Get A Free Extended Warranty By Purchasing With A Credit Card

By MoneyBlueBook

I'm not a big believer in buying extended warranties or purchasing extra service contracts, so I usually pass whenever I'm asked. This happens more often at big electronic retailer stores like Best Buy and the now defunct Circuit City, where they put in a concerted effort to convince unwitting customers to buy extra protection - that frequently is unnecessary. These stores stand to make a lot of money from selling unnecessary extended service plans that customers oftentimes end up never using. It doesn't really matter how big or small the item you're purchasing, the sales clerks alway seem to inquire if you'd like to purchase additional warranty.

One time I was at Best Buy to pick up something. The young sales lady rung up my purchase and asked if I would like to buy additional warranty protection for my item - a dinky little $15 Sony handheld FM radio - just in case it ever broke down or ever malfunctioned as she explained. I just stared back with a slightly sarcastic but incredulous look. Special warranty protection upgrade - for a simple $15 radio? Who in their right mind would pay $3 extra to insure a flimsy $15 piece of electronic? If it ever broke down I'd rather go and buy a newer model than get it repaired.

With Some Exceptions, Since Most Products Come With Their Own Warranties, It Usually Doesn't Make Sense To Purchase More Protection

The vast majority of the time you are better off not wasting your money on extended warranty protections. Most

By MoneyBlueBook

I had lunch with my brother at an Asian noodle place a few days ago and the subject of money came up. Somehow our conversation turned to credit cards, which prompted me to pull out my wallet and enthusiastically display my collection of multiple reward credit cards that I use to make virtually all of my day-to-day purchases. I carry multiple cards for different purchase functions such as having a dedicated gas credit card, grocery credit card, dining out credit card, and an all purpose credit card not covered by other reward programs. My card strategy has always been to maximize my use of credit cards to get the most out of reward points and cash back offers. Not including the ones I regularly carry around, I also have a few other balance transfer cards sitting at home, having already tapped out their 0% APR offers with no other remaining reward deals to offer me as a card consumer.

I See Reward Credit Cards As The Way To Earn Lots Of Arbitrage Cash Back and Free Gift Rewards From Everyday Purchases

What can I say - I'm a big proponent of using credit cards and rarely resort to using cash, which I see as an old school payment system that will someday be phased out in favor of more efficient and sanitary card payment methods. Since I started maximizing my use of credit by carrying around multiple reward cards, I've been consistently earning more than $1,000 in purchase rewards and cash rebates every

By MoneyBlueBook

If you've ever encountered sites on the internet that claimed to offer brand new laptop computers, mp3 players, or even plasma TV's for free, I'm sure most of you jumped to the immediate conclusion that they must all be scams. Well, on some level you may be correct and your initial instincts serve you well. But the misleading deception is not that they don't actually give out laptops, it's that these so-called free laptop offers do require some up front financial commitment and mandatory participation in a few monthly subscription programs. However, if you have a keen eye for seeking out deals that require the least amount of out-of-pocket effort, and know how to manipulate the rules by taking advantage of free trial offers, it's possible to walk away with a brand new laptop for only a fraction of its fair market value.

What I'm about to share may be time consuming and require almost anal, obsessive compulsive organizational skills, but the potential payoff at the end is quite substantial. For those of you who need the laptop or fancy electronic gadget right away, you probably won't have the patience for what this process demands. The procedure takes some time to complete and requires a lot of waiting - up to four months usually from start to finish. To successfully game the system and earn your almost free reward product you will need to be detail-oriented and willing to exercise patience and follow directions to the letter. If you follow these instructions, you should be able

By MoneyBlueBook

I have two small piggy banks that sit atop my office desk at home. One is a coin bank in the shape of a dog, and the other is shaped like a light blue colored pig that I received as a free giveaway when I opened a new Citibank business checking account not too long ago. These two little guys are the gatekeepers to the spare change that I occasionally bring back in my pockets. Everytime I come home with loose coins, I usually drop them into my piggy banks. Since I use reward credit cards for the vast majority of my purchases, I don't usually bring home too many bits of spare change. However, over a period of months and a year, even the occasional chipping in can turn a small stash into a tidy sum.

How To Handle Quarters, Dimes, Nickels, and Pennies

Before Coinstar came along with their green coin sorting kiosk machines, I had no convenient way of getting rid of my spare change, especially the nickels, dimes, and pennies. Quarters I could always keep around to use for coin operated laundry washers and dryers, snack vending machines, and leave a few in my car for parking meters and toll booths. But nickels and pennies are pretty much useless since their small denominational value require many more of them to be carried around to be worth anything. Initially I tried hauling my jar of pennies, nickels, and dimes to my local bank branch to have them exchanged for paper bills. However, the

By MoneyBlueBook

The scenario I am about to paint is very real. Let's say you are planning for a dream vacation. Or maybe it's your honeymoon and you are eager to fly somewhere romantic and spend a week at some remote tropical destination. Or maybe you are splurging for an exciting few days on a luxury cruise ship. Either way, rather than booking your travel reservations through a traditional travel agent, you decide to do it yourself through an online discount travel broker such as Expedia, Travelocity, or Orbitz. You don't like to use credit cards so you decide to pay your reservations using a debit card or even by check. A month passes and now it's only a week before your scheduled trip. Suddenly you get a phone call or an email advising you that your travel plans have been halted indefinitely because the travel agency that scheduled your itinerary has declared bankruptcy or gone out of business. Maybe it's not the travel agent but the airline or cruise ship company that has gone bankrupt. The chances of that happening may be slight, but the consequences can be financially disastrous. That's why it's important to protect your upfront reservation money by using credit card payment. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), credit card consumers who purchase with a Visa, Mastercard, or American Express card are afforded substantially more purchase protections then those who make payment using cash, money orders, or debit cards. These days, airline credit cards also offer a wide variety of

By Joe Taylor

Credit cards don't have to force you into debt. In fact, if you use them the right way, credit card rewards can actually earn you money. Over the years, I've tweaked my spending so I use credit cards to pay for everything. That way, I rack up a frequent flyer bonus, a cash back rebate, or special perks with every purchase. I like to review what's in my wallet from time to time, replacing cards I don't use that often with new accounts that offer special signup bonuses.

Most banks save their best reward credit card offers for business customers. After all, they swipe their cards most often, and they're usually getting reimbursed by their employers. However, banks rarely enforce any restrictions on their applications. Ordinary consumers can apply for these cards just by using a social security number instead of a business ID. At that point, you're properly applying as a sole proprietorship.

While I still carry a few wads of emergency cash around, it's easier than ever to run most everyday purchases on credit cards, especially my favorites...