Tag Archives: Cash Back

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2024’s Must-Reads: Have You Read My Most Popular Posts Yet?

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Good afternoon everyone, happy New Year’s Eve!  As we wrap up 2024, it’s time to take a look at my top 10 most popular blog posts of the year. Barring any crazy last minute spikes in blog readership today, these are the top 10 blog posts written in 2024 and top 10 blog posts written in previous years. If you are curious, here were the most popular posts from 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

2024’s Most Popular Blog Posts (Written in 2024)

  • PSA: Bank of America Won’t Automatically Send a Replacement Debit Card when your Card Expires (2/20/24) – I realized my Bank of America debit card had expired in July 2022, and I never received a replacement debit card until I requested one in February 2024, despite having it stored in ApplePay. My frustration grew from the lack of notifications and outdated PIN change process. Judging by the number of pageviews this post received, I guess I wasn’t the only one with this problem.
  • My 2023 Peloton Bike Rental Year End Review (Total Cost of Ownership & Workout Class Stats) (1/21/24) – In 2023, I rented a Peloton bike instead of buying one, opting for the flexibility of a monthly rental with the option to pause or return it. Although I didn’t meet my fitness goals, I appreciated the variety of classes, the ability to create multiple profiles, and the affordability of the rental option, especially with my employer’s fitness reimbursement.  I wasn’t planning on writing a 2024 Peloton year end review, but since this post was so popular, I will work on a 2024 update in the coming days.
  • Attention Coinstar Users: Not All Kiosks Offer Amazon eGift Cards (1/19/24) – During a recent trip to SoCal, I used a Coinstar kiosk to convert a bag of change into an eGC, only to find that Amazon was missing as a redemption option. After researching, I discovered that not all kiosks offer Amazon eGCs, with availability varying by location and grocery store chain.  I wish all Coinstar kiosks had the same redemption offers so this issue would be avoided.

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How Much Money Did I Make from Bank Account Bonuses in 2024?

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Doctor of Credit has a Best Bank Account Bonuses page that he keeps up to date with the best offers each month.  In that master post, he links to individual bank account bonuses with helpful information regarding the bonus details, how to avoid monthly fees, when to close the account, how often you can open a new account, and much more.  For the last 10 years, I have been opening new checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, and cash management accounts for the new member bonuses.  At the end of each year, I share my results on the blog.

Over the last 10 years, I have made $26,775 in bank account bonuses. You will receive 1099-INT / 1099-MISC tax forms every year, so you have to pay taxes on the bank account bonuses, but sometimes you can fund the opening deposit with a credit card and earn miles, points, or cash back.  If you are lucky, you can meet a minimum spending requirement by funding a new checking account or reach a spending threshold / milestone to earn more rewards.  Here are my results from the last 10 years with links to corresponding yearly summaries:

Drum roll please… Here are the 12 new accounts Laura and I opened in 2024 that paid out $2,755 in bonuses:

Bank Account Name Opened Closed Bonus Notes
WeBull Brokerage (Laura) 01/01/24 02/21/24 $180 30 free stocks (worth $180)
Citi Access Checking 01/01/24 04/26/24 $200
PSECU Checking 01/04/24 05/31/24 $300 $100 credit card funding
PenFed Credit Union Checking 01/04/24 11/08/24 $250
M1 Finance 01/06/24 02/20/24 $250
NASA Federal Credit Union Checking 01/09/24 04/26/24 $300 $400 credit card funding
Redwood Credit Union Checking 01/26/24 04/26/24 $250 $500 credit card funding
Raisin Account @ Grand Bank 01/26/24 08/15/24 $150 Rakuten cash back: 10,000 AMEX MR Points ($150 value)
Upgrade Rewards Checking Plus 03/05/24 05/11/24 $150
Upgrade Premier Savings 03/07/24 08/15/24 $200
One Finance Savings 11/08/24 12/28/24 $225 Rakuten cash back: 15,000 AMEX MR Points ($225 value)
Chase Total Checking (Laura) 11/11/24 Open $300
$2,755

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InKind $50 Referral Bonus + 40% Discount on Gift Cards at Costco (Deal Expires 12/25)

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Updated 12/20/24 at 9am PT: New Costco deal for InKind gift cards available now through December 25.

Good morning everyone, happy Friday! I just received an email from InKind letting me know that they’ve doubled the referral bonus from $25 to $50 if your referral signs up and spends $50 with InKind by January 31, 2025. If they don’t meet the requirements by the deadline, you’ll still receive the standard $25 referral bonus once they spend $50. There’s no special referral link for this promo, so you can continue using your current referral link. If you’d like to use my InKind referral link, you will get a $25 bonus after you spend $50 or more with InKind.  But wait, there’s more…

If you are a Costco member, you can buy a $100 InKind gift card for just $59.99, but this offer ends on December 25. See the details below for more info.

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Buyer Beware! Klook Travel OTA Offers Misleading Saver / Basic Economy Flights

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your weekend is going well.  A few weeks ago, I read Frequent Miler’s article: Klook lets you book flights, car rentals, trains & more (stack with Amex Offer) and thought it would be a good way to get a discount on an upcoming flight.  Nope! Klook turned out to be a nightmare, and I wanted to write this post to warn others and prevent them from experiencing the same issues I faced.

Long story short, there is a Klook AMEX Offer for $80 off $400 and you could stack that with a Klook promo code to take an additional 10% off your flight.  Unfortunately, Klook sells Saver / Basic Economy flights and there is no notification anywhere on their site or through the booking process that says the flight you are booking is a Saver / Basic Economy flight.  Cancelling a flight booked on Klook is also a frustrating experience.

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My Journey to Redeem Orphaned Caesars Reward Credits with Caesars Racebook App

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope you had a great weekend and are excited for Halloween later this week.  For better or worse, I am the kind of person that hates to let airline miles, hotel points, free night certificates, and companion fares expire.  I can now add casino rewards to that list.

Over the last month, I have tried to figure out the “most efficient way” to redeem my 1,816 Caesars Reward Credits (worth ~$18) without going to Las Vegas.  Laura and I were in Las Vegas for Memorial Day Weekend to complete a few casino status matches and watch 2 Cirque Du Soleil shows.  For that trip, I transferred 60,000 Wyndham Rewards Points into 60,000 Caesars Reward Credits and redeemed 58,678 points to cover the $586.78 room charge (read this post).  The remaining 1,816 Caesars Reward Credits were set to expire 6 months later on December 2, 2024.

In this post, I will share the journey I went on to redeem or extend these 1,816 orphaned Caesars Reward Credits along with some helpful tips for anyone in the same situation.

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