next purchase
• $9.49 coupon code
• $5.69 discounted gift card
• $3.80 Shopping Portal
• $1.90 Credit Card
• $0.95 towards your next purchase

• Final Price - $26.58 or 56% off + $0.95 towards my next purchase at The Children's Place.  Not too Shabby!

Chase Freedom $225 Sign Up Bonus

Chase Freedom has increased its signup from $100 to $200 for spending $500 in the first 3 months of opening the card.
In addition, you will get another $25 for adding an authorized user who makes one purchase in the first 3 months.


This isn't the first time it has been increased to $200, but it is quite rare for the sign up bonus to go above $200.


Check out this link to see if you can refer someone else to this offer if you already have the card.

$10 Free - Enroll Bank of America Card with New Visa Checkout

This only takes a few minutes and you will get a $10 Visa Gift card for your trouble.


Start a new Visa Checkout account through this link, add a Bank of America credit or debit card and you will get a $10 Visa Gift Card in approximately 2-4 weeks, but officially can take up to 60 days.  You don't need to actually make a purchase.




Visa Checkout is a paypal competitor.

Check out this Fat Wallet thread for more details

Registration Open for Small Business Saturday!

You can register now for Small Business Saturday.


Every eligible American Express credit card can get up to $30 of statement credits for free.

The credits are in $10 increments so you need to spend $10 on each card 3 times to take full advantage.  If you spend $30 once you will only get $10.

I have always used my cards to get gift cards to one store.  The gift cards can then be combined later.



This year, Small Business Saturday is November 29th 2014.   A limited number of cards can be registered so you don't want to wait too long after today to register

Terms and Conditions:

• Every American Express credit card that has a separate 15 digit account number on the front can be registered separately.   
• Authorized users from credit card accounts that are processed by American Express and issued by American Express have a separate account number on the front and the authorized user card can be registered for a separate $30. Just look at the front of your Authorized user and you will see a different 15 digit number than the primary. 
• American Express Every Day is an example.
• Authorizes users from credit card accounts that are processed by American Express, but are issued by another company will have the same 15 digit account number as the primary and are not eligible for a separate promotion.
• Fidelity American Express is an example, which is processed by American Express, but issued by FIA Card Services.
• Prepaid and Gift cards do not work for these promotions, except Serve and Bluebird (Bluebird added this year)
• Serve allows for up to 4 subaccounts which should also be eligible.
• Personal business cards are eligible, but corporate cards are not.

$150 Free from AMEX and AT&T and $5 Free From Evolve

A couple of quick deals to mention that I saw today

1. Via Dansdeals - Check your American Express Small Business accounts to see if you have an offer for $150 off a $150 purchase from AT&T.  Unfortunately, I did not get this targeted offer.
2. Doctor of Credit - Use coupon code 5offcongrats to save $5 off when you are paying your bill on Evolve.

Free Koren Children's Siddur or Shabbos Evening Siddur

Update: Dead!

I'm not really sure why they are giving this away, but here is an offer for a free Koren Children's or Shobbas Evening Siddur which will arrive in 2-4 weeks.  You need to sign up for free Koren emails. 1 per customer.

Koren chooses which one you get,.


You can always unsubscribe when your siddur comes.


Available while supplies last


Thank you SW for the tip!

Living Social - 50%+ off Charles Tyrwhitt

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



Living Social currently has a heavy discount on Charles Tyrwhitt.   There are two options.  You can buy $50 to spend at Charles Tyrwhitt for $25 or $100 to spend for $50.  A savings of 50%

Use Promo code VETERANS15 for another 15% off the final price from Living Social.  That is $3.75 off the $25 deal and $7.50 off the $50 deal.

• Start your shopping from Shop Discover (requires a Discover Credit Card) and get another 10% cashback.

• Don't have a Discover Credit Card?  Start your shopping from Top Cashback and you will get 7% cashback.

• Pay with a Discover credit card and you will get 5% cashback on top of everything since they are giving 5% cashback on any online purchases until the end of the year (maximum of $1,500 of purchases)

Let's take $100 of merchandise to see how much you can save.  If you do everything to maximize this deal, you will pay $42.50 for $100.  You can get up to 15% cashback on the $42.50.  Your final price will be $36.13 for $100 of merchandise.  That's over 63% off!  Not too shabby.

Don't have a Living Social account?  Sign up from my link and you will get $10 in Living Social Money




Voucher has to be used all at once and promotional value expires January 12th, 2015.  1 day left to buy the voucher.




The Fine Print

• Limit 1 per customer
• Limit 1 redemption code at checkout
• BASKET VALUE (VALUE OF PRODUCTS IN TOTAL, EXCLUDING SHIPPING AND ALTERATIONS) MUST BE EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN VALUE OF THE VOUCHER. MUST SPEND $50 OR MORE TO REDEEM OPTION A; MUST SPEND $100 OR MORE TO REDEEM OPTION B
• Valid for US customers only for purchase on www.ctshirts.com; Voucher will not be accepted on any URL where an offer is already applied
• Shipping not included; Standard shipping applies; priority and express shipping options available
• Must order by December 15, 2014 to receiver order by Christmas using standard shipping
• Product will be delivered two weeks from the time of redemption on merchant site
• Valid for online redemption only; cannot be used in-store
• Not valid in conjunction with other coupon codes, voucher codes, discount codes or cash back
• Vouchers cannot be exchanged for cash
• No refunds on Voucher value; Voucher amount will be honored as credit once return is received; such credit can be redeemed via telephone exchange orders only
• Free online returns
• Valid on Clearance items
• Not valid on gift vouchers, gift boxes or alterations
• Paypal not valid as payment method when placing an order using discount voucher
• Entire value must be used in a single visit
• US toll free number (24 hours): 1-866-797-2701
• Other conditions apply

Use Discover Credit Cards to Pay Bills for Free with Evolve!

I just got an email from Evolve Money who announced that they just added a feature allowing you to pay your bills with a Discover Credit Card for free.  

The plan is to add the ability to pay with a Visa or Mastercard starting in 2015.

You can find more details on Evolve here.

Loading Serve with Fidelity American Express - Still No Cash Advance Fees

Recently, many credit cards have coding loads to Serve as Cash Advances, which carries a fee and makes it not worthwhile.


I have always used my Fidelity American Express (2% cashback everywhere) to load to Serve for myself and family members and I am relieved to report that loads are working as normal.

Serve allows for $1,000 a month of free credit card loads ($1,500 if you link Serve to Softcard) so if you use your Fidelity AMEX you will get a free $20-30 per month with no fees.

Unlimited Photo Storage for Amazon Prime Members

 

 

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


Amazon Prime is now offering unlimited cloud storage for Prime Members in a program called Amazon Cloud Drive.  This is on top of their 2 day free shipping, Amazon Instant Streaming Video and their Kindle lending library.


It's also a clever ploy to make sure people keep Prime even when prices increase.  If you have backed up all your photos with them, you are probably going to want to stay with them.


I don't have Prime (other than a 30 day trial) and I don't plan on getting it for this reason, but it is a good benefit to have and some people might be interested in signing up.


Not a prime member?  You can get an Amazon Prime 30 Day Trial for free to see if you like it.

New Softcard Promotions - 4,000 United Miles and $150 of Amazon Gift Cards

Softcard is a mobile payment system that works on certain smartphones.  Check out eligibility here.

They have been and are being quite aggressive in recruiting new usage.  They have two new promotions that just started at the beginning of November.

1) 4,000 United Miles

This is the more appealing promotion to me due to its relative ease:

Add a Chase United Credit card to Softcard.  Add your United Frequent Flyer Number to the account by following the steps in the link.

Once your card is added, you will get 2,500 bonus miles for your first purchase with the Chase United in November using Softcard.

For every month afterwards until the end of February that you use make one purchase with the Chase United using Softcard, you will get another 500 bonus miles for a total of 4,000 bonus miles.

Terms and Conditions*Receive 2,500 United MileagePlus Miles (“Miles”) on your 8 -digit United MileagePlus Program Account (“Account”) by: (i) provisioning your United MileagePlus® Credit Card issued by Chase Bank USA, N.A. (“Eligible Card”) to Softcard; (ii) registering your Account number for the offer; and (iii) completing a transaction with your Eligible Card using Softcard (“Eligible Transaction”) between November 1, 2014 and the expiration of the offer on February 28, 2015 (the “Offer Period”). Receive an additional 500 Miles for each subsequent calendar month of the Offer Period in which you complete an Eligible Transaction. Maximum award of 4,000 Miles per Eligible Card under this offer. Award Miles will generally be credited to your Account within 6-8 weeks after the end of the calendar month in which the Miles were earned. Offer expires on February 28, 2015, but offer is subject to change or cancellation at any time. Chase Bank USA, N.A. is not responsible for the provision of or the failure to provide the promotional offers. Miles will post directly to your United MileagePlus account and will not appear on your Chase statement.
Miles accrued, awards, and benefits issued are subject to change and are subject to the rules of the United MileagePlus program, including without limitation the Premier® program (the “MileagePlus Program”), which are expressly incorporated herein. United may change the MileagePlus Program including, but not limited to, rules, regulations, travel awards and special offers or terminate the MileagePlus Program at any time and without notice. United and its subsidiaries, affiliates and agents are not responsible for any products or services of other participating co mpanies and partners. Taxes and fees related to award travel are the responsibility of the member. Bonus award miles, award miles and any other miles earned through non-flight activity do not count toward qualification for Premier status unless expressly stated otherwise. The accumulation of mileage or Premier status or any other status does not entitle members to any vested rights with respect to the MileagePlus Program. All calculations made in connection with the MileagePlus Program, including without limitation with respect to the accumulation of mileage and the satisfaction of the qualification requirements for Premier status, will be made by United Airlines and MileagePlus in their discretion and such calculations will be considered final. Information in this communication that relates to the MileagePlus Program does not purport to be complete or comprehensive and may not include all of the information that a member may believe is important, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to all of the information on the united.com website and the MileagePlus Program rules. United and MileagePlus are registered service marks. For complete details about the MileagePlus Program, go to www.united.com.

2)  Up to $150 in Amazon Gift Cards

This is less exciting to me since it requires many more purchases, but it still can be lucrative.


Use any participating credit card through Softcard 5 times before the end of December and you will get a $10 Amazon Gift Card for each 5 purchases, up to $30 of Amazon Gift Cards, which is a total of 15 purchases for the $30.

Up to 5 separate credit cards are eligible for the $30 of Amazon gift cards for a total of 75 purchases and $150 of Amazon gift cards.





HT: Dansdeals, Doctor of Credit and Frequent Miler