$10 Playskool Busy Basics Walk N' Ride

 

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s):  Upromise, Top Cashback and Ebates

The Walk N' Ride is normally $20 so it is half price now.  Free site to store shipping.

Start your shopping at Upromise and get an additional 5% cashback

I don't normally promote Upromise for a couple of reasons:

• They usually don't have very good rates
• You are saving for college for someone else so you probably won't see that money for a long time.

I've been on Upromise since 2008 and I've earned less than $16 with them.  All of that was probably in the first year when I didn't know any better.  Compare that to Top Cashback where I've earned over $100 since January. That being said, Upromise does have value for some purchases, like this one.

In our case, however, the next best shopping portal is at 1.5% and I've never even used that one (Savings Watch - 1 star rating at Cashbackholic).  If fact, my K9 internet filter (free internet filter) doesn't let me even get to their site because of spyware/malware suspicions so go there at your own risk.

If you really don't want to use Upromose, you can use Ebates, but you will only get 1% instead of 5%.

Toys R Us Groupon - $10 for $20 Toys R Us Credit

Update: Alive again, with a new link


Toys R Us Groupon - $10 for $20 Toys R Us Credit


There is no obligation to use it but it is only valid until 12/24/12.  You can get a groupon credit towards a new groupon deal if this goes unredeemed

This is from their terms and conditions:

Not withstanding anything above or below, vouchers not valid with Toys"R"Us after 12/24/12. Thereafter, Groupon will refund amount paid in Groupon credit for unredeemed vouchers.

Don't have groupon?  Sign up here

Toys R' Us/ Babies R' Us - $25 off an $125 order when you a Mastercard

Today Only! Toys R' Us/ Babies R' Us - $25 off an $125 order when you a Mastercard and use promo code MC125

You cannot buy gift cards.  You cannot use a gift card to pay for some of the $125

Discount is applied at order review, not shopping card

Start your purchase at from Ebates and get 1% 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 

Yearend Summary of Credit Card Cashback Rewards

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

I thought it would interesting to take a look at how well my wife and I were able to use our credit cards this past year.  Hopefully everyone can see how it is easy to at least get 2% from every purchase and, if you are willing to do a little bit of work, ever more than 2%.  Hopefully, it can also give me motivation to beat these statistics for next year.

My goal is that for every purchase I aim to get at least get 2% back.  This is because I use the Fidelity American Express card which gives 2% on every purchase, so if the purchase doesn't fall into a special category, at least I can use the Fidelity card and get the standard 2% back.

Here is the breakdown from my different Cards

Charles Schwab/Bank of America Cash Rewards - 2.06%
Fidelity American Express - 2.00%
Chase Freedom - 2.32%
Discover it™ - 3.58%
Toys R Us - 5%
Target - 5%
Banana Republic - 71.59% - explanation below
Brooks Brothers - 91.76% - explanation below

Overall - 3.04%

My analysis:


This past year 

Charles Schwab -  used to be my 2% card because it was a Visa but that program was discontinued and changed to the Bank of America Cash Rewards Card.
Chase Freedom was my backup card when AMEX wasn't accepted and also had 5% rotating categories.
Discover - same as Chase Freedom, except all the rewards can be multiplied by 1.25 if you take rewards in gift cards instead of cash.
Toys R US/Target - Toys R Us gives 4% back for the credit card and 1% back for the keychain card.  Target gives 5% off every purchase.  So these numbers are self explanatory.
Banana Republic - this looks like a lot, but it is mostly a one time thing.  I only spent about $90 there and I was able to get 15% off my purchase for signing up for a card and I got $50 in various rewards for giving them my email, signing up for paperless statements, etc.  I will be getting a $15 rewards for my birthday every year.
Brooks Brothers - this is not a one time thing, but it is very minor.  They give me a $20 gift certificate for my birthday.  I bought stuff for $21 (there were other small purchases throughout the year as well) that I need anyway so that is why the percentage is so high.

What to Change for Next Year
My wife and I did a very good job this year, but there are a couple of things that will hopefully change for next year.
The majority of my purchases were with the Schwab and Fidelity cards, which will not change.
Schwab changed to the Bank Of America Cash Rewards Card.  At first, I was upset because I lost a 2% Visa, now I have a replacement and the Bank of America fills in a void for me with gas.  It gives 3% on gas and an extra 10% if you redeem into a Bank of America Checking Account (which I have, of course) so I really get 3.3% back on gas.  This will help my percentages.
Chase/Discover - Both have added gas to 2 of their quarterly categories, which means that you can get 5% on gas for 6 months of the year and 3.3% the rest of the year with the BOfA card.  The biggest change will be from Discover.  I originally used Discover as a backup for the AMEX until I found out that Discover only gives 0.25% on non 5% purchases, while Chase gives 1%.

Credit Cards for Individual Retailers

For the best credit cards, click Here


When I walk into a store, unlike most people, I always look into their credit card.  Their cards are almost never the best for regular usage, but you can get some real savings in their store.

Also, if you don't have a credit history, they are usually a good way to start building your credit because it is easier to get a store credit card than a bank credit card.

Another great thing, is that many of these card will give you free coupons and gift cards just for being a member

Here is a list of my favorite store credit cards.  As always, these cards have no annual fee:

Target Red Card- 5% back on every purchase, plus free shipping from target.com, plus get an additional 5% off any pharmacy items from Target.
        - If you enroll in their Taking Charge of Education program, a school of your choice will get 1% of your purchase (you don't lose anything).  Please pick Jewish Heritage Day School, our local day school, if you don't care who gets it.

Banana Republic - 15% off your first purchase.  5% back on every purchase towards a Gap Inc. store (banana, gap, old navy etc.)  - plus get a $15 gift card for your birthday every year and $40 after first purchase not at Banana Republic.  Plus, you can get up to 2,000 bonus point ($20) for signing up for paperless statements, emails, voice mails, atheleta news.
    -You get $60 back right away, in addition to all other savings!

Brooks Brothers - 15% off your first purchase.  4% back at Brooks Brothers- plus get another $20 gift card for your birthday every year.
          -At this point, I pretty much go to Brooks Brothers once a year, buy 5 pairs of socks and spend     $1-$2.  I'm never sure what emotions I am feeling as I walk out.

Toys R Us/Babies R Us - 10% off your first purchase.  4% back on every purchase + you can get another 1% with the keyring rewards card.

Lowe's - 5% off purchases at Lowe's

As always, if you have any cards that you like, please let us all know which card you like and why.