a close up of a logo

Arcadia: $15 Off My PG&E Gas & Electricity Bill (+ 5% Cash Back with US Bank Cash+)

Posted on by . 2 Replies

Updated 10am PT on 7/9/20: Arcadia Power changed their name to Arcadia, so I updated the logo and changed references of “Arcadia Power” to “Arcadia” in this post.  Arcadia has also improved their website, so some of the screenshots in this post are out of date.

Good morning everyone, I hope your weekend is going well.  Last month, Doctor of Credit wrote a post about Arcadia stating that you could use this service to pay your electricity bill with a credit card and not be charged a fee.  I have been paying a $1.35 fee per payment to PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) for the last few years, so I was immediately interested.  For the last few years, I have been using my US Bank Cash+ Credit Card to earn 5% cash back on utility bills (as far as I know, Chase Ink Business credit cards do not earn 5x on electrical utilities bills, just phone / internet / TV utility bills).  With the $1.35 fee per payment, as long as my payment to PG&E was greater than $27 ($27 x 5% = $1.35), I would come out ahead.  If I could continue earning 5% with my US Bank Cash+ Credit Card to pay my PG&E bill and avoid the $1.35 fee, I would definitely use Arcadia.  I am happy to state that that is exactly what happened with my recent PG&E payment via Arcadia.  If you are not an Arcadia member, please use my referral link to create a free account.  Thank you!

I received this email from Arcadia on January 5.  In the email, it says I saved $15 (my Arcadia first payment bonus) and owe $105.88.  My card on file (US Bank Cash+ Credit Card) would be charged on January 8.  I didn’t need to do anything else.

a screenshot of a computer

Continue reading →

a black and white text

How to Activate Physical Sinemia Card Online

Posted on by . 6 Replies

Good morning everyone, I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  By the time you read this post, I will be on my way back home to San Francisco.  I promise to work on a few trips reports regarding my trip around Eastern Europe.  But in the meantime, here is my post on how to activate your physical Sinemia card.  I do not know exactly when I ordered my physical Sinemia card, but it was in early December.  A few weeks later, I got this email from Sinemia stating that my physical Sinemia card was sent out.  In the email, it says that the physical Sinemia card should arrive in 5-7 business days, but I was not home the last week and a half of December, so I am not sure exactly when it was delivered.  Without further ado, here is how to activate your physical Sinemia card online.

a screenshot of a card

Continue reading →

a blue and red airplane with black text

Gift Cards Trigger $75 Annual Travel Credit for Chase Southwest Airlines Priority Credit Card

Posted on by . 31 Replies

Good afternoon everyone, greetings from Macedonia!  I’ve been traveling around Eastern Europe this week, but I noticed that the Chase Southwest Airlines credit cards have changed their sign up bonuses and some cards are now offering the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass.   Even though the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass is awesome, I want to talk about the Chase Southwest Airlines Priority Credit Card.  My girlfriend recently converted her Chase Southwest Airlines Plus Credit Card to the Chase Southwest Airlines Priority Credit Card, and part of the card benefits is a $75 annual travel credit.  Much like the airline reimbursements on the American Express Hilton Aspire Credit Card and the American Express Platinum Charge Cards, I assumed airline gift cards would trigger the $75 statement credit, but I had to find out for myself.

a screenshot of a credit card

Continue reading →

a pile of money with white text

How Much Money Did I Make from Bank Account Bonuses in 2018?

Posted on by . 12 Replies

Good afternoon everyone, this is a sequel to my 2017 post titled How Much Money Did I Make from Bank Account Bonuses in 2017?  and from my 2016 post titled My 2016 Roundup of Bank Account Bonuses (1099-Int Tax Season).  To recap, in 2015, I made $1,175 in bank account bonuses. In 2016, I made $2,850 in bank account bonuses. And in 2017, I made $3,700 in bank account bonuses.  Would 2018 be a record breaking year… unfortunately not.

In 2018, I opened a total of 15 bank accounts (split between checking, savings, and brokerage cash accounts).  8 of those accounts are now closed, 7 accounts are still open, and I am still waiting for bonuses from 2 of those accounts to post.  Here are all the bank accounts I opened, the date they were closed and the bonus I received.  To be fair, I am still waiting for the $125 bonus to post to my Meriwest Credit Union Checking Account and the $150 bonus to post to my TIAA Bank Yield Pledge Checking Account, but I met the requirements already, so now I just need to wait.  Doctor of Credit keeps a very detailed and up-to-date bank account bonuses page.

a close up of a checklist

Continue reading →

a black letter on a white background

How Quickly Does Cash Back Post for Chase Offers?

Posted on by . 9 Replies

Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.  I meant to publish this post a few weeks ago, but better late than never.  Chase has started to roll out more and more Chase Offers (similar to AMEX Offers) on several Chase credit cards.  In this post, I will show you how long it took for a Lowe’s Chase Offer to post to my account.  The Lowe’s Chase Offer provided 10% cash back on the first $120 spent, for a maximum of $12 cash back.  I added the Lowe’s Chase Offer to my Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card on December 9, 2018.  That same day, I went to Lowe’s and spent $96.60 (combination of a Christmas tree, stand, and some gift cards).  After the Lowe’s purchase posted to my credit card, the Lowe’s Chase Offer showed up under my Redeemed tab of Chase Offers.  The terms state that the statement credit should post within 7-14 business days, so let’s see how long it really took.

Continue reading →