Virgin Mobile has extended their promotion offering a full year of unlimited service for $1 for new customers who buy an iPhone and transfer their number, as well as current Virgin Mobile customers who upgrade to an iPhone. Auto-pay required. It has officially been extended through 8/31/17.

Virgin Mobile USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sprint and is thus on the Sprint network. Unlimited talk, text, and data with de-prioritization after 23 GB each month. Although taxes are technically not included, people report being charged only 8 cents per month, so apparently it’s not a concern. After the first year, the unlimited plan costs $50 a month including all taxes as this is a prepaid service.

The cost of the newest iPhones from Virgin Mobile is comparable to buying direct from Apple. For example, iPhone 7 32GB version is $649. However, there are discounts for older models: iPhone 6 32GB is $320. iPhone SE 32GB is $280.

Compare this offer with the Sprint Free Year of Unlimited offer. For the Sprint offer, you must bring your own eligible device and qualify via a hard credit check. If you don’t want an iPhone, you could buy a New Unlocked Moto E4 for $99 from Amazon. For this Virgin Mobile offer, you must buy a new iPhone for at least $280 but there is no credit check. Sprint includes mobile hotspot tethering, while Virgin charges an extra $10 a month.

Per this press release, Virgin will also throw in the following perks:

• A round-trip companion ticket to the United Kingdom on Virgin Atlantic
• One night’s stay at Virgin Hotels
• $170 savings on an introductory offer to Virgin Wines club
• Up to 20% off flights on Virgin America
• 20% off on the Virgin Sport San Francisco Festival of Fitness (Oct. 13-15)

If you wanted to buy an iPhone anyway (a new model is coming out soon) and are okay with the Sprint network, this can work out to a good deal. You could get a new iPhone 6 (which is still perfectly useable in my opinion) and a year of Unlimited talk/text/data service for $321. After the first year, you’ll still have the iPhone 6 which you can use on another network.

Alaska Airlines has a Dash for Miles promotion where you can earn up to 3,000 bonus miles: 1,000 bonus miles times three partner sites through September 30, 2017. You must register at the link above first, and then complete at least one transaction from any of the following:

• Mileage Plan Dining
• Mileage Plan Shopping
• The Opinion Terminal

All of these sites are relatively easy to participate in. Mileage Plan Dining has a relatively wide restaurant network and you could link a credit card and buy a $2 soda. Mileage Plan shopping can be triggered with a $5 purchase at Staples.com, Gap.com, or Groupon. The Opinion Terminal only takes the time commitment to fill out an initial survey. (I was able to get the 400 miles after about 15 minutes. Some people only get 5 miles, but that’s enough to trigger the 1,000 point bonus.)

This promo can also be used to reset the expiration of your Alaska Mileage Plan miles for another 24 months. If a Mileage Plan account is inactive for 2 years, Alaska Airlines may close the account, delete any mileage balance and reassign the Mileage Plan number. Deleted mileage can be reinstated for a fee for up to 1 year.

Dash for Miles Challenge Offer Terms & Conditions:

Limited time offer valid August 7, 2017 through September 30, 2017: Mileage Plan™ members who register for this offer and complete at least one transaction with each of Mileage Plan Dining, Mileage Plan Shopping, and Miles for Surveys during the promotional period will receive 1,000 bonus Miles for each partner they earn with. Registration is required prior to the first qualifying transaction. Bonus Miles do not count towards Mileage Plan Elite Status. Bonus Miles will be awarded within six weeks of the last qualifying transaction posting to a member’s account. All terms and conditions of the Mileage Plan program apply. Offer subject to change without notice.

Here’s another promotion for Visa Checkout (they are really pushing this thing). Create a new Visa Checkout account from Marriott.com and earn up to 1,000 free Marriott Rewards points: Earn 500 points when you sign up for Visa Checkout on Marriott.com and 500 points when you use Visa Checkout within 15 days of signing up.

Stack with the Starbucks / Visa Checkout promo. You can have multiple Visa Checkout accounts (each one needs a separate e-mail/phone number and credit card). For this promo, the e-mail address must match between Visa Checkout and Marriott Rewards, so you might need to change one or the other beforehand. Fine print:

Offer valid through 9/24/17 while supplies last. Only new Visa Checkout users eligible. Address on Visa Checkout account must match email address associated with Marriott Rewards member account. […] Allow 6 to 8 weeks from the end of the Promotion Period for delivery of the bonus points award. Marriott Rewards members who have elected in their account profile to earn miles are not eligible for the Promotion.

Fall promo is live. Starbucks is selling $20 Starbucks Gift Card for $10 if you buy it using Visa Checkout instead of credit card directly. Limited to the first 225,000 loads, but if you can still buy a gift card at the link, then the promotion is should still be alive. Otherwise valid 8/14/17 to 9/30/17.

Hey, Starbucks finally figured out that it would be nice to have all this reflected during checkout! A screenshot from my order:

Selected terms:

Promotional Offer Terms: Read the following terms to see how you can get a promotional $10 added to the value of your Starbucks eGift Card while supplies last (“Bonus Load”). Starbucks will give away 225,000 Bonus Loads between 8/14/17 and 9/30/17 (“Promotional Period”). To receive a Bonus Load, you must purchase a minimum $10 Starbucks eGift Card with your valid Visa Checkout® Account during the Promotional Period and meet other eligibility requirements below.

Back again, but different? I’m not sure if this works if you’ve already done it before, but there is a new Chirpify promotional page with a new #RewardsPoints hashtag (instead of #MRpoints) showing the following opportunities:

• 750 free points. 250 points each for linking your Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts.
• 250 free points. 125 points each for following Marriott Rewards on Twitter and Instagram.
• ???. There is a vague reference to additional points earning opportunities. “A maximum of 45,000 points per Marriott Rewards account can be earned each calendar year through #RewardsPoints.”

Here’s a link to the FAQ. I don’t know why all these things ask for the ability to post on your behalf, but then promise “we won’t post on your behalf”. So why ask for it? Just as with secondary e-mail accounts, some people choose to keep secondary social media accounts…

LivingSocial has a Costco Gold Star Membership Package where for $60 you can get $215.63 value:

• 1-year Gold Star membership ($60 normally), which includes a membership card for the primary cardholder as well as one free Household Card
• $20 Costco Cash card
• $$35.63 in free coupons – Free Paper Towels Create-a-Size 12/160 ct ($15.69 value), Free VitaRain Zero Flavored Water 24/20 oz bottles ($9.99 value), and Free Food Court Whole Pizza ($9.95 value)
• $25 off an order of $250 on Costco.com
• $75 Costco Cash Card toward Costco Travel to the Caribbean, Costa Rica, Europe, Hawaii, Mexico, or the South Pacific (excludes cruises)

Valid for new members only, which here means the primary cardholder can’t have a current Costco membership or a membership that expired after April 1, 2017. Offer is valid at all U.S. Costco locations.

The last $100 is harder to redeem, but the $20 gift card and $25 in free paper towels/pizza still makes it a pretty good deal if you have a household member without a current membership.

Remember that you can save a bit more on your LivingSocial purchases with cashback shopping sites like eBates ($5 new customer bonus) and Mr. Rebates ($5 bonus).

My strategy for saving money on shaving is simple. I buy a bunch of razors once every 2 years, and use one razor per month. I try not to pay more than $1 per razor, so my total shaving bill is under $12 a year. To make sure they stay comfortable, I dry thoroughly after each use (some people use alcohol or mineral oil). I also hone occassionally with my forearm or jeans.

Here’s an example deal for under $1 per razor. Dorco USA (which also makes the blades for Dollar Shave Club) is currently offering 50% off their Frugal Dude Pack with promo code AFFDP717 good through 7/21/17. It’s a mix of 3-,4-, and 6-blade systems. The combo includes 2 handles, 16 cartridges, and 12 disposables. They call this a 1-year supply (at 13 days per razor), but this would last me 2 years (at 26 days per razor) as my facial hair is wimpy.

That’s a total of 28 razors for $23.85 with free shipping included, which works out to $0.85 per razor. Here’s a screenshot:

I’ve been quite satisfied with the quality of Dorco razors. If you want to try it out first, you can get Pace 6 For Men (1 handle, 2 cartridges) for $1.99 shipped with promo code AFPACE6718. Good through 7/21/17. That’s still $1 per cartridge. Note that you should pick budget shipping, go to the end where you enter the promo code, THEN update the shipping cost, THEN it will show budget shipping as $0.00. Screenshot.

I know that some folks prefer safety razors, for which you can buy a quality handle for $24 and then buy refills for 12 cents each after that, which also sounds perfectly reasonable if you enjoy that style of shaving.

JetBlue Airlines has a free status match program where they will upgrade you to JetBlue Mosaic status if you have elite status with another airline loyalty program. Here are the qualifying levels at other airlines:

• Virgin America: Elevate Silver, Gold
• Alaska Airlines: Mileage Plan MVP Gold or MVP Gold 75k
• American Airlines: AAdvantage Platinum, Platinum Pro, Executive Platinum®
• Delta: SkyMiles Medallion Silver, Gold, Platinum or Diamond
• Southwest Airlines: Rapid Rewards® A-List Preferred or Companion Pass
• United: MileagePlus Premier Silver, Gold, Platinum or Premier1K

If you become/are a TrueBlue member and submit proof of your qualifying status, you will get Mosaic status free through the rest of 2017. You can then enjoy the perks listed below.

In addition, anyone (even without elite status) can take on the Mosaic Challenge. If you earn 3,750 base flight TrueBlue points in 90 days, you will get Mosaic through through December 31, 2018. This basically means you must spend $1,250 on JetBlue-operated flights for yourself within those 90 days. (Points earned via credit cards or other people’s flights don’t count.)

Mosaic benefits include:

• Waived change and cancellation fees. Waived for Mosaic members and others on their itinerary.
• Two free checked bags. Mosaic members and companions on the same itinerary can check both the first and second bag for free.
• Priority security line access.
• Early boarding access.
• Bonus points. Earn an additional 3 TrueBlue points per dollar on your JetBlue flight, for at least 9 points per dollar if you book on jetblue.com.
• Dedicated phone number. Get access to a dedicated Customer Service Line available 24/7.
• Free drinks. Enjoy complimentary alcoholic beverages onboard.

Also see: JetBlue Credit Card from Barclaycard Review

Choice Hotels is also offering a public free status match to Gold or Platinum Elite status from another hotel program. Potential perks include point bonuses on qualifying stays, longer booking windows for reward nights, and a free welcome gift.

If you status match between July-December, you’ll get up to Elite Platinum level for the rest of this current year and the following year. If you status match from January-June, it only runs for the current year.

Simply email Status_Match@choicehotels.com with the following information:

• Full Name
• Choice Privileges Member Number
• Proof of Elite status in other hotel program:
  Screenshot or copy of your other program’s loyalty card (with expiration date)
  Or, screenshot or copy of other program’s current statement or account status page

Choice Hotels include the following brands:

• Comfort Inn
• Comfort Suites
• Quality Inn
• Sleep Inn
• Clarion
• Cambria hotels & suites
• MainStay Suites
• Suburban
• Econo Lodge
• Rodeway Inn

Here are other status match programs:

• Virgin Atlantic Airlines Free Status Match
• Hilton Hotels Free Status Match