Tag Archives: Free Stuff

a blue letter with white text

Venmo Announces New Fees for Receiving Payments of Goods and Services & Instant Transfer Withdrawals

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Last night, I received an email regarding “New and upcoming changes to Venmo” – a pretty generic looking email with generic looking text that I skimmed through and almost deleted.  Buried in the text were 2 changes about seller transaction fees and instant transfer fees.  I decided to dig into these changes to see what they really meant for me and other Venmo users.  Here are the 2 changes that I researched:

3) Effective July 20, 2021, users who receive payments that are identified by senders as for goods and services will be charged a seller transaction fee of 1.9% + $0.10.
4) Effective August 2, 2021, the fee for instant transfers will be 1.5% per instant transfer ($0.25 minimum fee, $15 maximum fee).

a screenshot of a email

Continue reading

a blue text on a white background

7 Buy Miles / Points Promos Ending Soon: JetBlue (30%), Alaska (50%), Choice (30%), Hyatt (30%), Frontier (125%), United (85%) & Wyndham (35%)

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found 7 offers that end in June.  Always check the math to make sure that buying miles & points makes sense for you.  Do not buy miles & points speculatively unless you have a use in mind.  With that said, here are 7 offers that end soon.  Up first, JetBlue is offering up to a 30% discount, depending on the number of JetBlue TrueBlue Points you purchase.  This offer expires today – June 22.

a screenshot of a website

Continue reading

a logo for a university

Attend FTU Virtual Seminar on Saturday June 26 ($25) or Free with Online Annual Membership

Good afternoon everyone.  If you have no plans this coming Saturday (June 26), I highly recommend attending the FTU Virtual Seminar (tickets available for $25) or free if you have the FTU Online Annual Membership.  The seminar starts on Saturday at 8am PT / 11am ET.  I have attended all of the FTU Virtual Seminars over the last several months and they are always well done, educational, and entertaining – and I am sure this seminar will be no exception!  Here is the schedule and lineup of speakers.

If you register for the seminar on Saturday, but are unable to watch the live stream, you can access the recording of the seminar and watch later on.  This is also a great way to re-watch your favorite presentations and catch any details that you originally missed.

a screenshot of a video conference

Continue reading

a black and white sign with white text

Rafting / Floating Down Rivers at Lake Tahoe, CA and Boise, ID

Good morning everyone, happy Father’s Day!  Over the last few weeks, I spent time with my family in Lake Tahoe staying at the Marriott Grand Residence Club, Lake Tahoe (located in South Lake Tahoe right next to the Nevada state line) and at my parent’s new home in Idaho, just outside Boise.  On both trips, we spent time on the water rafting / floating down the rivers and I wanted to share some details of this fun family activity.

In Lake Tahoe, there are 2 rafting companies that operate on the Truckee River (which is connected to Lake Tahoe).  We used Truckee River Rafting (yellow paddles), but if that is full, you can also use the Truckee River Raft Company (orange paddles).  Prices are $55-$60 per person, depending on which company you use.  For Truckee River Rafting, you park at the top, raft / float down the river, and then you take their bus back to the top to get your car.  The whole operation is very smooth.  The river is a bit cold, but relaxing.  There are barely any rapids, so the majority of the trip is just a relaxing float down the river and you can use the paddles to stay away from the edge of the river.

a group of people on a raft

My family floating down the Truckee River at Lake Tahoe, CA

Continue reading

a horse drawn carriage with horses

Wells Fargo Changes: New Statement Ending Dates, TTY/TDD Numbers Retired & More

Good morning everyone, I hope your Father’s Day Weekend is going well.  A few months ago, I wrote Wells Fargo Discontinues Temporary Debit Cards & ATM Access Code Feature (Effective April 1).  And last year, I wrote Wells Fargo Discontinues Instant Issue Debit Cards Effective November 30.  In today’s post, I have a few more Wells Fargo changes to cover (some old and some new), including TTY/TDD phone numbers being retired, document copy fee, ATM balance inquiry fee / ATM transfer fee, and updated statement and fee period ending dates.

Effective March 5, 2021, 3 dedicated telephone / telecommunication phone numbers (800-877-4833, 800-419-2265, and 800-600-4833) for the deaf (TTY / TDD) are now retired.  This sounds like bad news for customers who rely on those 3 phone numbers to communicate with Wells Fargo.  It says that Wells Fargo does accept relay-assisted calls, but I am not sure if that is a suitable alternative option to the retired TTY / TDD options.

a close up of a document

Continue reading