Review of Citi Private Pass Rewards by Citi Card

By MoneyBlueBook

As a big fan of the Citi Thank You rewards program offered by Citibank for its credit card customers, I thought I was pretty well honed on all of the user benefits and purchase rewards that Citi Card had to offer. However, there's a relatively less publicized reward program that current Citi credit card and Citi debit Mastercard members are entitled to that many are not aware of. The reward program is called Citi Private Pass. The Citi PrivatePass program itself is totally free to existing Citi Card customers to the extent that there are no extra monthly membership fees required to join. The only participation cost to you is when you actually decide to purchase reward tickets to desired events via the Citi Private Pass program. The tickets feature heavily discounted prices (or sometimes are even provided free courtesy of Citi Private Pass), but oftentimes you'll still have to pay a small portion out of pocket .

Unlike Citibank's well known and popular Citi ThankYou purchase incentive feature, which tends to focus on more tangible gift card and cash based rewards that you can accrue through daily card purchases, the Citi PrivatePass program is devoted almost exclusively to entertainment and experience based offers - providing its participants special access to free and cheap tickets to unique concerts, dining experiences, and popular sporting events. The Citi Private Pass program is not a separate card, but rather a rewards program already available to existing Citi Card customers.

By MoneyBlueBook

As the economic paddy wagon continues to hee and haw its way through the recessionary mud, once available avenues of emergency funds are steadily drying up. Credit card consumers and account holders across the nation may have noticed that they are receiving fewer credit card junk mail in their mailboxes these days. While this reduction in the volume of paper junk mail received may be counted as a blessing, it's also a sign that the once bountiful availability of lucrative 0% APR credit card offers are slowly coming to an untimely end. Due to the deterioration of the mortgage and credit industries, major credit card issuers such as Citi Card, Chase, Bank of America, American Express, and Discover have significantly pulled back their credit card marketing efforts and drastically reduced the quantity and quality of introductory 0% balance transfers offered.

Currently, the most popular 0% balance transfer card offers that still remain in effect today include the following short list of active promotions. As always, before applying for a balance transfer card, it's important to read the fine print carefully and be fully cognizant of the advertised 0% rate duration, the availability of any balance transfer fees, the regular interest rate after the end of the 0% period, and the availability of any underlying cash back or credit card reward offers.

By MoneyBlueBook

Editor's Note: Thank you for your interest, these offers expired and are no longer available.

For many years now, I've been a loyal Costco warehouse club member. In my earlier days, I signed up for Costco's entry level Gold Star membership program at what's now $50 a year - applying for the co-branded Costco TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express credit card in the process for the extra 1% cash back rebate on all club purchases. Over the years, there have been a few instances when I seriously considered discontinuing my membership due to lingering complaints and gripes about overcrowding and inadequate parking facilities at my local Costco locations. But ultimately, the accessibility headaches were not significant enough to outweigh my love for the affordability and bulk conveniences of warehouse style shopping. For now at least, I plan to continue paying my annual Costco membership fee.

Despite my occasional self musings of "is Costco membership worth the annual fee?" - overall, I have to say it is. Despite the inevitable problems associated with visiting such a popular and heavily frequented destination for hordes of bargain hunters and bulk shoppers, when you go to Costco you know the product prices will be competitive, the return policies will be ultra-liberal, and the customer service will be top notch. And no, this is not a sales pitch. I've visited other warehouse stores like BJ's Wholesale and Sam's Club - however, none of them can quite measure up to the overall offerings of Costco in my opinion.

Is Costco Executive Membership Worth The Higher Annual Fee?

A few years ago, I finally upgraded my Costco

By MoneyBlueBook

Review of SmartMoney Magazine's Top Discount Brokerages Below

While I have written about the best online discount brokers in the past - reviewing what I believe to be the top brokerage companies out there for new stock and fund investors - it's always good to check out what the financial experts have to say on the subject. For almost two decades now, the editors at SmartMoney Magazine have been reviewing and releasing their annual list of the best stock brokerage companies, thoroughly researching and comparing the candidates based on a variety of key competitive factors. For customers and broker firms alike, their award wining list is always a popular read.

In this year's 18th annual broker survey, SmartMoney updated its ranked list of the best and worst brokers after conducting a variety of performance based tests and undercover research as well as reviewing the responses to surveys by the online brokerages themselves. As the folks at Smart Money remarked in this year's review - "no detail was too small" - as they poked and prodded the various available trading tools and features, even going so far as to go incognito - calling customer support lines and posing as prospective brokerage customers, while jotting down comments in regards to the quality of the phone service they received. For new and seasoned investors, this list serves as an excellent jumping off point for those on the fence and not sure which investment broker to go with or to switch to. While the exact sequencing order of the rankings

By MoneyBlueBook

Review Of Ally Bank.com's High Yield Money Markets, Savings, and CD Offers

After a rather bumpy ride over the last few years, the financial institution formerly known as GMAC Bank is now Ally Bank. In mid-May 2009, the former financial lending and banking arm of General Motors took the first of what it hopes to be a series of reinvigorating steps towards distancing itself from the much criticized and tainted image of the now bankrupt auto maker.

Since then, many of you may haven noticed their recent aggressive purple-themed advertising blitz on TV spots and online ads. With the launch of Ally Bank, the company is undertaking a massive promotional effort to differentiate itself from the collectively damaged reputations of other struggling online banks in the hopes of positioning itself as a commercial advocate of honesty, transparency, and accountability. Though the former bank has been struggling mightily in the midst of the worst economic recession and subprime mortgage crisis in decades, now that it's flush with bailout funds courtesy of the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the new Ally Bank is now sufficiently stabilized to concentrate on growing its depositor base and rebuilding its image.

Currently, Ally Bank's interest rate offers are extraordinarily competitive and have been consistently dominating the high end of the bank rate spectrum. If you are willing to accept the view and belief (as you perhaps ought to) that the government's FDIC insurance protections are more than adequate to guarantee the safety and security of your banking

By MoneyBlueBook

News Update: Is the New Financial Face Of GMAC Bank

As of mid-May 2009, GMAC Bank is now officially called Ally Bank. With a new aggressive marketing blitz on cable TV channels and via Internet ads, the new purple themed Ally Bank is embarking on a quest to rebrand its image and change the public's perception of its former beleaguered self. Touting the new banking persona as a new and better type of bank - an ally and friend to consumer customers of sorts, AllyBank.com's new banking slogan is - "No minimum deposits. No monthly fees. No minimum balance. No sneaky disclaimers."

Sporting a very impressive array of high yield savings accounts, money market accounts, and high interest CD rates, Ally Bank is hoping to win the public over with its dazzling new message and cache of revamped services. Looking back at its history, the bank formerly known as GMAC Bank has certainly had quite a rough and tumultuous ride to get to where it is today.

Ally Bank - Starting Anew With A Fresh New Name and Top Tier Rates

For those not in the know, Ally Bank used to be GMAC Bank, a bank built on the troubled and rather shaky foundations of GMAC Financial Services - the banking, savings, and financial lending arm of currently bankrupt American vehicle manufacturer General Motors (GM). Originally established as a lending authority to provide automotive financing loans to car buyers and auto dealerships of GM brand vehicles, GMAC has been hit particularly hard by