Get a Free or Cheap DVD Rental At RedBox

By MoneyBlueBook

The other day I was at my local Giant Food grocery store and noticed several people examining a red kiosk. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that it was a DVD rental station run by a new company called RedBox. I guess I must be blind because apparently the red kiosks have been sprouting up everywhere.

The company runs DVD rental kiosks, primarily located inside of McDonald's restaurants and many grocery stores. The neat part is that DVDs can be rented for only $1 per day, with no late fees. Call it what you will, but you are simply charged a buck for every day you use it. Rentals must be returned before 7:00 p.m. the next day to avoid any extra day penalty (another $1). Each kiosk is fully automated, holding no more than 500 DVDs and can be accessed via a touch screen where you can select your DVD choice, and pay using a credit or debit card.

RedBox is excellent for people like me who want to go in, grab a movie, watch it, and be back in a day. For the slackers and lazy DVD returners, I suggest sticking with your usual video rental stores where they offer multiple day rentals.

Redbox is currently running a promotion, offering one night's free rental at any of their RedBox kiosks. Just visit their homepage, enter your e-mail address, and they'll send you a free DVD rental code. Wow you just saved $1. You're rich! :)

By MoneyBlueBook

Citibank's ThankYou Points Network offers some of the best rewards. I currently own several Citibank credit cards and I get ThankYou rewards points for using them to purchase ordinary everyday things. With my current Citibank credit card setup, I receive 6% back in the form of Purchase Rebates on grocery stores, drug stores, and gas. I also receive 5% back on restaurants, coffee shops, movie theaters, and book stores. 1 Purchase Rebate = 100 ThankYou Points. For every 1 mile I drive, I also receive the equivalent of 1 ThankYou Point. They all generate rewards points and contribute to the same pool of ThankYou Points. I have been saving for over a year and it's time to put those points to good use. With the ThankYou Network you can exchange your points for things such as merchandise, electronics, gift cards, student loan credit, and even cash.

Great Exchange Rate for Travel Rewards

One of my favorite redemption choice is Thank You Point's Variable and Fixed Flight Option. With the Variable Travel Option you can redeem your Thank You Points for the equivalent of whatever the value of the flight cost is. However, you'll likely get the best deal by choosing the Fixed Flight Option. Below are the current point values needed for redemption (as of January 1, 2008, however since point levels are subject to change please contact a ThankYou Network Travel Specialist for the most current point pricing.

Coach:

Flights
Starting Points
Ticket Value ($)

Continental US

By MoneyBlueBook

Most of the major cell phone carriers offer deeply discounted savings for large companies or groups, including schools. If you work for a major business, corporation, or attend college or graduate school, chances are you may be entitled to a hefty discount towards your monthly wireless mobile phone bill. Many businesses and schools have negotiated employee and student discounts with the major wireless carriers. Even alumnus and employees at certain major universities may be entitled to discounted rates due to their current or previous association with their schools.

But for some reason, many people are not aware that these discounts exist, and the cell phone providers certainly aren't motivated to advertise these great discounts, particularly for existing customers. Oftentimes, the only thing you'll need to have to claim these discounts is a valid work or school e-mail address from a participating business or school. I encourage you to visit the links below and check to see what discounts are available to you. Believe me, you will be pleasantly surprised as I was! I was able to get 19% off with Verizon Wireless using my existing graduate school e-mail address. I did not realize that I qualified for such a high discount until I typed in my school e-mail address on a whim. Try it!

Remember to renew your student or employee discount promotional rate periodically since they usually don't renew automatically. Most of the mobile phone discounts are good for a year - just submit a new discount request again when it expires.

By MoneyBlueBook

I currently use Fidelity Investments as my investment brokerage firm. I have nothing but good things to say about the service they offer. Their selection of mutual funds is broad and their fees are reasonable. Their customer service is also top notch. I have a habit of occasionally bombarding their customer service department with random questions about my account and fees. I almost always receive a prompt reply. Occasionally it will be a few days before I hear from customer service, but they usually provide me with an excellent explanation or solution to my brokerage and investment related questions.

New Fidelity Account Promotions - Earn Free Frequent Flyer Miles For United Or American Airlines

Currently, Fidelity has several promotions for new customers, including offers for up to 25,000 United Airlines or American Airlines frequent flier miles for opening an account with new equity. The equity can be cash, stock, bond certificates, or transfers of the same from another broker. The Fidelity account must remain open for at least six months. The miles earned is determined by the amount of the initial deposit, which must be made within 90 days of account opening. Please carefully read all of the terms and conditions before proceeding.

United Airlines Mileage Plus Offer - Expires December 31, 2008.

American Airlines AAdvantage Offer - Expires May 31, 2009.

Initial Deposit
Miles Earned

$2,500
5,000

$10,000
15,000

$50,000
25,

Another Amazing Fidelity Sign-Up Cash Bonus Offer

Fidelity also has another offer for $100 for adding $10,000 in cash or assets to a new or existing account. I

By MoneyBlueBook

As part of its NetBank Affinity Program, NetBank offers many variations of cash and point rewards for new customers. NetBank has partnered up with various companies such as TripRewards and U.S. Airways to offer new NetBank customers reward points in their preferred affiliated program. While I personally signed up through the TripRewards Affinity Promotion at NetBank (I was not aware of the cash promotion at the time), I recommend signing up for the cash reward Affinity Promotion at NetBank instead. Cash is almost always best!

Choose and Be Qualified for Promotional Money

To qualify for the "Up to $235 Offer", you'll need to sign up through this link and complete the following within 90 days. All required minimum balances for the promotion must be maintained above the minimum for at least 30 days to qualify.

Pursuant to the promotion, you can receive:

• $75 for opening a NetBank checking account
• $75 for opening a NetBank money market account,and
• $85 for opening a 1 year Certificate of Deposit (CD) with at least $1,000.

Read The Terms Carefully

However, do be aware that there have been complaints about NetBank's fee schedule, including

• Online Bill Payment Inactivity - $5 per month after 3 successive months of inactivity on accounts with average monthly balances of less than $3,000.
• Early Closure - $25 for checking or money market account closed within 6 months
• Dormant Checking Account - $5 month beginning 12 months after most recent activity, and
• Account closure - $7.50

If you are in it for just the sign up promotion as I was,

By MoneyBlueBook

What are paid online surveys?

Filling out a free paid online survey is an interesting way to pass the time and make some money on the side. Your opinion is valuable to many companies for market research purposes and they are willing to pay you for your opinion. Your participation is used to influence and guide companies on how they go about developing products and services to meet consumer needs.

How much money can I make?

You'll most definitely make some money by completing online surveys but don't expect to get rich, even if you completed every single one out there. The shorter surveys that take less than 5 minutes pay not as much, while longer surveys that take 15-30 minutes or more, pay much better (anywhere from $1 to $50+). If you made it onto a live person focus group, those could even pay up to $250. Keep in mind that survey payout varies greatly depending on what you qualify for based on your profile and background.

How many surveys will I get?

After you register with a survey agency and fill out a profile listing your demographics, interests, and statistics, the company will usually e-mail you regularly with surveys to complete. The frequency of receiving surveys from the companies varies depending on your demographics. For example, if the company is trying to poll individuals who are home owners, and in your profile you indicated you were a renter, then you won't receive a survey for that issue. But you can generally expect a steady stream of e-mail