Caution: American Express Prepaid Card will start charging fees 10/15/15

If you have an American Express Prepaid Card (not to be confused with Gift Cards), starting October 15 in 2015 they will begin charging a $4.95 monthly fee (except for three states that probably have laws against it (New York, Arkansas, Texas)). You cannot avoid the monthly fee no matter what. The easiest way to deal with this is to use up your remaining balance before the new fees arrive. Screenshot of the relevant parts of the email below:

amex_prepaid_new_fees

The reason they are doing this is likely because they recently launched a new prepaid option, the American Express Serve, which has more benefits than the Prepaid but it’s a different card and you have to apply for it separately.

If you have a card, you may have received an email from them outlining this transition. The email also mentions an offer that encourages customers to apply for the new Serve card: get a $25 account credit if you spend $25 or more with a new Serve account.

June 9, 2015 Filed Under: shopping Tagged With: ,

Surprise! The Discover Q3 (2015) 5% Rewards include Amazon.com

Surprise! For the 3rd quarter of 2015, the Discover 5% Cashback Bonus includes Amazon.com! Typically Amazon is included in the 4th quarter with the holiday shopping, so this is a nice bonus for frequent shoppers over there. Amazon is in addition to Department Stores and Home Improvement Stores eligible for the 5% bonus in the 3rd quarter (July 1 until September 30 in 2015).

You can activate this promotion right now to be ready. You will earn rewards on this promotion starting July 1st. Unlike Chase Ultimate Rewards that offer retroactive bonuses, this only works going forward, so it’s always a good idea to sign up as early as possible. The usual $1500 quarterly limit applies.

discover_Q3_2015_cashback_bonus

The fineprint has some more details on what qualifies (after the break)…

[Read more…]

June 9, 2015 Filed Under: shopping Tagged With: ,

Plenti Rewards: Get 10% (or 20%) Points on $50 Google Play Gift Card

If you are part of the Plenti Rewards program and are looking for a Google Play Gift Card at a better price, head on over to Rite Aid this week (ends Saturday 6/13/15). If you buy a $50 Google Play Gift Card, you will earn 500 Plenti points (that’s at least $5 in redeemable rewards in the future). This is a limit two promotion. This alone is a 10% off discount. Unlike iTunes, Google Play gift cards are rarely discounted, so this on its own is great.

But wait, there’s more! One of the Plenti RiteAid offers gets you 500 bonus points if you make a purchase of $25 or more in a single transaction. This is a one time use promotion. I don’t recall if you have to manually activate it or it is an “automatic offer”, so check your Plenti account to be certain before buying it. This promotion only works once per account during this promotional period (ends by 10/4/15).

TIP: while visiting your local RiteAid store, they have some other good non-Plenti deals: a 4pk of Nature Valley oats bars for $1 (two packs of two), and the various items inside the RiteAid mini dollar store!

June 9, 2015 Filed Under: shopping Tagged With: , , ,

22pk Zhena Gypsy Coconut Chai Tea for $4

At Smart and Final brick and mortar stores, for a limited time, the Zhena Gypsy 22pk Coconut Chai tea canisters are on sale for $4 each. These are tea sachets, not good old tea bags. They have this flavor with Black tea and also with Green tea. This is a great price, it handily defeats the Amazon Subscribe & Save price. It even handily beats their 6-pack S&S price! These teas average 4.5 out of 5 based on 110+ customer reviews combined over there. Not to mention that you also get to keep their container!

June 9, 2015 Filed Under: shopping Tagged With: , ,

Starbucks Rewards June 9-15 (2015): 4 Bonus Stars with Breakfast Sandwich

Starbucks is back with yet another promotion for their Rewards members. Between June 9-15 in 2015, you earn 4 bonus stars on any breakfast sandwich (including the Double–Smoked Bacon or the Cheddar & Egg Breakfast Sandwich). This promotion is mentioned in an email sent to Rewards members. These offers may be targeted, so check your emails or app inboxes to see if they are available for you. You can use this offer as many times as you like. The Bonus Stars will be added within 24 hours after a qualifying purchase is made. As usual you must pay with a registered Starbucks Gift Card or the official Starbucks app. The bonus stars are in addition to the regular one star per purchase.

[Read more…]

June 8, 2015 Filed Under: shopping Tagged With: ,

Free Pilot in HD: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

If you like to try out new TV shows, and you hate seeing advertisements, the pilot episode of BBC America’s “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel” is currently (for a limited time) free to get in HD at Google Play and Amazon Instant Video. The pilot episode is titled “The Friends of English Magic” and is about one hour long.

June 8, 2015 Filed Under: shopping Tagged With: ,

June 7-13: Get $20 Gift Card via Easy Rebate with $300+ AMEX Gift Cards

For the brick and mortar shopping week of June 7-13 in 2015, at Staples stores, you can get a $20 Staples Gift Card via Easy Rebate (submitted online, nothing to mail or copy) if you purchase $300 or more in American Express Gift Cards. To get to $300, you typically need two gift cards. With the fees factored in, you typically make a profit of about $7, a 2.33% return on investment with a one month vesting period. Who else can guarantee this type of a return? 🙂

staples_amex_easyrebate_offer

NOTE: The Staples promotions of this kind typically have Easy Rebates. The OfficeDepot/OfficeMax offers have a discount on the purchase price, so you get the discount right away at the register, no rebates, no house gift cards.

June 4, 2015 Filed Under: shopping Tagged With: , , ,

16pk Yogi Honey Lavender Stress Relief Tea for $2.88 (no limits)

If the Yogi Honey Lavender Stress Relief Tea is one of your favorite teas, you can stock up and give them away as gifts with this limited time offer at Amazon. Their 16-pack is on sale for $2.88. You can buy as many as you like. They are part of the Amazon Add-On program, so you must place an order of $25 or more in order for the shopping cart to allow you to buy them. They average 4.5 out of 5 based on 300+ customer reviews. This sale price for one unit handily beats the price for the 6-pack!

Also on sale for the same price is the 16pk of Yogi Caramel Apple Spice Slim Life Tea (averages 4 out of 5 based on 171 customer reviews).

NOTE: if you sign up for Subscribe and Save, you only lock this sale price for the order you place now. Future orders will be priced at whatever the price is going to be when your future subscriptions are shipped!

June 3, 2015 Filed Under: shopping Tagged With: ,

Used Presto 02704 Electric Tea Kettle for $13.60

If you are a Prime member or if you plan to place an order over $35 at Amazon, you can get the Presto 02704 Electric Tea Kettle, in “used – very good” condition, in original but damaged packaging for around $13.60 by Amazon Warehouse Deals. This is half the price of the new condition model, so if you are comfortable with used, you can score a low price!

June 3, 2015 Filed Under: shopping Tagged With: , ,

Lucky Rewards Members: free Redbox movie per week (June 2015)

If you are part of the Lucky’s Rewards program, they sent an email today with a new promotion. When you make a purchase at a Lucky’s store using your Rewards card, your cash register receipt will have promotion codes that get you one free Redbox movie rental per week for the month of June 2015. Each free rental is only for one night. If you keep the movie for more than one night, you have to pay for nights #2 and later. As such, you have to provide a payment method when you rent the movie at the Redbox kiosks. Cannot be combined with other offers.

UPDATE: the promo codes work on all Redbox locations, not just the ones inside the Lucky store you got the promo code from.

lucky_redbox_movie_promotion

June 3, 2015 Filed Under: shopping Tagged With: , , ,

Free TV Pilots (HD, no ads): Mr Robot & Briefcase & Secrets and Wives

Summer TV season is no longer just an afterthought for a variety of reasons, such as preventing good shows from getting lost in the chaos of the regular TV season, plus more possibilities for new audience joining in later with the various on-demand viewing options. Some of the latest new shows offer their pilot episode in HD for free and more importantly perhaps, commercial-free. These are typically free for a limited time only, but I don’t know when the free offers end:

June 3, 2015 Filed Under: shopping Tagged With: , ,

99c HD Movie Rental: St Vincent (Bill Murray)

For a limited time, Amazon Instant Video is offering a digital rental of the St Vincent starring Bill Murray for 99 cents. You have 30 days to start watching it. Once you start watching it, you have 48 hours to watch it as many times as you like. If you don’t watch it within 30 days of rental date, you don’t get a refund. If you have any digital credits (eg if you are a Prime member and selected slow shipping on previous offers) you may end up renting it for free (if you have credit in your account). I do not know when the offers ends but these are typically limited time promotions.

June 2, 2015 Filed Under: shopping Tagged With:

8.82oz Temple of Heaven Gunpowder Loose Leaf Green Tea for $6.25

If you are a fan of the gunpowder green tea, the 8.82oz Temple of Heaven loose leaf pack is on sale for around $6.25 by various sellers with the orders fulfilled by Amazon. Amazon actual does not offer it. It averages 3.9 out of 5 based on 48 customer reviews.

June 2, 2015 Filed Under: shopping Tagged With:

Starbucks Rewards: Earn 4 bonus stars with breakfast or lunch

Starbucks continues to roll out more Bonus Stars promotions. If you are a member of their Rewards program, check your emails or app inboxes, this new offer runs from June 2-8 in 2015 at participating locations. You don’t have to opt-in, it is activated automatically if you are eligible. You earn 4 bonus stars for each of the following, and you can use this offer as many times as you like during this promotional period:

[Read more…]

June 1, 2015 Filed Under: shopping Tagged With: ,

Free Samsung Kindle eBook from four choices for June 2015

If you have a Samsung Galaxy device, and you are willing to install the Samsung App Store, and you have a Samsung account to connect it to, every month, you can get free e-book from a choice of four. You can see these by opening the Samsung Kindle app and logging in with your Amazon account. The Samsung version can be installed side by side with the normal Google Play Amazon app, and they each have their own downloaded books.

[Read more…]

June 1, 2015 Filed Under: shopping Tagged With: , ,