Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card Review: Up to 2.62% Back on Travel and Dining with Preferred Rewards

Posted on June 24, 2020 // 24 Comments

Update February 2021: The Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card has expanded the eligible categories of spending against which you can get their 1.5% to 2.62% back from only Travel purchases to include both Travel and Dining (including takeout). This change will apply indefinitely, and should make it much easier to redeem your points for optimal value. Here is the fine print:

Flexibility to redeem points for a statement credit to pay for travel and dining purchases, such as flights, hotel stays, vacation rentals, baggage fees, and also at restaurants – including takeout.

Full card review:

bofa_travelrewards191The Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card is the main “travel rewards” credit card branded by Bank of America. In this review, I’ll cover the card features but also focus on a lesser-known opportunity – if you’re a Preferred Rewards client, you can increase that bonus to 25% – 75%. For such “relationship” customers, the bonus can change this card from good to great, making it my current base rewards card (after any bonus 5% cash back categories, sign-up bonus cards, etc). Read on for details.

Here are the highlights of this card:

  • Earn unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases, with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees and your points don’t expire.
  • 25,000 online bonus points if you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days –  that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel/dining purchases.
  • Redeem points for a statement credit to pay for travel and dining purchases, such as flights, hotel stays, vacation rentals, baggage fees, and also at restaurants – including takeout.
  • 0% Introductory APR offer. See link for details.
  • 10% customer bonus when you have an active Bank of America checking or savings account.
  • If you’re a Preferred Rewards client, you can increase that bonus to 25% – 75%. See details below.
  • No foreign transaction fee.
  • No annual fee.

Preferred Rewards bonus. The Preferred Rewards program is designed to rewards clients with multiple account and higher assets located at Bank of America banking, Merrill Edge online brokerage, and Merrill Lynch investment accounts. Here is a partial table taken from their comparison chart (click to enlarge):

bofa_pref1

Let’s consider the options. Bank of America’s interest rates on cash accounts tend to be lower than highest-available outside banks (read: nearly zero), so moving cash over to qualify may result in earning less interest on your cash deposits. Merrill Lynch advisory accounts also usually come with management fees. The sweet spot is therefore the Merrill Edge self-directed brokerage, where you can move over your existing brokerage assets like stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs held elsewhere (Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, etc).

In the past, moving over to Merrill Edge at the Platinum and Platinum Plus levels also led to 30 to 100 free online stock trades every month. Fast forward to now, and nearly all major online brokers offer commission-free trades anyway.

Personally, I moved over $100k of brokerage assets from Vanguard to Merrill Edge to qualify for Platinum Honors. You should ask Merrill Edge if they will cover any ACAT transfer fees involved. I realize not everyone will have this level of assets to move around, but if you do then it is worth considering. Keep in mind that it will take a while for your “3-month average combined balance” to reach the $100k level and officially qualify for Platinum Honors. You might become Gold first, then Platinum, and so on. After that, the 25%-75% rewards bonus on credit card rewards kick in. Once you reach a certain tier, BofA guarantees that you will stay there for a year no matter what, even if your balance fluctuates.

Note that the terms state “The Preferred Rewards bonus will replace the customer bonus”, which means that you will lose the 10% customer bonus when you qualify for the 25% to 50% bonus.

Cash Back Rewards Tiers for Preferred Rewards

This card has a relatively simple rewards structure; you earn 1.5 points per dollar spent on all purchases. 1 point = 1 cent statement credit against any travel or dining purchase made on the card (flights, hotels, vacation packages, cruises, rental cars, or baggage fees, restaurants, take-out). As long you as you travel or eat at restaurants at least occasionally, I feel it is okay to value them at 1 cent per point, which means you could call this a “1.5% back on all purchases, if applied towards travel and dining purchases” rewards card. Here’s how the bonuses then work out:

  • Platinum Honors: 2.625% back, if applied towards travel and dining, or 2.625 points per dollar spent on any purchase (75% bonus).
  • Platinum: 2.25% back, if applied towards travel and dining, or 2.25 points per dollar spent on any purchase (50% bonus).
  • Gold: 1.875% back, if applied towards travel and dining, or 1.875 points per dollar spent on any purchase (25% bonus).

For more details, here are my redemption tips and experiences on qualifying for and receiving 2.625% back towards travel.

Their plan is working because Bank of America has managed to convince me to go from only having a checking account with them to now also having a Merrill Edge brokerage account and a Bank of America credit card. I definitely realize not everyone will have this level of assets to move around, and so this is somewhat a restricted offer. But if you do then it is worth considering. Both Platinum and Platinum Honors levels allow you to reach tiers that effectively give you over 2% back on all purchases, with the important caveat that your rewards must offset previous travel purchases on the card.

Bottom line. If you are able and willing to keep enough brokerage assets ($50k/$100k) at Merrill Edge, it will qualify you for their Preferred Rewards program. By using investment assets and not cash balances, it won’t cost you any potential interest from elsewhere. This allows the Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card to earn up to 2.6% back on ALL purchases in the form of statement credit offsetting any travel purchases within the last 12 months.

Filed Under: Banking, Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Sprint Unlimited Line On Us: Add Line For Free + T-Mobile Tuesdays

Posted on June 19, 2020 // 3 Comments

If you are a current Sprint customer, they are running a promotion called Unlimited Line on Us where you can add a extra line with no monthly charge, although you are still subject to the monthly taxes and fees (approximately $5 to $10 a month depending on your local taxes). Full terms after you log in, but here are some eligibility details:

Who is eligible for the Unlimited Line On Us promotion?
Existing Sprint customers who:
– Joined Sprint prior to 6/17/2020.
– Have an eligible plan.
– Have at least one active voice line.
– Are eligible to add a line of service on their account.

You can bring your own device or even just reserve a line for future use (although they’ll start charging taxes). The monthly service plan charge for the line remains $0/mo. for the life of the line and requires you to keep all current phone lines on your account active through June 30, 2021. It is unclear if people who are on the $35 Sprint Unlimited Kickstart plan are eligible for this promotion.

In addition, Sprint customers can soon participate in the T-Mobile Tuesday perks program:

Sprint customers simply need to download the T-Mobile Tuesdays app from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store and register their number beginning on Tuesday, June 23.

I view these both as preemptive moves to keep Sprint customers from jumping ship before they are fully merged with T-Mobile.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Money in Excel: Automated Budgeting and Personal Finance Template (Free for Microsoft 365 Subscribers)

Posted on June 16, 2020 // 18 Comments

It’s not the classic Microsoft Money application (which I’m still asked about periodically), but Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscribers can now download “Money in Excel” (free) which promises to help you manage your personal finances using Excel tools and the automated import of your transactions. Thanks to reader Motti for the tip. From their official blog:

Money in Excel is a dynamic, smart template and add-in for Excel that allows you to securely connect your bank, credit card, investment, and loan accounts to Excel and automatically import your transaction and account information into an Excel spreadsheet.

The service uses Plaid, a third-party company (recently acquired by Visa) to synchronize with all of your various financial accounts. You will have to provide the username and passwords for those accounts. (If you haven’t already, use a password manager so that you can maintain unique, strong passwords for each of your bank or brokerage accounts.)

You can do things like track your monthly spending by category, add up your net worth instantly, or get notified of selected transactions like big purchases or bank fees. Here is a screenshot:

Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a way to access this premium template if you do not have a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription ($70 to $100 annually). I am not a 365 subscriber myself, so I am unable to test this out further. I’d be interested to see if you are completely free to customize the Excel using all the imported data. That might work like the combination of Personal Capital and Google Sheets (also free) that I currently use to track my portfolio. If you try it, please let me know what you think in the comments or via Twitter @mymoneyblog.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Deals & Offers //

Hertz Used Rental Cars: Good or Bad Idea? Big List of Pros and Cons

Posted on June 16, 2020 // 9 Comments

In better times, Hertz took out a big loan and put up their vast inventory of cars as collateral. COVID-19 caused the lender to worry about getting their money back, so they called in the loan. Hertz doesn’t exactly have much cashflow right now, so they are forced to sell off the cars in the hopes of surviving bankruptcy.

So, I found myself browsing HertzCarSales.com for the first time. I’ve never seriously considered buying a car from a rental agency, mostly due to the fact that I didn’t want a Dodge Caravan last redesigned in 1996. However, I did buy a cheap off-lease corporate fleet car from my employer, and it worked out great. Is buying a used rental car from Hertz a great idea, or a stupid idea? Here are some arguments from both sides.

Reasons why a used Hertz rental car may be BETTER than you think:

  • Check the in-service date and determine how much of the factory warranty is remaining; it could be a significant amount.
  • Hertz will let you bring it to a mechanic and do your own inspection.
  • No-haggle pricing will be appreciated by some, similar to CarMax.
  • All Hertz Certified vehicles include a 12-month/12,000-mile (whichever comes first) limited powertrain warranty.
  • Hertz has a better reputation of doing regular maintenance on their cars than lesser-known car rental companies. According to the Hertz website, while they do not provide copies of maintenance records, you can view the maintenance records in person.
  • Hertz is usually the most expensive option for a casual traveler. Most of their business is corporate and government workers. Business travelers tend to simply use the car as a tool to get from the airport to/from office/hotel, so the car will likely be in better shape than perhaps with other companies.
  • You can return your vehicle within 7 days or 250 miles after your purchase, whichever comes first. A cleaning and recertification fee of $200 will be deducted (unless prohibited by law), as well as any excess wear or damage to the vehicle.
  • Normally, used cars are subject to the “lemon” theory: people tend to sell the cars with problems. However, a rental agency does things robotically – all cars at a certain age are sold. They already bought the car at a highly-discounted bulk rate from the manufacturer, and they just need to get the car off their books in an expedient manner.
  • Some reports claim that the more “beat up” cars, especially cosmetically with dings and stains, never make it to the sale lot and are instead sold more cheaply via wholesale auctions.
  • Healthcare worker and first responders currently get $350 off with promo code HCS-HERO.

Reasons why a used Hertz rental car may be WORSE than you think:

  • Rental cars have a “fleet” or “rental” designation on the title, which stays with the car and can affect future resale value.
  • The reputation is that these cars are more “beaten up” given their mileage. I used to accelerate a little harder on freeway onramps in a rental car (it was usually the econobox version so not much excitement anyway), and was probably a bit more liberal with the air conditioning in those humid summers. However, I was still careful as I often skipped the insurance waiver on personal rentals.
  • You won’t get the “1 owner who drove it only on the freeway and was a neat freak with perfect maintenance records” car.
  • Anecdotally, cars that are made for “fleets” are of lower quality because the factory workers know these are fleet cars when they build them, and thus care less about quality control and more about pumping out 100 of the exact same car.
  • Some rental car agencies self-insure their cars and do repairs in-house, which means accidents are not necessarily reported on CarFax or other vehicle history reports.
  • Never buy “sports cars” as these are rented specifically so you can have fun going fast in them and do things you wouldn’t do in your normal car. Same deal with pickups, they are likely used heavily nearly every rental.
  • They will still add some sort of $200 to $400 documentation fee and attempt to upsell you various extended warranties, just as any other used car dealer.

Used car marketplace iSeeCars.com compared Hertz prices with their estimate of market value to find which models had the steepest discounts. I didn’t really find the results to be very useful though, as most models are rather rare with very limited availability (BMW 7-Series, MB A-Class, Buick Cascada?). The only Honda/Toyota/Mazda on the list was the Toyota Tundra, and I couldn’t find a single one within 200 miles of my location.

I tried to run some comparisons myself for a popular model with decent inventory like the Toyota RAV-4. This black 2019 Toyota RAV-4 XLE AWD (Hertz) with 22,000 miles was $23,587. This black 2019 Toyota RAV-4 XLE AWD (AutoTrader) with 22,000 miles was $21,689. I didn’t drill down into the options, but this shows that you should definitely do some comparison shopping first.

In the end, the process is similar to buying any used car and comes down to price. You need consider the reliability of the make/model, do your own personal pre-purchase inspection with an expert, and comparison shop across the same model, same options list, and similar mileage. Read the factors above and then add your own “Hertz adjustment”. Is the Hertz no-haggle price still the best deal?

Also see: How Much Car Can I Afford?

Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Frugal Living //

Amazon Prime: $8.98 Echo Dot (3rd Gen) + Music Unlimited Trial

Posted on June 10, 2020 // 8 Comments

Update: Offer is back again, but sold out quickly last time!

Amazon has brought back a good deal for Prime members interested in a cheap Echo Dot (newest 3rd generation). Sign up for a 1-month Amazon Music Unlimited membership for $7.99, and you get can get an Echo Dot (3rd gen) for only $0.99 (total cost $8.98). Here’s how:

  1. Click here for the combined Echo Dot + 1-month trial. You must pay with a credit card (no gift card), which will be used to enroll in Amazon Music Unlimited at $7.99 per month. The shipping is free at checkout.
  2. The membership will auto-renew, but you can cancel your Amazon Music Unlimited trial at any time, anytime before the month is up.

This limited time offer of 1 month of Amazon Music Unlimited Individual Plan and an Echo Dot for $8.98 is available only to customers who subscribe to Amazon Music Unlimited Individual Plan and who purchase an eligible Echo device. Current subscribers are not eligible. After the 1-month promotional term, your Amazon Music subscription will automatically continue at the monthly price of $7.99 plus applicable taxes until you cancel.

Amazon Music unlimited lets you listen to all 60 million songs ad-free and on-demand, you can call up songs with Alexa, and you can listen offline with unlimited skips.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Best Interest Rates on Cash – June 2020

Posted on June 3, 2020 // 11 Comments

Another month of slight rate drops, although bank accounts can still beat out Treasury bonds and/or brokerage cash sweep options by a significant margin.

Here’s my monthly roundup of the best interest rates on cash for June 2020, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. I track these rates because I keep 12 months of expenses as a cash cushion and also invest in longer-term CDs (often at lesser-known credit unions) when they yield more than bonds. Check out my Ultimate Rate-Chaser Calculator to see how much extra interest you’d earn by moving money between accounts. Rates listed are available to everyone nationwide. Rates checked as of 6/2/2020.

High-yield savings accounts
While the huge megabanks make huge profits while paying you 0.01% APY, it’s easy to open a new “piggy-back” savings account and simply move some funds over from your existing checking account. The interest rates on savings accounts can drop at any time, so I list the top rates as well as competitive rates from banks with a history of competitive rates. Some banks will bait you with a temporary top rate and then lower the rates in the hopes that you are too lazy to leave.

Short-term guaranteed rates (1 year and under)
A common question is what to do with a big pile of cash that you’re waiting to deploy shortly (just sold your house, just sold your business, legal settlement, inheritance). My usual advice is to keep things simple and take your time. If not a savings account, then put it in a flexible short-term CD under the FDIC limits until you have a plan.

  • No Penalty CDs offer a fixed interest rate that can never go down, but you can still take out your money (once) without any fees if you want to use it elsewhere. Marcus has a 7-month No Penalty CD at 1.20% APY with a $500 minimum deposit. Ally Bank has a 11-month No Penalty CD at 1.20% APY for all balance tiers. CIT Bank has a 11-month No Penalty CD at 1.15% APY with a $1,000 minimum deposit. You may wish to open multiple CDs in smaller increments for more flexibility.
  • Lafayette Federal Credit Union has a 12-month CD at 1.61% APY ($500 min). Early withdrawal penalty is 180 days of interest. Anyone can join via partner organization for one-time $10 fee. Note that you will have to park $50 in a share savings account while a member.

Money market mutual funds + Ultra-short bond ETFs
If you like to keep cash in a brokerage account, beware that many brokers pay out very little interest on their default cash sweep funds (and keep the difference for themselves). The following money market and ultra-short bond funds are NOT FDIC-insured and thus come with a possibility of principal loss, but may be a good option if you have idle cash and cheap/free commissions.

  • Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund currently pays an 0.32% SEC yield. The default sweep option is the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund which has an SEC yield of 0.20%. You can manually move the money over to Prime if you meet the $3,000 minimum investment.
  • Vanguard Ultra-Short-Term Bond Fund currently pays 1.61% SEC yield ($3,000 min) and 1.71% SEC Yield ($50,000 min). The average duration is ~1 year, so there is more interest rate risk.
  • The PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active Bond ETF (MINT) has a 1.87% SEC yield and the iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF (NEAR) has a 1.83% SEC yield while holding a portfolio of investment-grade bonds with an average duration of ~6 months. Note that there was a slight drop in net asset value during the recent market stress.

Treasury Bills and Ultra-short Treasury ETFs
Another option is to buy individual Treasury bills which come in a variety of maturities from 4-weeks to 52-weeks. You can also invest in ETFs that hold a rotating basket of short-term Treasury Bills for you, while charging a small management fee for doing so. T-bill interest is exempt from state and local income taxes. Right now, this section probably isn’t very interesting as T-Bills are yielding close to zero!

  • You can build your own T-Bill ladder at TreasuryDirect.gov or via a brokerage account with a bond desk like Vanguard and Fidelity. Here are the current Treasury Bill rates. As of 6/2/2020, a new 4-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 0.12% annualized interest and a 52-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 0.17% annualized interest.
  • The Goldman Sachs Access Treasury 0-1 Year ETF (GBIL) has a 0.57% SEC yield and the SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL) has a -.04% (!) SEC yield. GBIL appears to have a slightly longer average maturity than BIL. Expect that GBIL yield to drop significantly as it is updated.

US Savings Bonds
Series I Savings Bonds offer rates that are linked to inflation and backed by the US government. You must hold them for at least a year. There are annual purchase limits. If you redeem them within 5 years there is a penalty of the last 3 months of interest.

  • “I Bonds” bought between May 2020 and October 2020 will earn a 1.06% rate for the first six months. The rate of the subsequent 6-month period will be based on inflation again. More info here.
  • In mid-October 2020, the CPI will be announced and you will have a short period where you will have a very close estimate of the rate for the next 12 months. I will have another post up at that time.

Prepaid Cards with Attached Savings Accounts
A small subset of prepaid debit cards have an “attached” FDIC-insured savings account with exceptionally high interest rates. The negatives are that balances are capped, and there are many fees that you must be careful to avoid (lest they eat up your interest). Some folks don’t mind the extra work and attention required, while others do. There is a long list of previous offers that have already disappeared with little notice. I don’t personally recommend nor use any of these anymore.

  • The only notable card left in this category is Mango Money at 6% APY on up to $2,500, but there are many hoops to jump through. Requirements include $1,500+ in “signature” purchases and a minimum balance of $25.00 at the end of the month.

Rewards checking accounts
These unique checking accounts pay above-average interest rates, but with unique risks. You have to jump through certain hoops, and if you make a mistake you won’t earn any interest for that month. Some folks don’t mind the extra work and attention required, while others do. Rates can also drop to near-zero quickly, leaving a “bait-and-switch” feeling. I don’t use any of these anymore.

  • Consumers Credit Union Free Rewards Checking (my review) still offers up to 4.09% APY on balances up to $10,000 if you make $500+ in ACH deposits, 12 debit card “signature” purchases, and spend $1,000 on their credit card each month. The Bank of Denver has a Free Kasasa Cash Checking offering 3% APY on balances up to $25,000 if you make 12 (temporarily 6) debit card purchases and at least 1 ACH credit or debit transaction per statement cycle. If you meet those qualifications, you can also link a savings account that pays 2% APY on up to $50k. Thanks to reader Bill for the tip. Find a locally-restricted rewards checking account at DepositAccounts.

Certificates of deposit (greater than 1 year)
CDs offer higher rates, but come with an early withdrawal penalty. By finding a bank CD with a reasonable early withdrawal penalty, you can enjoy higher rates but maintain access in a true emergency. Alternatively, consider building a CD ladder of different maturity lengths (ex. 1/2/3/4/5-years) such that you have access to part of the ladder each year, but your blended interest rate is higher than a savings account. When one CD matures, use that money to buy another 5-year CD to keep the ladder going. Some CDs also offer “add-ons” where you can deposit more funds if rates drop.

  • Lafayette Federal Credit Union has a 5-year certificate at 2.02% APY ($500 min). Beware that the early withdrawal penalty is 600 days of interest! Anyone can join via partner organization for one-time $10 fee. Note that you will have to park $50 in a share savings account while a member.
  • Pen Air Federal Credit Union has a 5-year certificate now at 1.85% APY ($500 minimum). Early withdrawal penalty is 180 days of interest. Their other terms are competitive (relatively), if you want build a CD ladder. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization ($3 one-time fee).
  • You can buy certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. You may need an account to see the rates. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance and easy laddering, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. Vanguard has a 5-year at 1.05% APY right now. Be wary of higher rates from callable CDs listed by Fidelity.

Longer-term Instruments
I’d use these with caution due to increased interest rate risk, but I still track them to see the rest of the current yield curve.

  • Willing to lock up your money for 10 years? You can buy long-term certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. Watch out for higher rates from callable CDs from Fidelity.
  • How about two decades? Series EE Savings Bonds are not indexed to inflation, but they have a unique guarantee that the value will double in value in 20 years, which equals a guaranteed return of 3.5% a year. However, if you don’t hold for that long, you’ll be stuck with the normal rate which is quite low (currently a sad 0.10% rate). I view this as a huge early withdrawal penalty. But if holding for 20 years isn’t an issue, it can also serve as a hedge against prolonged deflation during that time. As of 6/2/2020, the 20-year Treasury Bond rate was 1.24%.

All rates were checked as of 6/2/2020.

Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers, Investing //

Citibank $200/$400/$700 Checking Account Bonus 2020

Posted on May 28, 2020 // Leave a Comment

Citibank has tiered $200, $400, and $700 bonus offers when you open a new eligible Citi checking account by 6/30/20 and deposit and maintain a certain balance for 60 to 150 days. There is also a $1,500 bonus if you have $200,000 to move over. This offer is restricted to those who have not had a Citibank checking account within the last 180 calendar days. Here are the highlights followed by a few tips on how to optimize the bonus.

$200 bonus details:

  • Open a new eligible checking account in the Basic Banking Package during the offer period 4/01/2020 to 6/30/2020.
  • Within 30 days of opening your account, deposit $5,000 in New-to-Citibank funds into the new checking account.
  • Maintain a minimum balance of $5,000 for 60 consecutive calendar days.
  • You will receive your cash bonus within 90 days after you complete the required activities.
  • For the Basic Banking Package, to waive the $12 monthly service fee, make one qualifying direct deposit per statement period and one qualifying bill payment per statement period, or maintain a $1,500 or more combined average monthly balance in eligible linked accounts.

$400 bonus details:

  • Open new eligible checking and savings accounts in the Citibank® Account Package during the offer period 4/01/2020 to 6/30/2020.
  • Within 30 days of opening your account, deposit $15,000 in New-to-Citibank funds between the new checking and savings accounts.
  • Maintain a minimum balance of $15,000 between the checking and savings accounts for 60 consecutive calendar days.
  • You will receive your cash bonus within 90 days after you complete the required activities.
  • A monthly service fee of $25 and a $2.50 non-Citibank ATM fee apply to the checking account in the Citibank Account Package if a combined average monthly balance of $10,000 or more is not maintained.

$700 bonus details:

  • Open new eligible checking and savings accounts in the Citi Priority Account Package during the offer period 4/01/2020 to 6/30/2020.
  • Within 30 days of opening your account, deposit $50,000 in New-to-Citibank funds between the new checking and savings accounts.
  • Maintain a minimum balance of $50,000 between the checking and savings accounts for 60 consecutive calendar days.
  • You will receive your cash bonus within 90 days after you complete the required activities.
  • A monthly service fee of $30 applies to the checking account in the Citi Priority Account Package if a combined average monthly balance of $50,000 or more is not maintained. There is no monthly service fee for a checking account in the Citigold Account Package.

$1,500 bonus details:

  • Open new eligible checking and savings accounts in the Citigold Account Package during the offer period 4/01/2020 to 6/30/2020.
  • Within 30 days of opening your account, deposit $200,000 in New-to-Citibank funds between the new checking and savings accounts.
  • Maintain a minimum balance of $200,000 between the checking and savings accounts for 60 consecutive calendar days.
  • You will receive your cash bonus within 90 days after you complete the required activities.
  • If you do not maintain a minimum combined average monthly balance of $200,000 in eligible linked deposit, retirement and investment accounts, your Citigold Account Package will be converted to the Citi Priority Account Package and your accounts will be subject to the terms and conditions then in effect for that package.

Fine print analysis and value calculations. A tricky part of this bonus is the following fine print:

At the time the Cash Bonus is paid, it will be credited to the new Eligible Checking Account. If the Eligible Checking Account is closed, then the Cash Bonus will be credited to the new Eligible Savings Account. Open accounts must be in good standing.

You explicitly cannot “downgrade” your account to one with lower monthly fees during the 60 day maintenance period, but this seems to also suggest that you need to maintain the package that you opened until the bonus arrives. (It’s not 100% clear, but that is the conservative interpretation.) That means that in order to avoid the possibly hefty monthly fees, you would have to leave a certain amount of money in the account not for 60 days, but up to 150 days until the bonus is deposited.

After the 60 day maintenance period, you would want to withdraw everything not need to avoid the monthly fees, as both the checking and savings account pay negligible interest. Here’s how that would work for each tier:

  • $200 bonus tier. Deposit and maintain $5,000 for 60 days, then lower to $1,500 for 90 days.
  • $400 bonus tier. Deposit and maintain $15,000 for 60 days, then lower to $10,000 for 90 days.
  • $700 bonus tier. Deposit and maintain $50,000 for 150 days.
  • $1,500 bonus tier. Deposit and maintain $200,000 for 150 days. (There may be some alternatives like moving over some investments to satisfy the Citigold requirements.)

Bonus will be reported on 1099-INT (as should be expected). Here is the rough equivalent annualized APY earned from each bonus if you followed the schedule above exactly, got the promised bonus at the 150 day mark, and then downgraded/closed/moved your money out:

  • $200 bonus works out to ~16.5% annualized interest.
  • $400 bonus works out to ~8.0% annualized interest.
  • $700 bonus works out to ~3.4% annualized interest.
  • $1,500 bonus works out to ~1.8% annualized interest.

I have done Citibank bonuses in the past and haven’t had any issues, although they did wait until the last possible moment to post the bonus. I did not experience a hard credit check upon opening. However, others have reported having to call them up and ask for the bonus, and some have reported that they were denied the bonus improperly. Their above-average complaints of unreliability is a big reason why I would not downgrade the accounts, in order to help maintain proper bonus tracking. For all bank bonuses, be sure to keep track of your promotion details and transaction dates in a Google Doc or other spreadsheet.

Bottom line. Citibank has a set of tiered bonuses for opening a new checking and savings accounts with them, which I have broken down how to optimize based on the fine print. If you were planning on opening an account anyway, this can be a good offer. Be sure you understand the terms and conditions first.

Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers //

Tastyworks Brokerage Bonus: 100 Free Shares, Worth $100 to $600

Posted on May 18, 2020 // 9 Comments

Free stock shares are the trendy bonus nowadays – WeBull, SoFi, Robinhood, Public, and more – but how about 100 free shares? Tastyworks wants your attention by offering 100 free shares of a randomly-picked stock valued between $1 and $6 per share. That means the total value will be between $100 and $600, with an average total value of $200-$220. Offer now extended until 6/30/2020. Details below.

The odds of specific stock allocation is implemented as follows: there is a 70% chance of receiving Stock priced under $2.00 per share, and a 30% chance of receiving Stock priced over $2.00 per share. The value of Stock received will average $200-$220 USD based on the price of shares at which the Stock is purchased by tastyworks.

Tastyworks is a discount brokerage targeted at active options traders. They offer $0 comission stock trades and options commissions at $1 to open and $0 to close. That means a open/close roundtrip on options costs $1.00. TD Ameritrade, Schwab, Fidelity, and E-Trade all charge $0.65 per contract, which is $1.30 for open/close roundtrip. Thus, Tastyworks is 30% cheaper than the big brokers for options trading while also having the full fancy options interface.

For this promotion, you have to fund a new account with at least $2,000. You get the 100 bonus shares after a week, but you have to keep your $2,000 plus the value of the bonus shares for at least 3 months (otherwise they yank it back). See quoted fine print below:

The funds deposited to Qualified Customer’s account, plus the initial value of the Stock received (less any losses on the Stock) are required to remain in Qualified Customer’s account for a minimum of three months starting the day shares deposited into account, subject to extension from date of entry, before withdrawal in order for Qualified Customer to receive the value of the Stock (“Three Month Period.”) The value of stock Qualified Customer receives will be credited to their account upon deposit, but will be debited out of Qualified Customer’s account if the Three Month Period requirement is not met, and will not count toward Qualified Customer’s buying power until the end of the Three Month Period. Qualified Customers can sell their Stock once deposited into their account, but the proceeds will be subject to the foregoing Three Month Period requirement.

All that fine print aside, a $200 average payout on a $2,000 deposit with a minimum 3 month holding period is a good ratio. Just don’t go nuts with the options trading!

Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Investing //

PenFed Credit Union $200 Checking Bonus

Posted on May 12, 2020 // 15 Comments

Update: This promotion appears to have ended early.

Pentagon Federal Credit Union has a $200 bonus promotion for opening their new Access America checking account. You must deposit a minimum of $1,200, and make 5 debit card purchases within 90 days of account opening. They market this as a way of “adding $200” to your $1,200 stimulus check (not a requirement). Offer expires 6/14/20.

In order to avoid a $10 monthly fee with this account, you must maintain a $500 daily balance OR a monthly direct deposit of $500 or more. I would just keep at least $500 in the account until the bonus posts. With interest rates quickly heading back to 1% APY or lower, these bank bonuses are starting to look more appealing. For example, it would take $20,000 earning 1% APY for an entire year to make $200 in interest.

PenFed offers a variety of other financial services. With this account, you also become eligible for their 2% cash back credit card and their $250 bonus on car loan refinances. They’ve also been competitive on mortgages in the past. Unfortunately, their bank CD rates haven’t been great recently.

PenFed’s membership eligibility includes affiliated military and Federal employees, but anyone can join if they are a member of a partner organization. I have been a member for years after joining the National Military Family Association for $17. The website also states that being a previous Red Cross blood donor or volunteer makes you eligible. I recommend going through the PenFed application process and letting them guide you.

Offer valid from 5/4/2020 – 6/14/2020. Must receive at least $1200 in deposits in your checking account within 90 days of account opening and make 5 debit card purchases in the first 90 days. Only available to new personal checking members who do not have an existing checking account and qualify for an Access America Account. Once the criteria is met, the bonus will be credited to the new personal checking account no later than 120 days from account opening. Account must remain open, active and in good standing (no negative balance) at time bonus is distributed. PenFed will issue an IRS form 1099 reporting the value of the bonus. One bonus per member.

Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers //

Best Interest Rates on Cash – May 2020

Posted on May 6, 2020 // 8 Comments

The Federal Reserve is buying everything in sight (even junk bonds apparently), so it has been rate drops all around. Bank accounts now offer much higher available rates than Treasury bonds. I’d also recommend checking on your brokerage money market sweep fund as most are back to very low rates.

Here’s my monthly roundup of the best interest rates on cash for May 2020, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. I track these rates because I keep 12 months of expenses as a cash cushion and also invest in longer-term CDs (often at lesser-known credit unions) when they yield more than bonds. Check out my Ultimate Rate-Chaser Calculator to see how much extra interest you’d earn by moving money between accounts. Rates listed are available to everyone nationwide. Rates checked as of 5/6/2020.

High-yield savings accounts
While the huge megabanks make huge profits while paying you 0.01% APY, it’s easy to open a new “piggy-back” savings account and simply move some funds over from your existing checking account. The interest rates on savings accounts can drop at any time, so I list the top rates as well as competitive rates from banks with a history of competitive rates. Some banks will bait you with a temporary top rate and then lower the rates in the hopes that you are too lazy to leave.

Short-term guaranteed rates (1 year and under)
A common question is what to do with a big pile of cash that you’re waiting to deploy shortly (just sold your house, just sold your business, legal settlement, inheritance). My usual advice is to keep things simple and take your time. If not a savings account, then put it in a flexible short-term CD under the FDIC limits until you have a plan.

  • No Penalty CDs offer a fixed interest rate that can never go down, but you can still take out your money (once) without any fees if you want to use it elsewhere. Marcus has a 7-month No Penalty CD at 1.55% APY with a $500 minimum deposit. Ally Bank has a 11-month No Penalty CD at 1.50% APY with a $25,000 minimum deposit. CIT Bank has a 11-month No Penalty CD at 1.40% APY with a $1,000 minimum deposit. You may wish to open multiple CDs in smaller increments for more flexibility.
  • Comenity Direct has a 12-month CD at 1.70% APY ($1,500 min).

Money market mutual funds + Ultra-short bond ETFs
If you like to keep cash in a brokerage account, beware that many brokers pay out very little interest on their default cash sweep funds (and keep the difference for themselves). The following money market and ultra-short bond funds are NOT FDIC-insured and thus come with a possibility of principal loss, but may be a good option if you have idle cash and cheap/free commissions.

  • Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund currently pays an 0.57% SEC yield. The default sweep option is the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund which has an SEC yield of 0.40%. You can manually move the money over to Prime if you meet the $3,000 minimum investment.
  • Vanguard Ultra-Short-Term Bond Fund currently pays 2.00% SEC yield ($3,000 min) and 2.10% SEC Yield ($50,000 min). The average duration is ~1 year, so there is more interest rate risk.
  • The PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active Bond ETF (MINT) has a 2.47% SEC yield and the iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF (NEAR) has a 2.48% SEC yield while holding a portfolio of investment-grade bonds with an average duration of ~6 months. Note that the higher yield come partly from a drop in net asset value during the recent market stress.

Treasury Bills and Ultra-short Treasury ETFs
Another option is to buy individual Treasury bills which come in a variety of maturities from 4-weeks to 52-weeks. You can also invest in ETFs that hold a rotating basket of short-term Treasury Bills for you, while charging a small management fee for doing so. T-bill interest is exempt from state and local income taxes. Right now, this section probably isn’t very interesting as T-Bills are yielding close to zero!

  • You can build your own T-Bill ladder at TreasuryDirect.gov or via a brokerage account with a bond desk like Vanguard and Fidelity. Here are the current Treasury Bill rates. As of 5/6/2020, a new 4-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 0.09% annualized interest and a 52-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 0.16% annualized interest.
  • The Goldman Sachs Access Treasury 0-1 Year ETF (GBIL) has a 0.57% SEC yield and the SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL) has a 0.14% SEC yield. GBIL appears to have a slightly longer average maturity than BIL. Expect that GBIL yield to drop significantly as it is updated.

US Savings Bonds
Series I Savings Bonds offer rates that are linked to inflation and backed by the US government. You must hold them for at least a year. There are annual purchase limits. If you redeem them within 5 years there is a penalty of the last 3 months of interest.

  • “I Bonds” bought between May 2020 and October 2020 will earn a 1.06% rate for the first six months. The rate of the subsequent 6-month period will be based on inflation again. More info here.
  • In mid-October 2020, the CPI will be announced and you will have a short period where you will have a very close estimate of the rate for the next 12 months. I will have another post up at that time.

Prepaid Cards with Attached Savings Accounts
A small subset of prepaid debit cards have an “attached” FDIC-insured savings account with exceptionally high interest rates. The negatives are that balances are capped, and there are many fees that you must be careful to avoid (lest they eat up your interest). Some folks don’t mind the extra work and attention required, while others do. There is a long list of previous offers that have already disappeared with little notice. I don’t personally recommend nor use any of these anymore.

  • The only notable card left in this category is Mango Money at 6% APY on up to $2,500, but there are many hoops to jump through. Requirements include $1,500+ in “signature” purchases and a minimum balance of $25.00 at the end of the month.

Rewards checking accounts
These unique checking accounts pay above-average interest rates, but with unique risks. You have to jump through certain hoops, and if you make a mistake you won’t earn any interest for that month. Some folks don’t mind the extra work and attention required, while others do. Rates can also drop to near-zero quickly, leaving a “bait-and-switch” feeling. I don’t use any of these anymore.

  • Consumers Credit Union Free Rewards Checking (my review) still offers up to 4.09% APY on balances up to $10,000 if you make $500+ in ACH deposits, 12 debit card “signature” purchases, and spend $1,000 on their credit card each month. The Bank of Denver has a Free Kasasa Cash Checking offering 3% APY on balances up to $25,000 if you make 12 debit card “signature” purchases and at least 1 ACH credit or debit transaction per statement cycle. If you meet those qualifications, you can also link a savings account that pays 2% APY on up to $50k. Thanks to reader Bill for the tip. Find a locally-restricted rewards checking account at DepositAccounts.

Certificates of deposit (greater than 1 year)
CDs offer higher rates, but come with an early withdrawal penalty. By finding a bank CD with a reasonable early withdrawal penalty, you can enjoy higher rates but maintain access in a true emergency. Alternatively, consider building a CD ladder of different maturity lengths (ex. 1/2/3/4/5-years) such that you have access to part of the ladder each year, but your blended interest rate is higher than a savings account. When one CD matures, use that money to buy another 5-year CD to keep the ladder going. Some CDs also offer “add-ons” where you can deposit more funds if rates drop.

  • The Federal Savings Bank has a 5-year certificate at 2.05% APY ($10,000 minimum). Early withdrawal penalty is 365 days of interest.
  • Pen Air Federal Credit Union has a 5-year certificate at 2.20% APY ($500 minimum). Early withdrawal penalty is 180 days of interest. Their other terms are competitive as well, if you want build a CD ladder. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization ($3 one-time fee).
  • You can buy certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. You may need an account to see the rates. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance and easy laddering, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. Vanguard and Fidelity both have a 5-year at 1.00% APY right now. Be wary of higher rates from callable CDs listed by Fidelity.

Longer-term Instruments
I’d use these with caution due to increased interest rate risk, but I still track them to see the rest of the current yield curve.

  • Willing to lock up your money for 10 years? You can buy long-term certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. Watch out for higher rates from callable CDs from Fidelity.
  • How about two decades? Series EE Savings Bonds are not indexed to inflation, but they have a unique guarantee that the value will double in value in 20 years, which equals a guaranteed return of 3.5% a year. However, if you don’t hold for that long, you’ll be stuck with the normal rate which is quite low (currently a sad 0.10% rate). I view this as a huge early withdrawal penalty. You could also view it as a hedge against prolonged deflation (again if you can hold on for 20 years). As of 5/6/2020, the 20-year Treasury Bond rate was 1.16%.

All rates were checked as of 5/6/2020.

Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers, Investing //

Red Pocket Mobile: iPhone SE $299 with 2 Years Service (Starts At $10/Month)

Posted on April 27, 2020 // Leave a Comment

(One more iPhone SE deal! Apologies if these bore you; I have no more planned. They do also happen to be the cheapest MVNOs for anyone with an existing phone. Compare with Visible and Mint Mobile.)

Red Pocket Mobile is an MVNO with very competitive pricing that doesn’t stick with any single network. You can choose which one you want: AT&T (GSMA), Sprint (CDMAS), T-Mobile (GSMT), and Verizon (CDMA). They aren’t allowed to actually use the trademarked names on their pages, but it’s an easy conversion. Note that the pricing for certain plans differs by the network chosen, and they often shift the pricing around with limited-time offers. If bringing over your own device and you want to switch networks, use their compatibility checker first.

Their current front page deal is the iPhone SE for regular price ($399) but with 6 months of free 3GB service. At $14/month, this could be seen as a $84 discount. However, if you proceed to the iPhone SE purchase page and agree to a 12 month or 24 month term, you can get alternative discounts on the phone itself instead as well as long-term discounts on the service. If you commit to 2 years, you can get the iPhone SE for $299 ($100 off) and have a choice of several monthly plans.

Example: iPhone SE + 2 years of Unlimited talk, text, and 3 GB LTE data = $299 + $336 = $635 for 2 years. This works out close to $26.50 per month. Breaks down to $12.50/month for the phone and $14/month for service. GSMA network (AT&T). You can upgrade to 7GB LTE for $20/month, 15 GB LTE for $30/month, or Unlimited LTE for $45/month. You could also downgrade to 1,000 minutes, unlimited text, and 1 GB LTE data for $10/month. After you reach your LTE data allotment each month, you still get unlimited data at slower 2G speeds. Looks like a little bit more if you finance it over monthly payments. UPS Ground shipping is free.

iPhone SE 2020 quick take. Apple’s new $400 iPhone SE may be called a “budget” phone, but it is a “parts bin” phone that saves money not by using lower-quality ingredients, but instead by combining high-quality parts from other iPhones. If you’re okay with the older body style (might be what you already have), this phone is a great value at $400 (64 GB). Check out the review from your favorite tech site, but here are the basics:

  • Screen/Body: iPhone 8. Same outer shape as iPhone 6/7/8. Retina 4.7″ screen. Touch ID (no Face ID).
  • Latest CPU: iPhone 11 Pro. Same A13 Bionic chip as inside the current iPhone 11 Pro that costs $1,000. These fast internals mean this phone won’t be obsolete for 4+ years.
  • Camera: iPhone XR+. The hardware specs are like the iPhone XR which still costs $600 today. However, combined with the faster internals, Apple added software improvements to make it take better photos (better portrait mode, etc). Still an upgrade over the iPhone 6/7/8 cameras.
Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Frugal Living //

Visible Promo: iPhone SE $184 Net Price After Paying 2 Months Service

Posted on April 26, 2020 // 2 Comments

(After I wrote this up, the iPhone SE went out of stock. If you want this deal, I would check back regularly as it might be going to be in and out of stock for a while.)

Visible is one of multiple discount MVNOs that use the Verizon network, but they are the only one directly owned by Verizon (smart move, VZ). Their current promo gives you a $100 Prepaid card to bring over your own existing device after paying for two months of service. However, if you can also buy the iPhone SE 2020 for $384 + get a $200 Prepaid Mastercard after paying for two months of service. That’s a net price of $184, although Visible may cost more on a monthly basis than you might pay with another MVNO like Mint Mobile. You should compare the all-in total prices over two years, along with other factors like data usage, network preference, and upfront costs vs. monthly payments.

Visible costs $40 a month and includes unlimited talk, text, and LTE data. Right now, the first month is $25/month. Verizon network. No contracts. Online customer service only. Mobile hotspot included for one tethered device at up to 5 Mbps max. Data may be slowed during network congestion. Visible also has a Party Pay feature where if you can join with a group of two, three, or four, you can get it down to $25/month. Each person manages their Visible account and their bill separately. You can join a Party at any time after becoming a Visible customer. Try the r/VisiblePartyPay subreddit to join with some random people on the internet (which appears to be within the rules).

iPhone SE 2020 quick take. Apple’s new $400 iPhone SE may be called a “budget” phone, but I prefer to think of it as a “parts bin” phone that saves money not by using cheaper, low-quality ingredients, but instead by RE-using high-quality parts from other iPhones. If you’re okay with the older body style (might be what you already have), this phone is a great value at $400 (64 GB). Check out the review from your favorite tech site, but here’s my take:

  • Screen/Body: iPhone 8. Same size as iPhone 6/7/8. Retina 4.7″ screen. Touch ID (no Face ID).
  • Latest CPU: iPhone 11 Pro. Same A13 Bionic chip as inside the current iPhone 11 Pro that costs $1,000. These fast internals mean this phone won’t be obsolete for 4+ years.
  • Camera: iPhone XR+. The hardware specs are like the iPhone XR which still costs $600 today. However, combined with the faster internals, Apple added software improvements to make it take better photos (portrait mode, etc). The camera is still significantly better than iPhone 6/7/8.

Here is the fine print on the promo. Just know that it is a rebate that you have to wait a bit for, as opposed to getting the discount upfront or via a monthly payment plan.

Buy an eligible device from us, pay for your first two months of service, and you’ll get a Prepaid Mastercard Virtual Account sent to you via email. Purchase a device over $400 and you’ll get a $200 Prepaid Mastercard Virtual Account. The Apple iPhone SE is also eligible for the $200 Prepaid Mastercard Virtual Account. Purchase a device under $400, but still more than $50, and you’ll receive a $100 Prepaid Mastercard Virtual Account*. Certain Samsung devices are not eligible. Already have a phone you love? No problem. If it’s compatible with Visible, just activate it, pay for two months of service, and we’ll email you a $100 Prepaid Mastercard Virtual Account too.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //
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