Sling by Dish: Live Internet TV with ESPN for $20 a Month

One of the notable announcements from the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show that Dish Network will stream a package of major cable networks live over the internet. Getting channels like ESPN, Food Network, and CNN without a traditional cable subscription is a big shift in the industry and a sign of things to come. Official press release, NYT.

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The specific product is called Sling TV and Dish promises to offer the following 12 channels as part of their “The Best of Live TV” core package for just $20 a month:

  • ESPN (live sports!)
  • ESPN2
  • CNN
  • Food Network
  • Travel Channel
  • HGTV
  • Cartoon Network
  • TNT
  • TBS
  • Cartoon Network
  • Disney Channel
  • ABC Family

Here is a list of devices that it will work on:

  • iOS and Android devices
  • Mac / OS X
  • Windows PC
  • Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
  • Google Nexus Player
  • Select LG and Samsung Smart TVs
  • Roku TVs, boxes, and Streaming Stick
  • Xbox One

No contracts, no hardware installation, no credit check. More channels will be available in themed packages at an extra cost. The service is designed for individuals – You can only stream one show at once. (You can’t watch CNN on your TV and then ESPN on your tablet. Or it seems CNN on your TV and CNN on your tablet.) Even though I watch less TV than ever, I still pay for traditional cable for the ability to watch ESPN or Travel Channel when I do happen to catch some free time. This type of package could save me some bucks.

Related: Haggle to lower your cable and satellite TV bills.

Sam’s Club $25 Discount – New and Renewal Memberships

samslogoSam’s Club has a new deal that can get you a $25 gift card when you join or renew your membership. Here is the deal link, but everyone who does the Facebook share ends up at this page (in case you don’t do Facebook). Print it out (or load on phone) and bring it to the store to get your $25 gift card.

This is one of the few deals that I’ve seen still good for existing members. Sam’s Club gift cards also work at Wal-mart. Expires 1/31/15.

Free EPIX Movie Membership Trial

epixlogoMovie streaming service EPIX and the NHL are giving away a free trial membership good until March 6, 2015. Only thing you really need is a working e-mail address; no credit card or personal information required.

Won’t work on your TV, you’ll need an internet connection. Compatible with iPhone/iPad app, Android app, Chromecast, Roku, PS3, PS4, XBOX 360, and other streaming devices. Note: When logging in, under provider choose “Free NHL Trial”.

If you already have Amazon Prime, you’ll see a lot of overlap as Amazon has a partnership agreement with EPIX. Otherwise, a nice freebie, especially for the cable TV cord-cutters out there in need of some free holiday viewing material.

20% off Gift Cards to Various Retailers & Restaurants

chilicardAmazon runs various temporary “Lightning Deals”, but if you filter to only show the Gift Card deals you’ll see a running list of gift cards to various retailers at 20% off for a limited time. Amazon Prime members get early access, but many of them don’t sell out and there is also a waitlist option.

For Thursday, December 18th, the line-up includes Chilis/Maggianos/Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Dave & Busters, and AMC Theatres. Seems like an easy way to knock out some last-minute gifts at 20% off face value (i.e. , $20 for $25 gift card, or $40 for $50 gift card). Physical cards get free shipping.

Stack this discount with the 5% cash back at Amazon from Chase Freedom and Discover It cards this quarter.

Similar deals!

  • Get a $20 eGift card if you buy $100 in eGift cards for Panera Bread.
  • Get a free slice of cheesecake with a $25 gift card purchase (electronic or physical) at Cheesecake Factory.
  • Free large pizza if you buy a $25 gift card at Papa Johns.
  • Get $5 eGift card if you buy $25 eGift card at Petco.

Find more special offers by going through the list here at Cashstar and looking for the red “Special Offer” banner.

Send a Starbucks $20 Gift Card for $10 with Visa (Expired)

Expired as of midnight Eastern. I thought 100k would last longer than a day. Starbucks has a new $10 holiday bonus promotion:

Be one of the first 100,000 to buy a Starbucks Card eGift (min $10) with your Visa® card and we will add an additional $10, courtesy of Visa. Send $10—they get $20, send $25—they get $35, send $50—they get $60, just for using your Visa card. Offer valid from 12/8–12/12/14. One per person. Cannot send to yourself.

Starbucks is verifying people follow the terms. Your eGift card must be sent to a different e-mail address than your own and purchased with a Visa credit card that hasn’t been used with the promo. How do you know if you’re still in the first 100,000? Look for the sentence “This offer is still available” after the quoted text above.

I wish this was physical cards, those are better for gifts to friends. Alternatively, a couple could gift each other $20 gift cards for $10 each. The recipient only sees the $20 gift card, no mention the sender got a discount. Here’s one of our receipts:

sbux20

US Airways Premier World MasterCard Review: 50,000 Mile Bonus (Updated)

Bonus improved from 40k to 50k miles for limited time. American Airlines and US Airways have announced new details about their upcoming merger. As expected, the two frequent flier programs will merge and all the miles will become American AAdvantage miles in 2015. (US Airways Dividend miles will convert at a 1:1 ratio.) Along with that, they have updated both the Citi American Airlines card and Barclaycard US Airways card slightly.

Here are the updated features of the US Airways Premier World MasterCard®. I got the bonus myself (unfortunately at only 40k miles) and have posted details on that below as well.

  • Earn 50,000 bonus miles after your first purchase and payment of the $89 annual fee
  • First checked bag free on eligible bags for you and up to four companions on domestic US Airways operated flights only.
  • One companion certificate good for up to 2 guests to travel with you on a US Airways operated flight at $99 each, plus taxes and fees.
  • Priority boarding Zone 2 on US Airways operated flights only.
  • Redeem miles for award travel on US Airways and American Airlines booked through usairways.com or US Airways Reservations
  • Earn miles on every purchase with 2 miles for every $1 you spend on US Airways and American Airlines purchases and 1 mile for every $1 on purchases everywhere else
  • New! Receive a 25% savings on eligible US Airways and American Airlines in-flight purchases
  • Please see terms and conditions for complete details

Again, the unique thing about this card is that American Airlines and US Airways are merging and these bonus miles will become American miles. You can already book reward flights on American with US Airways miles. That also means this Barclaycard-issued card will no longer be accepting applications and you won’t be able to get its sign-up bonus or other unique perks ever again. It is reported that this card will eventually convert essentially into a Barclaycard American Airlines card. So these are miles I didn’t want to leave on the table.

Note that 50,000 mile bonus does not require any minimum purchase amount and that there is an $89 annual fee that is not waived for the first year. 50,000 miles for example is more than enough for a roundtrip from the US to Hawaii or even two roundtrips within the continental US, so that is worth it for me. The US Airways companion certificate is also a unique feature which would be awesome if it eventually applied to American flights (though it probably won’t).

My bonus experience. Applied on 7/14. Approved on 7/21. First statement closed on 8/12, in which I charged $10 and also paid the $89 annual fee. I read some stories about other people making only a single purchase (the minimum technically required) but having to call in about the bonus. Thus, I put on another 4 small charges during the second statement period which ended 9/12 totaling about $49. My 40,000 bonus miles posted 9/13, one day after the closing of my second statement period. Here is a screenshot:

usair40k

The card is issued by Barclaycard, which means you also get a free FICO score every couple months.

Gyft: $40 in Amazon Gift Cards for $30

Updated. This may be a limited-time offer, but here’s how a new Gyft.com customer can get $40 in Amazon Gift Cards for $30. Plus, you can even get a $5 gift card to Toys R Us. (There are other ways to spin this deal, but Amazon gift cards are the most flexible.)

  1. Go to Gyft.com and open a new account. Validate your e-mail address by checking your e-mail and clicking on the link inside.
  2. Check your Gyft Wallet and you should see a $5 Gytf promo code ($15 minimum purchase required). Copy the $5 Gyft code.
  3. (Optional) You can try to stack the 3% cash back from shopping portal TopCashBack, or if you don’t have an account you could try to earn the sign-up bonuses from eBates ($10 new customer bonus) or Mr. Rebates ($5 bonus).
  4. On Gyft, add a $15 Amazon gift card to your cart. When checking out, if possible pick Google Wallet as your payment method (for $5 Toys R Us promo card). Link whatever rewards credit card you like to Google Wallet, and make the $10 purchase.
  5. Now start a new purchase. Add another $25 Amazon gift card to your cart, and apply the promo code FDFAMILY (for $5 off $25 purchase). You must pay with a method other than Google Wallet, so just pick PayPal or credit card. Make the $20 purchase.
  6. Now you’ll have charged $30 on your credit card, and you’ll have $40 in Amazon gift cards that you can use immediately. Plus a $5 Toys R Us gift code. I did my purchases little differently back when you could stack the two promos, but the result was the same.

    gyft1

    gyft2

    Only took about 5 minutes, and I have already applied the codes to my Amazon account. Credit to FW and SD.

    Perhaps someone else has a way, but I was only able to see my $5 Toys R Us gift card (also works at Babies R Us) via the Google Wallet mobile app on Android or iOS. The code works in-store as well as online.

Capital One Consumer Bank Black Friday $100 New Account Promo

Cap One 360 Checking Banner

UPDATEThis promotion is now EXPIRED.

Capital One Consumer Bank has a few Black Friday weekend deals including …

  • $100 bonus for their 360 Checking Account
  • $100 bonus for their 360 Savings Account

This has to be your (or your joint account holder‘s) first 360 Checking Account (including Electric Orange Checking). Additionally, this has to be your (or your joint account holder‘s) first 360 Savings Account (including Orange Savings Accounts).  Good from Black Friday, November 28th at 12am ET to the end of Cyber Monday, December 1st 11:59pm ET.   This is usually the biggest bonus they’ll offer all year.

PNC Bank Card + Visa Checkout $10 Bonus

Get a $10 statement credit via this link when you enroll in Visa Checkout with a PNC Bank Visa debit or credit card by 12/31/2014. You don’t actually have to buy anything for this promotion.

Visa Checkout allows you to pay at participating online merchants without having to type in your card numbers every time, although you’ll need to remember your username and password (like Paypal).

Offer valid 10/20/14-12/31/14. Within 3 statement cycles after enrollment in Visa Checkout, customer will receive a $10 statement credit to either the enrolled PNC Visa credit card account or the primary checking account associated with the enrolled PNC Visa debit card, whichever card is listed as the preferred card in Visa Checkout. Business cards excluded. Limit of one $10 statement credit per customer.

Bank of America Card + Visa Checkout $10 Bonus

This offer is EXPIRED.  Get a $10 Prepaid Reward Visa® Card via this link when you enroll in Visa Checkout with a Bank of America Visa debit or credit card by 12/4/2014. You’ll need to be a new Visa Checkout account customer and add a BofA consumer card, but the promo doesn’t require you to actually buy anything.

Visa Checkout allows you to pay at participating online merchants without having to type in your card numbers every time, although you’ll need to remember your username and password (like Paypal).

To qualify for this offer, you must (1) create a new Visa Checkout account for the first time by [12/4/2014] via the “Enroll now” link above, via http://promo.bankofamerica.com/visa-checkout/ or the Visa Checkout link in Bank of America’s Online Banking, AND (2) add at least one consumer Bank of America issued Visa credit or debit card to the new Visa Checkout account during the initial account set-up (other cards do not qualify for this offer). Allow 60 days from Visa Checkout account opening for delivery of the Reward card to the billing address of the Bank of America issued Visa credit or debit card first added to the Visa Checkout account. Limit one (1) Reward card per customer.

AmEx Small Business Card Offers: $150 off $150 AT&T Wireless

Quickly since this won’t apply to everyone – If you have a American Express Business card with OPEN, check to see if you were offered $150 back at AT&T Wireless. Simply log into your AmEx account online and scroll down until you see the “Amex Offers For You” tab. Not everyone will have this, but for those that do, simply make a $150 payment to your AT&T Wireless bill by phone at 800-331-0500 with that business card, and get that $150 back in statement credit!

amexbizatt150

Fine print:

[Read more…]

Target Gift Cards 10% Off on Black Friday 2015

I usually don’t write much about Black Friday “deals” as it usually involves a lot of stuff most people don’t need anyway, but this year it caught my attention that Target is selling their gift cards at 10% off face value. Here are details according to their Black Friday ad [pdf] hosted by Fatwallet.

  • 10% Off all Target GiftCards valid in stores on Friday, 11/28/14 from 6am until 12pm Noon local time and at Target.com from 6am until 12pm Noon Central time.
  • Target Gift cards purchased during this offer can only be used beginning Saturday, November 29th (no double-dipping on Black Friday).
  • Offer valid for up to $300 in Target Giftcard purchases per household. (Not sure how they’d enforce the per-household rule in-store, perhaps by billing address online.)
  • Quantities limited, no rainchecks.

The good news is that you can buy online, but the max discount is $30 on $300 of gift cards (less if you’d otherwise use Target RedCard with 5% off). Also, what is up with “quantities limited”? Why limit access to their own gift cards when they already restrict the time to purchase and place a cap on purchases? Hopefully they make this promo run smoothly.

As reader Helena points out, you can also use your Discover It card and get an additional 5% off if you buy the gift cards online at Target.com.

target10bf