I got their free sippy cup a while back. A few weeks ago it broke. So I ordered another one, along with a water bottle. They both arrived after a few weeks.
Click here, fill out your info and pick your free gift.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
ZenniOptical.com: Cheap Glasses
Do you wear glasses? I do. I always felt that paying $200+ for a pair of glasses is expensive, but when you need glasses, you get them.
A couple of years ago, I started using ZenniOptical.com. Their glasses cost a fraction of retail prices. Overall, I've been happy with the glasses I got from them and just placed my 3rd order.
Their glasses start at $8! Even if you chose a more expensive pair, which you probably will, it will cost way, way less than retail. I even 'splurge' and buy prescription sunglasses as well.
Each pair of glasses is a different size. The site specifies all the measurements. The best thing to do is to measure a pair of glasses that fit you now and use that for reference. Obviously, there is a risk involved, as trying on a pair of glasses is the best way to see how it fits your face. But at these prices, you really can't go wrong. You can even buy a few pairs of glasses for less than the price of one pair at regular retail price.
Shipping takes two weeks. I just ordered a few pairs, and will update this post when they arrive. Shipping is $4.95 per order, doesn't matter how many pairs of glasses you order.
About a year ago, I purchased a pair of glasses. Last week, one of the arms from my glasses broke. I called Zenni, and they sent me out some screws along with a tiny (very fancy) screwdriver to fix it. While I was on the phone, I asked for new nose pads as well. They sent me those too, all free of charge! It took just a few days to arrive. I was really impressed by their efficient service. Here's a link to their Repairs/Returns page.
Note: You need to know your Pupillary Distance, the distance between both eye pupils. Next time you get a eye checkup, ask your eye doctor for it. If that's not an option you can try to measure it yourself. Everything else that you need should be on the prescription. If you want, you can print out the page from ZenniOptical and ask your eye doctor to help fill out the information.
A couple of years ago, I started using ZenniOptical.com. Their glasses cost a fraction of retail prices. Overall, I've been happy with the glasses I got from them and just placed my 3rd order.
Their glasses start at $8! Even if you chose a more expensive pair, which you probably will, it will cost way, way less than retail. I even 'splurge' and buy prescription sunglasses as well.
Each pair of glasses is a different size. The site specifies all the measurements. The best thing to do is to measure a pair of glasses that fit you now and use that for reference. Obviously, there is a risk involved, as trying on a pair of glasses is the best way to see how it fits your face. But at these prices, you really can't go wrong. You can even buy a few pairs of glasses for less than the price of one pair at regular retail price.
Shipping takes two weeks. I just ordered a few pairs, and will update this post when they arrive. Shipping is $4.95 per order, doesn't matter how many pairs of glasses you order.
About a year ago, I purchased a pair of glasses. Last week, one of the arms from my glasses broke. I called Zenni, and they sent me out some screws along with a tiny (very fancy) screwdriver to fix it. While I was on the phone, I asked for new nose pads as well. They sent me those too, all free of charge! It took just a few days to arrive. I was really impressed by their efficient service. Here's a link to their Repairs/Returns page.
Note: You need to know your Pupillary Distance, the distance between both eye pupils. Next time you get a eye checkup, ask your eye doctor for it. If that's not an option you can try to measure it yourself. Everything else that you need should be on the prescription. If you want, you can print out the page from ZenniOptical and ask your eye doctor to help fill out the information.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Some More Free Money From Citi
Sorry for the sporadic posting. I am still around...
Citi really doesn't want me closing their credit cards!
Two months ago, I called Citi to cancel my Citi AA Amex card. I was offered a choice of rewards to leave the card open and chose 3,000 miles. The other day, I called Citi again to close the same card. This time they offered me $50 credit for leaving the card open, even though I told them clearly I have no use for the card.
I will try to apply the $50 statement credit to a different AA card, as the first year is almost up with this card, and I don't want to be charged the annual fee. I'll let you know how that works out.
It's amazing how much free miles and money one can get from Citi...
Related Posts:
Citi AA Cards 30,000 Mile Signup Bonus - Time To Start Churning
Opening Citi Cards - Strategy To Get Lots of Miles!
Citi really doesn't want me closing their credit cards!
Two months ago, I called Citi to cancel my Citi AA Amex card. I was offered a choice of rewards to leave the card open and chose 3,000 miles. The other day, I called Citi again to close the same card. This time they offered me $50 credit for leaving the card open, even though I told them clearly I have no use for the card.
I will try to apply the $50 statement credit to a different AA card, as the first year is almost up with this card, and I don't want to be charged the annual fee. I'll let you know how that works out.
It's amazing how much free miles and money one can get from Citi...
Related Posts:
Citi AA Cards 30,000 Mile Signup Bonus - Time To Start Churning
Opening Citi Cards - Strategy To Get Lots of Miles!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Another 100 Free Continental Miles
Click here, enter your Continental OnePass number, and get 100 free miles.
Offer expires 07/31/09.
Related posts:
100 Free Continental Miles
300 Free Continental Miles
Offer expires 07/31/09.
Related posts:
100 Free Continental Miles
300 Free Continental Miles
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Upgrade Your Starwood Status
Solve a riddle and get your Starwood status upgraded.
If you can't figure it out, send me an email.
Just an extra hint, the two letter code is not in alphabetical order.
If you can't figure it out, send me an email.
Just an extra hint, the two letter code is not in alphabetical order.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Protect Your Computer - Free AntiVirus Programs
I haven't posted anything for a while, as I have been quite busy. Also, my computer has been attacked by a virus and I spent some time trying to fix it.
Here is my virus story, how I solved it and what you should do do if your computer becomes infected by a virus. I also listed several free recommended anti virus programs.
The virus: Somehow, a program called WinBlueSoft installed itself on my computer. It messed up my computer. Then, it wanted me to pay them to clean my computer!
It's extremely 'smart'. It wouldn't allow me to run most anti virus programs. It actually wouldn't let me run any program at all. It wouldn't even let me open Notepad! Also, every 5 minutes, it logged me out of Windows. I could actually see the cursor moving to the Start menu but I couldn't do anything to stop it! It also filled the screen with a scary message about viruses and spyware. WinBluSoft is an extremely annoying and sophisticated virus.
It's a long story, but basically I tried all different anti virus programs but nothing worked. Some I couldn't run, while others just couldn't kill the virus. I started copying my files off my computer, but took a long time to copy everything to an external hard drive because this virus kicked me off every few minutes. I was about to reformat my whole computer.
The solution: I came across a program called HijackThis and some helpful forums.
HijackThis is a program that runs a diagnostic on your entire computer. It logs everything about your computer into a notepad document.
Then, there are forums where you post your log from HijackThis and people on the forum will try to help you clean your computer. The forum I used is GeekPolice.net. It's totally free! The guy there was extremely helpful. After a few tries, my computer is once again totally clean and virus-free.
Warning: HijackThis is an extremely powerful tool. It is not meant to be used unless you know exactly what you are doing, or someone is directing you exactly what to do.
Free Anti virus Recommendations:
There are a few good free anti virus programs out there. I don't claim to be a pro at which one is better. This is based on what I have been recommended.
To help keep your computer clean you should have one (and only one!) anti virus program installed. AVG and Avira are both good free anti virus programs. Avira is supposed to be better than AVG. If you already installed AVG, I don't think you need to switch.
You should also install a program called Malewarebytes. This program keeps spyware out of your computer.
Another program that I have been using, but shouldn't be needed once you have Avira and Malewarebytes, is Spybot.
You can download all these programs at the top ten download list at Cnet.
Bottom Line:
Choose one anti virus program (either Avira or AVG) and Malewarebytes. Make sure to keep them updated and watch what you install on your computer.
And if you have a virus on your computer that your antivirus programs can't get rid of, first try and backup your files , then download HijackThis and go to Geekpolice.net or bleepingcomputers.com.
In general it's a good idea to keep your files backed up on a regular basis.
Here is my virus story, how I solved it and what you should do do if your computer becomes infected by a virus. I also listed several free recommended anti virus programs.
The virus: Somehow, a program called WinBlueSoft installed itself on my computer. It messed up my computer. Then, it wanted me to pay them to clean my computer!
It's extremely 'smart'. It wouldn't allow me to run most anti virus programs. It actually wouldn't let me run any program at all. It wouldn't even let me open Notepad! Also, every 5 minutes, it logged me out of Windows. I could actually see the cursor moving to the Start menu but I couldn't do anything to stop it! It also filled the screen with a scary message about viruses and spyware. WinBluSoft is an extremely annoying and sophisticated virus.
It's a long story, but basically I tried all different anti virus programs but nothing worked. Some I couldn't run, while others just couldn't kill the virus. I started copying my files off my computer, but took a long time to copy everything to an external hard drive because this virus kicked me off every few minutes. I was about to reformat my whole computer.
The solution: I came across a program called HijackThis and some helpful forums.
HijackThis is a program that runs a diagnostic on your entire computer. It logs everything about your computer into a notepad document.
Then, there are forums where you post your log from HijackThis and people on the forum will try to help you clean your computer. The forum I used is GeekPolice.net. It's totally free! The guy there was extremely helpful. After a few tries, my computer is once again totally clean and virus-free.
Warning: HijackThis is an extremely powerful tool. It is not meant to be used unless you know exactly what you are doing, or someone is directing you exactly what to do.
Free Anti virus Recommendations:
There are a few good free anti virus programs out there. I don't claim to be a pro at which one is better. This is based on what I have been recommended.
To help keep your computer clean you should have one (and only one!) anti virus program installed. AVG and Avira are both good free anti virus programs. Avira is supposed to be better than AVG. If you already installed AVG, I don't think you need to switch.
You should also install a program called Malewarebytes. This program keeps spyware out of your computer.
Another program that I have been using, but shouldn't be needed once you have Avira and Malewarebytes, is Spybot.
You can download all these programs at the top ten download list at Cnet.
Bottom Line:
Choose one anti virus program (either Avira or AVG) and Malewarebytes. Make sure to keep them updated and watch what you install on your computer.
And if you have a virus on your computer that your antivirus programs can't get rid of, first try and backup your files , then download HijackThis and go to Geekpolice.net or bleepingcomputers.com.
In general it's a good idea to keep your files backed up on a regular basis.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Cheap and Free Hotel Stays Through Expedia's Refer-a-Friend Program
Expedia.co.uk is running a Refer a friend promotion. If you refer someone to Expedia, the person you refer will get £20 (around $30) off their first purchase, and you'll get a £40 voucher for future use on Expedia.
Send me an email to dealreviews@gmail.com with your name, and I'll email you a £20 voucher code.
A few points:
- Even though the promotion is from expedia.co.uk, you can book hotels anywhere in the world. The price though will be in British pounds.
- The voucher codes seem to work once per credit card and email address. If you get more than one referral code, they won't work with the same email address and credit card...
- You can earn up to ten £40 vouchers.
- The voucher won't take off more than one nights stay. So hotel nights close to or more than £20 a night will give you the best value. (Or £40 for the £40 voucher)
Here are the terms and conditions.
If you use your imagination, you can be getting lots of cheap/free nights...
Especially considering, based on what I gather, your "friend" doesn't actually need to stay in the hotel in order for you to get the £40 voucher...
I will update this post as more information comes to light. See more on Flyertalk.
Send me an email to dealreviews@gmail.com with your name, and I'll email you a £20 voucher code.
A few points:
- Even though the promotion is from expedia.co.uk, you can book hotels anywhere in the world. The price though will be in British pounds.
- The voucher codes seem to work once per credit card and email address. If you get more than one referral code, they won't work with the same email address and credit card...
- You can earn up to ten £40 vouchers.
- The voucher won't take off more than one nights stay. So hotel nights close to or more than £20 a night will give you the best value. (Or £40 for the £40 voucher)
Here are the terms and conditions.
If you use your imagination, you can be getting lots of cheap/free nights...
Especially considering, based on what I gather, your "friend" doesn't actually need to stay in the hotel in order for you to get the £40 voucher...
I will update this post as more information comes to light. See more on Flyertalk.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Citi AA Cards And My Fico Score, Plus US Mint is Speeding Up
In the past week, my Fico score dropped twice by a few points.
My score dropped because Citi AA credit cards don't report the credit limit to the three credit agencies. As I wrote about previously, the percentage of your credit that you’re using is one of the things that make up your credit score. Now, being that Citi AA cards don't report the credit limit, (being that they are “no preset spending limit’ cards), any balance is considered 100% of your available credit on that card. Now, using too much available credit on one card, is not as bad as using too much of your overall credit from all your cards, but it still does hurt your score. Ideally, you shouldn’t use more than 10% of your overall available credit.
On one of these occasions, my bill was $500, which dropped my score by 8 points, to 765, and the other time my bill was $10, which dropped my score by another 5 points. Even though the bill was only $10, it’s still 100% of my available credit on my credit report, which for this months bill is $10....
The drop is only temporary. Next month, once I pay my bill, I won’t have any debt on these cards, and I won’t be using any of my available credit, my FICO score will go up again. If you have a low credit score to begin with, or you need to keep your score high, then you might want to avoid even a temporary drop in your score.
Here’s how to make sure that your FICO score doesn’t drop when you spend on a card that has no preset spending limit: Pay the bill before the statement closes, so that when the statement closes, the balance will be reported as $0.
Although often, when there is no limit being reported, the highest past balance is considered your credit limit for calculating your debt–to-credit ratio, it didn't work for me, as my 'High Balance' was reported as zero, even though I had a $750 bill a few months back.
Note to advanced users:
There is a massive benefit to the fact that the AA cards have no preset spending limit. Which is that you can often go way, way over your limit. For instance, on one card that I've had a $15,000 limit, I was able to spend up to $50,000!
Update To US Mint Ordering:
It seems like the Mint started speeding up their order processing times. While in the past it has been taking a few weeks to receive an order, lately it’s been arriving in just a few days!
My shipments are also being sent via UPS Next Day Air!
My score dropped because Citi AA credit cards don't report the credit limit to the three credit agencies. As I wrote about previously, the percentage of your credit that you’re using is one of the things that make up your credit score. Now, being that Citi AA cards don't report the credit limit, (being that they are “no preset spending limit’ cards), any balance is considered 100% of your available credit on that card. Now, using too much available credit on one card, is not as bad as using too much of your overall credit from all your cards, but it still does hurt your score. Ideally, you shouldn’t use more than 10% of your overall available credit.
On one of these occasions, my bill was $500, which dropped my score by 8 points, to 765, and the other time my bill was $10, which dropped my score by another 5 points. Even though the bill was only $10, it’s still 100% of my available credit on my credit report, which for this months bill is $10....
The drop is only temporary. Next month, once I pay my bill, I won’t have any debt on these cards, and I won’t be using any of my available credit, my FICO score will go up again. If you have a low credit score to begin with, or you need to keep your score high, then you might want to avoid even a temporary drop in your score.
Here’s how to make sure that your FICO score doesn’t drop when you spend on a card that has no preset spending limit: Pay the bill before the statement closes, so that when the statement closes, the balance will be reported as $0.
Although often, when there is no limit being reported, the highest past balance is considered your credit limit for calculating your debt–to-credit ratio, it didn't work for me, as my 'High Balance' was reported as zero, even though I had a $750 bill a few months back.
Note to advanced users:
There is a massive benefit to the fact that the AA cards have no preset spending limit. Which is that you can often go way, way over your limit. For instance, on one card that I've had a $15,000 limit, I was able to spend up to $50,000!
Update To US Mint Ordering:
It seems like the Mint started speeding up their order processing times. While in the past it has been taking a few weeks to receive an order, lately it’s been arriving in just a few days!
My shipments are also being sent via UPS Next Day Air!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Credit Card News: Chase Freedom, Advanta And Statefarm Gift Cards
Chase Freedom Card:
It seems, that as of June 30th, Chase Freedom will no longer be offering $250 when you reach $200 in spending, in essence cutting the cashback down from 1.25% to just 1%. Also, they will no longer offer 3% on your top spending categories (actually 3.75%). I currently use the Chase Freedom card for most of my non-Amex purchases. Perhaps now I will get the Charles Schwabb Visa, which offers a flat 2% cashback on all purchases.
Advanta:
Advanta is closing down! You won't be able to use their credit card anymore as of June 10th.
Lots of my readers have benefited from their 0% APR offers, so I figured I'll let you know its over. If you already have the card, you shouldn't have a problem waiting to pay back the money till the 15 months are up though.
Statefarm Gift Cards:
My latest gift card purchase was interesting. I bought two $500 Statefarm gift cards on a Citi AA card. The charge went through for $1,009.90, then I was refunded twice $500. So I ended up being charged $9.90. Once the statement closed I was pleasantly surprised to see that the 25,000 signup bonus still posted, even though I only got 10 AA miles for the $10 charge.
It would be nice to know if other refunded purchases qualify for the $750 you need to spend before receiving the sign up bonus...
And once we're talking about Citicards: Be careful when you use your Citi card overseas, you will be charged an extra 3%, even if the actual charge is in US dollars.
It seems, that as of June 30th, Chase Freedom will no longer be offering $250 when you reach $200 in spending, in essence cutting the cashback down from 1.25% to just 1%. Also, they will no longer offer 3% on your top spending categories (actually 3.75%). I currently use the Chase Freedom card for most of my non-Amex purchases. Perhaps now I will get the Charles Schwabb Visa, which offers a flat 2% cashback on all purchases.
Advanta:
Advanta is closing down! You won't be able to use their credit card anymore as of June 10th.
Lots of my readers have benefited from their 0% APR offers, so I figured I'll let you know its over. If you already have the card, you shouldn't have a problem waiting to pay back the money till the 15 months are up though.
Statefarm Gift Cards:
Oh well. It looks like Statefarm no longer accepts Citi cards when purchasing Statefarm gift cards. I wrote about how it's an easy way to spend the required $750 on Citi AA cards, without actually spending it. Now it seems that Statefarm caught on. So, the US Mint seems like the best place to spend that $750 for now.
My latest gift card purchase was interesting. I bought two $500 Statefarm gift cards on a Citi AA card. The charge went through for $1,009.90, then I was refunded twice $500. So I ended up being charged $9.90. Once the statement closed I was pleasantly surprised to see that the 25,000 signup bonus still posted, even though I only got 10 AA miles for the $10 charge.
It would be nice to know if other refunded purchases qualify for the $750 you need to spend before receiving the sign up bonus...
And once we're talking about Citicards: Be careful when you use your Citi card overseas, you will be charged an extra 3%, even if the actual charge is in US dollars.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Another Free Customized Paper Card From Hallmark
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Open Lots Of Credit Cards? Get an Amex Card
For those that churn cards, one of the things that can affect your score, is that by opening new cards, you are shortening the average age of your credit history.
One way to counter that, is to open a Amex card. Opening a new Amex card can actually help your score, because, in my experience, and from what I've read, Amex seems to report your new card as if it was opened the year when your oldest Amex card was opened! So, if you opened a Amex card 10 years ago, and lately you have opened lots of cards, then opening another Amex card can actually raise your score, as now it will count as if you have another 10 year old card! This obviously only applies to personal cards, as business cards don't get reported.
I wouldn't recommend applying for a bunch of Amex cards right now though, as Amex seems to be very trigger happy these days. And I wouldn't do anything that might make Amex close my account.
Related post: Credit Reports and Scores Explained
One way to counter that, is to open a Amex card. Opening a new Amex card can actually help your score, because, in my experience, and from what I've read, Amex seems to report your new card as if it was opened the year when your oldest Amex card was opened! So, if you opened a Amex card 10 years ago, and lately you have opened lots of cards, then opening another Amex card can actually raise your score, as now it will count as if you have another 10 year old card! This obviously only applies to personal cards, as business cards don't get reported.
I wouldn't recommend applying for a bunch of Amex cards right now though, as Amex seems to be very trigger happy these days. And I wouldn't do anything that might make Amex close my account.
Related post: Credit Reports and Scores Explained
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Citi AA Cards 30,000 Mile Signup Bonus - Time To Start Churning
Citi is now offering 30,000 mile sign up bonus for the Citi AAdvantage cards, instead of the usual 25,000. This is great for those who churn cards. I'll be signing up for them soon...
If you get all three cards, you'll get 90,000 miles! (Instead of the usual 75,000). If your spouse gets all three as well, that's 180,000 miles!
If you sign up for all three cards again in three months, you can get 180,000 miles, or 360,000 for two people... Now that's a lot of miles! Depending on your credit score though, you might not want to apply too often. Read this post for more info on churning Citi AA cards, along with suggestions on how often to apply.
If you get all three cards, you'll get 90,000 miles! (Instead of the usual 75,000). If your spouse gets all three as well, that's 180,000 miles!
If you sign up for all three cards again in three months, you can get 180,000 miles, or 360,000 for two people... Now that's a lot of miles! Depending on your credit score though, you might not want to apply too often. Read this post for more info on churning Citi AA cards, along with suggestions on how often to apply.
Monday, May 4, 2009
100 Free Continental Miles
Click here, enter your Continental OnePass number, and get 100 free miles.
Offer expires 06/30/09.
Note: It might only work if you have a Continental credit or debit card, but it couldn't hurt to try in any case.
Related post: 300 Free Continental Miles
Offer expires 06/30/09.
Note: It might only work if you have a Continental credit or debit card, but it couldn't hurt to try in any case.
Related post: 300 Free Continental Miles
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Western Digital 1TB External Hard Drive - $75
I just bought myself one, and figured I'll share it with you.
Staples has the Western Digital 1TB My Book External Hard Drive on sale for $99.99 with free shipping.
Now, you can either use a $25 off $75 coupon (Buy on e-junky for as low as $1.50), or add something to your cart to raise the total to over $100. (i.e. pens, sticky notes, or a notebook, each of which cost $1, or an eraser for $0.59), and use a $25 off $100 coupon (on e-junky for $0.90).
I added the label maker which is free after easy rebate.
Total price should be around $75 plus tax.
If you click through a cashback site, it will be even less...
Check out this slickdeals thread for more items on sale from Staples.
$25 off $100 coupon:
I have one extra $25 off $100 coupon: 1147264006894251
Please let me know or comment if you use it.
Staples has the Western Digital 1TB My Book External Hard Drive on sale for $99.99 with free shipping.
Now, you can either use a $25 off $75 coupon (Buy on e-junky for as low as $1.50), or add something to your cart to raise the total to over $100. (i.e. pens, sticky notes, or a notebook, each of which cost $1, or an eraser for $0.59), and use a $25 off $100 coupon (on e-junky for $0.90).
I added the label maker which is free after easy rebate.
Total price should be around $75 plus tax.
If you click through a cashback site, it will be even less...
Check out this slickdeals thread for more items on sale from Staples.
$25 off $100 coupon:
I have one extra $25 off $100 coupon: 1147264006894251
Please let me know or comment if you use it.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
In Review: Retention Bonus From Citi Plus Small Amounts Add Up
Canceling Citi Card:
I called Citi to cancel another Citi AA card, and unlike last time when I was offered 5,000 miles to leave the card open, this time I was offered a choice of one of the following four bonuses:
1. A certificate which I would mail in to get $50 statement credit.
2. Two miles per dollar on the first $5,000 spent during the next six months.
3. 5 miles per dollar on gas, drugstores and supermarkets for the next 12 months, I believe a maximum of $6,000, but I'm not sure.
4. If I spend $500 in the next three months, I'll get 3000 miles.
I took option #4. I would have taken #1, but I wasn't interested in the headache. We'll see what happens when I call next month to cancel... As a general rule, if you don't like what you are being offered, ask them if they can offer you something else.
Free Miles and Money:
I figured I'd share the latest small things I've gotten lately. As you can see, it all adds up. Some of the promotions expired already and some are still going on.
Delta Miles
500 for linking Delta and Northwest. Plus Delta added an additional 500 miles, making it 1,000.
500 for survey.
1,000 for registering and buying something through Delta's Shopping Portal.
400 for taking four short courses.
I also transferred some miles from a friend who won't be using theirs, with Delta's double miles promotion. (Note, if you first transfer the miles to Northwest, the fee will only be $25. If you do the transfer straight from Delta, the fee is $30)
Continental Miles
200 Miles for looking at their website.
Rebates and Free Money
$14.97 from the Diaper deal.
$25 Amex Prepaid Card for signing up with Verizon Autopay
This is besides for all the free miles and money from credit cards and bank signup bonuses, especially from Citi... Totaling thousands of dollars a year! It's really a shame that there are people who could benefit from it, but don't take advantage!
Anyway, the point is that small amount do add up. I wouldn't spend much time on small amounts, but if all it takes is a few clicks, then why not!
I called Citi to cancel another Citi AA card, and unlike last time when I was offered 5,000 miles to leave the card open, this time I was offered a choice of one of the following four bonuses:
1. A certificate which I would mail in to get $50 statement credit.
2. Two miles per dollar on the first $5,000 spent during the next six months.
3. 5 miles per dollar on gas, drugstores and supermarkets for the next 12 months, I believe a maximum of $6,000, but I'm not sure.
4. If I spend $500 in the next three months, I'll get 3000 miles.
I took option #4. I would have taken #1, but I wasn't interested in the headache. We'll see what happens when I call next month to cancel... As a general rule, if you don't like what you are being offered, ask them if they can offer you something else.
Free Miles and Money:
I figured I'd share the latest small things I've gotten lately. As you can see, it all adds up. Some of the promotions expired already and some are still going on.
Delta Miles
500 for linking Delta and Northwest. Plus Delta added an additional 500 miles, making it 1,000.
500 for survey.
1,000 for registering and buying something through Delta's Shopping Portal.
400 for taking four short courses.
I also transferred some miles from a friend who won't be using theirs, with Delta's double miles promotion. (Note, if you first transfer the miles to Northwest, the fee will only be $25. If you do the transfer straight from Delta, the fee is $30)
Continental Miles
200 Miles for looking at their website.
Rebates and Free Money
$14.97 from the Diaper deal.
$25 Amex Prepaid Card for signing up with Verizon Autopay
This is besides for all the free miles and money from credit cards and bank signup bonuses, especially from Citi... Totaling thousands of dollars a year! It's really a shame that there are people who could benefit from it, but don't take advantage!
Anyway, the point is that small amount do add up. I wouldn't spend much time on small amounts, but if all it takes is a few clicks, then why not!
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