Think Your Way to Wealth » Banking

ING DIRECT Black Friday Sale 2011- $107 Bonus plus More!

RC — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:55:26 +0000

As usual, ING DIRECT has some great deals for Black Friday with free money offers for you!

Here are the details on the three great deals:

$107 Electric Orange account opening bonus
- Open Electric Orange November 25th – 27th and make a total of 5 purchases (either signature or PIN-based) using your Electric Orange Card or Person2Person Payments (or any combination of the two) within 45 days.
- Your $107 bonus will be automatically deposited into your account on day 50.
- Bonus only available for new Electric Orange checking. Only one bonus will be provided per household.
$27 Kids Savings Account opening bonus
- Open a Kids Savings Account November 25th – 27th and we’ll put a $27 bonus into your new account. Only available when you open a new account with at least one new Customer (either you or the kiddo must be a new Customer to ING DIRECT).
- $27 bonus starts earning interest upon account opening, and is available for withdrawal after 30 days.
- There’s no minimum deposit amount required. 0.90% Variable Annual Percentage Yield effective as of 10/21/2011.
$32 MONEY account opening bonus
- Open MONEY November 25th – 27th and make 1 Card transaction (either signature, PIN-based or with PayPassTM) using your MONEY Card within 30 days we’ll put a $32 bonus into your new account. (Keep in mind, the teen gets the Card.)
- Your $32 bonus will be automatically deposited into your account on day 35.
- There’s no minimum deposit amount required. 0.25% Variable Annual Percentage Yield effective as of 7/13/2011.

The sale will last 3 days only! Friday , Nov 25, 12:01am ET – Sunday, Nov 27, 11:59pm ET

Just use one of the links-either above or below, and you’ll be on your way to free money!

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Will Closing Your Checking Account and Switching Banks Hurt Your Credit Score?

RC — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:13:04 +0000

With new debit card fees being implemented or proposed by several large banks in the last few weeks, many people have decided they have “had enough”, and are looking for alternatives with less fees, such as credit unions or online checking accounts like ING DIRECT Electric Orange℠ checking or Ally Bank’s Ally Interest Checking Account, many of which have very low fees or no fees whatsoever.

Probably due to this recent activity, I’ve heard of several people asking whether or not closing their bank accounts will hurt their credit score.

The short and sweet answer is No.

Simply closing your checking account will have no effect on your credit score whatsoever- this information is generally not provided to the credit bureaus, which monitor revolving credit lines, such as credit cards or loans like a car or house loan.

Information on your checking account or savings accounts are handled by Chexsystems , which in a way operates how we think the credit bureaus do. For example, if you bounce a bunch of checks and don’t pay the bank back, this information will be reported by the financial institution (i.e., bank), and the Chexsystems report may prevent you from being able to open another account in the future- they keep the information on file for five years, according to their website.

Open an Interest Checking Account from Ally Bank today!

The longer version is still no, but, for example, you have both a checking account and a credit card with Bank of America or some other large bank, and want to close your credit card account with them as well, the fact that you are closing one of your credit lines in the form of a credit card will likely have a negative effect on your credit score, how much depends on your overall credit history and how long you’ve had that credit card, as well as other factors.

If you have a short history with not many credit items and you close your oldest card, it could hurt more than if you have a longer, broader history and the card you are closing is relatively new. You can read more in my article on why your credit is important and how to improve it.

To recap, as long as you close your checking or bank account properly you should be fine. Make sure you don’t just pull all of the money out and end up overdrafting something you set on auto payment or some similar scenario- this could have a negative impact on your Chexsystems report, which could cause problems with opening a new bank account in the future. Closing a credit card you may have with a bank will have a varying effect on your credit score, but it will depend on many other factors as noted above, be sure to think if that really matters to you before you close a credit card.

ING DIRECT Electric Orange℠ checking. No fees. No Minimums. Earn Interest. And earn a $50 bonus when you open!

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Citi Checking Bonus- Get $200 or $400 in Gift Cards for Opening New Citibank Checking Account

RC — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:07:45 +0000

Citi Checking, offered by Citibank, is currently offering up to $400 in gift cards to those who sign up for a new checking account between now and October 31, 2011.

If you open a Citigold checking account, you can get $400 in gift cards.

If you open a regular Citibank checking account, you can get $200 in gift cards.

Here’s how the offer works:

1.) Open a new Citibank checking account in the Citigold or Citibank Account Package by 10/31/2011.

2.) Enroll the new checking account in Citi ThankYou℠ Rewards.

3.) Within 45 days after account opening, initiate one direct deposit AND complete one electronic bill payment for two consecutive months.

As with any offer, make sure you read all of the terms and conditions required, such as monthly account fees, and minimum balances required to avoid be charges those fees.

This offer is only good up until the end of the month, so if you are interested act soon.

For more details and to sign up for a Citibank checking account, go to the following link below:

Get Gift Cards Worth Up To $400!

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ING Direct $50 Bonus for Opening an Electric Orange Checking Account

RC — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 03:17:39 +0000

ING DIRECT, home of the orange savings account and Electric Orange checking account, is offering a $50 bonus for signing up for an Electric Orange Checking Account.

Electric Orange is an online checking account, so, although you will get an atm/debit card from them, you will not receive paper checks. But you can send checks to people online- either through person-to person payments electronically, or, ING will mail a paper check directly to the recipient at no cost to you- they even pay for postage!

I’ve had an electric orange checking account for about 1 1/2 years now, and really like using it- I’ve sent people money electronically, and had ING mail checks to people and businesses without a hitch.

If you are tired of getting tagged with fees from your bricks and mortar account, you may want to give the ING Direct Electric Orange checking account a try to see if it’s right for you.

ING Direct Electric Orange Checking Account $50 Bonus

Highlights of the Electric Orange Checking Account include:

No Fees
No Minimums
Free access to over 35,000 ATMs
The ability to send money to friends and family via P2P Payments. It’s fast and free.

One thing to keep in mind, the electric orange checking account offers you a line of credit instead of charging you an overdraft fee (usually, I’m not sure if they always do)-so they do run a credit check, just to let you know, when you open the account.

I’m sure this offer won’t last forever, so if you’re interested in signing up for a new Electric Orange Checking Account, be sure to do so soon!

Learn about Electric Orange from ING DIRECT USA. Every dollar earns high interest.

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Are you Ready for the $5 ATM Fee?

RC — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 03:16:38 +0000

Believe it or not, ATM fees may be going up yet again- maybe as high as $5 per withdrawal, if you make one from a bank where you are not an account holder/customer.

CNNMoney reported that $5 ATM fees for using another bank’s ATM may soon become reality. Don’t forget, that would be in addition to the fee your bank will charge you for using someone else’s ATM as well.

According to the article, Chase is testing $4 ATM fee for non-Chase customers in Texas, and $5 atm fee in Illinois!!

I recently talked about how to save money on ATM fees, and it looks like that is going to become more important in the near future, if ATM fees start getting to the $4 to $5 range.

Online banking, in particular online checking accounts, are starting to look more and more attractive- even if you stay in network with your regular bank, it looks like they are trying to find more and more ways to hit you up with fees- I know I really enjoy using the fee free ING Electric Orange checking account and their large network of free ATMs and PerkStreet Financial℠ allows you to make withdrawals from their ATM network for free as well.

Combined with a possibility that debit card transactions may soon be limited to $50 to $100 (hopefully this won’t happen), banking and paying for things could become a lot more of a hassle than it is already for many people.

Carrying more cash may be an option as well- getting tagged for $5 (plus your own bank’s charge) on a $20 withdrawal is just ridiculous- and doesn’t make much financial sense to do either.

If bricks and mortar banks keep finding new ways to nickel and dime (or $5 bill, in this case) their customers, they may find themselves losing a lot of customers.

What do you think about paying a $5 ATM fee for using another bank’s ATM?

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What Will You Do if Banks Set a $50 Debit Card Spending Limit?

RC — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 12:35:34 +0000

How would having a $50 spending limit for using your bank’s debit card affect your spending habits?

photo credit: DeclanTM

Well, according to an article in CNNMoney yesterday, some banks are considering do just that, setting a spending limit on debit card purchases at $50 or $100.

Why?

Due to Wall Street reforms (Dodd-Frank) and a proposal by the Fed which could take place in July, banks would have the fees they charge merchants cut from an average of 44 cents per transaction to a cap of 12 cents per transaction.

The total amount of interchange fees, as they are called, currently add up to $16 billion per year, and large banks such as JP Morgan Chase could see a loss in revenue of up to $1 billion if the regulation is put into effect.

Chase is the bank in the article considering capping such transactions, and although other banks did not say in the article if they are considering limits or would impose similar limits, I would guess if one bank starts doing it, others will follow suit.

Right now, this is just a proposal, and most banks aren’t saying exactly what they will do, but you know the banks will want to make up for lost revenue, otherwise such a cap could potentially happen.

All I know is, a lot of people use debit cards, many to the point of using it almost exclusively over cash, checks or credit cards.

And many people use them because they specifically don’t want to use credit cards- preferring to “pay for things now” vs. “paying for them later”, which also prevents one from slipping in to credit card debt if they have trouble with credit cards.

How would your purchasing habits change if such cap were put on debit card transactions?

Would you go back to using checks?
Would you use credit cards?
What about using cash?

Personally, I try to use cash as much as possible for smaller day to day transactions, like in the $10 to $40 or $50 range. But at the grocery or elsewhere, my wife and I always use our debit card for transactions in $100 and up range, and very often for lower ones too- especially my wife.

I guess I would have to go back to carrying checks around for these types of larger purchases- grocery store, etc. – something I rarely do now.

How would your spending habits change if a $50 or $100 limit were placed on debit card transactions?

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Should You keep a Stash of Cash at Home? How Much?

RC — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 12:29:19 +0000

I like to keep some cash at home, usually around $100 or so. I often will take a $20 or two out of my stash though, to avoid a separate trip to the ATM machine and because I am lazy at times, so I have to replace it later. I’d like to stop doing that though, and keep the cash at home more as a emergency stash, so to speak.

For me, there are 2 main reasons to have cash on hand:

Emergencies

Living in New Orleans and having dealt with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I saw very clearly and heard many 1st hand accounts about the importance of cash. I wasn’t in the city when the hurricane hit, but had a few friends who were. I was back in town about a week later though, and even after the storm (for months), in some areas there were no banks or ATM’s available, so you might need to drive pretty far if you needed some cash. Some business were only taking cash for a while as well.

As the saying goes “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash”.

Convenience

Having cash around the house makes it easy to take care of small to medium size expenses where a debit or credit card can’t be used, or you just want to use cash without having to go to the ATM. While I have an ATM machine I can use close to work, it takes me at least 20 minutes round trip if I leave my house to go to one for a special trip.

I use it for things like paying friends or acquaintances for things and other small mostly person to person monetary transactions. For example, I prefer to pay the pizza delivery person in cash as well- I know I can order online now and pay with a debit or credit card, but I just prefer it.

How Much Cash Should You keep at Home?

I think $100 or so is pretty good most of the time for my needs, as long as I replenish it regularly. Lately though, I have been feeling like $100 is not enough. I am planning on building this up to the $400 to $500 dollar range, mostly for the emergency part.

How much cash do you keep at home? $100? $200? $500? What is the right amount for you?

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Starbucks Accepting Mobile Payments via Cell Phone, Are You Ready to Start Paying For Things With Your iPhone or Smart Phone?

RC — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:00:06 +0000

Starbucks, the ubiquitous coffee purveyor, recently starting accepting mobile payments via an iPhone or Blackberry app (no app for Android yet as far as I can tell, which seems strange) , the Starbucks Mobile App, basically allowing their customers to pay for their coffee purchases using their phone.

No longer will you need to have your wallet or purse with you when you go to get a frappuccino (or whatever they call those there). Instead, you’ll simply whip out your cell phone, and have the barista scan a bar code that will show up after you’ve opened the app and gotten it ready to make a payment, as shown below:

Kinda neat, huh?

While you may not be ready to pay for things with your iPhone or smart phone yet, phone makers like Apple as well as credit card companies, such as Visa, have developed the technology and are working to make mobile payments as acceptable as a credit card or debit card to pay for things. It is already being tested in Europe and other parts of the world.

Using near-field communication technology will allow users to simply place their phone within a few inches of a payment kiosk set up to accept them, and allow payments wirelessly through a cell phone. Obviously, they more ways you can pay for something and the easier, the more money credit card companies and merchants think they can make from your spending.

Are You Ready to Pay for things with Your Phone?

Paying for things with your phone does raise some issues regarding security and protection. What if you lose your phone? Personally I’m probably more likely to lose my phone that my wallet. Would a thief or someone who finds a lost phone be able to use your phone to make purchases, or would there be safeguards?

While it may not be too bad of a loss if someone used up your $20 Starbucks card credit, if all of your credit card information was stored on the phone, it could be a lot worse. Also, I think there will be a wave of early adopters who will use it due to the technology involved, but I think a lot of people will be uneasy in adopting mobile payment technology. Certainly older people probably won’t be very likely- as far as I know, my Dad (who is just about 70) still never got a ATM card.

Still, it is kind of neat that the personal payment system is changing after so many years of being asked “cash, credit, or check?” when paying for something.

Are you willing to pay for Starbucks with your phone? How about using your phone to pay for all of your purchases? Or will you continue to use other methods?

Starbucks Accepting Mobile Payments via Cell Phone, Are You Ready to Start Paying For Things With Your iPhone or Smart Phone? is a post from: Think Your Way to Wealth a Personal Finance Blog Copyright 2008-2010

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Ways to Avoid Costly ATM Fees

RC — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 12:00:20 +0000

I try to carry cash on me for daily/personal expenditures- my allowance money, so to speak. I usually try to take enough out for about a week, but things often come up like picking up milk or groceries on the way home, or other purchases that I didn’t really plan for, and I end up depleting the amount of cash I am carrying with me before I would normally take another trip to the ATM.

photo credit: TheTruthAbout

Luckily for me, my local bank has a branch right around the corner from my work, so I usually stop by there on the way to or from work when I need to withdraw some cash.

Sometime though, when I’m out and about, I get stuck somewhere without a local branch bank and need to withdraw cash- this happened to me a few months ago at the Department of Motor Vehicles- I needed more cash than I anticipated, and I ended up having to use the one there-because if I didn’t get it right there, I’d lose my place in line, and have another hour + wait on my hands.

I will say this. I absolutely hate paying ATM fees. But at the time, I wasn’t going to waste 2+ hours (which I didn’t have) and go to a branch of my bank. So I was stuck, paying fees (yes, both for my bank and from the ATM operator) to get access to MY money. They really stick you at a non-network ATM, too- the less money you take out, the higher the percentage. Paying $4-$5 just to get $20 out is really highway robbery in my mind, but that is the system we are stuck with. Here are some ways to think or plan in advance to try and avoid those ridiculous ATM fees:

Try to only use your bank’s ATMs- Obviously, this is where you want to start. If you can avoid using non-network ATMs and only use your banks, you can avoid fees on your ATM transactions.

Carry more cash/Take out enough cash or more cash when you do visit an ATM- Do you ever find yourself taking out just the minimum you think you will need, when you know that you will just have to make another ATM trip in a few days? I know I have done this maneuver many times. Instead, try taking out what you think you will need for a few days to a week- it will save you trips and from getting caught at a non-network ATM.

Look for a no fee ATM such as Allpoint Network of ATM’s- If your bank uses a network like Allpoint, you can avoid fees by using one of their locations, which are often in convenience stores or gas stations. I have an checking account at ING Direct, which uses Allpoint, so it comes in handy sometimes for me.

Get cash back when making a debit card purchase- I’ve been using this one more lately-stop in a local drug store, such as CVS in my area, make a small purchase, and get cash back. It works well when you aren’t close to one of your bank’s ATMs.

Change banks to ones that don’t charge fees- Some banks, like ING DIRECT Electric Orange Online Checking or Perkstreet Financial^SM Online Rewards Checking don’t charge fees to use ATM’s and have participating fee-free ATM networks ( like Allpoint, as mentioned above), making withdrawing money from a network ATM totally free. Also, Some online and and even some bricks and mortar checking accounts have started reimbursement programs to pay you back for the ATM fees you incur withdrawing money- although this is more common with online checking accounts.

Use your debit or credit card where possible- There are still places that are cash only, even some restaurants and other small businesses. But most places, you can use your debit card, so if you can, go ahead and do so.

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PerkStreet Financial $25 Bonus For Opening a New Checking Account

RC — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 16:42:40 +0000

PerkStreet Financial℠, home of the cash back checking account and debit card, is offering a free $25 bonus if you open up a new account between now and December 31st, and deposit at least $25 into the account. That’s all you have to do to be the bonus, and PerkStreet will deposit the money in your account within 7 days.

Here’s the details on Perkstreet’s cashback program:

You will earn 2% cash back for all non-PIN debit card purchases you make for the first 3 months starting on the day that your account is opened. A month is defined as a 30-day period – not a calendar month. There is no limit to the total amount you can earn.

After the first 3 months, when your Current Account Balance at the start of the day is $5,000 or more, you’ll earn 2% cash back for all non-PIN debit card purchases you make on that day.

When your Current Account Balance at the start of the day is less than $5,000, you’ll earn 1% cash back on all non-PIN debit card purchases you make on that day.

PLUS EARN 5% ON THESE CATEGORIES IN DECEMBER: Earn 5% cash back on the following categories: Stationery, Office Supplies, Printing, and Writing Paper (5111), Passenger Trains (4112), Buses (4131), Commuter Transport (4111) and Bakeries (5462).

For more information on Perkstreet, check out my post Perkstreet Financial Review.

Sign up for a PerkStreet checking account before December 31, 2010 and PerkStreet will deposit $25 in your perks account within 7 days after the account has been opened.

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Discover Bank- Online Savings Account Review

RC — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 02:34:13 +0000

Discover Bank, part of the credit card company of the same name, is currently offering one of the best interest rates for a high yield savings account available. While many online banks have been lowering their interest rates on savings accounts lately, Discover has held their online bank account interest rate steady for a while, making it currently one of the highest available for a simple online savings account.

Although it is not very well-known as a bank, Discover Bank was originally known as Greenwood Trust Company,which started in 1911, and was renamed Discover Bank in 2000. An interesting fact about Discover credit cards is that, unlike Visa and MasterCard, Discover directly issues its cards, through its Discover Bank unit.

Discover Online Savings Account Features and Benefits

Discover Bank’s online savings account is currently offering a 1.25% APY (as of 12/9/10), one of the highest available currently.
Low minimum $500 initial deposit. While some online banks require no minimum deposit, $500 is certainly not the highest around and not unreasonable. Note that there is no minimum balance requirement thereafter.
Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.
Customer service available 24/7-Call a Banking Specialist any day, anytime, at 1-800-347-7000.
FDIC insured up to $250,000

Opening an online savings account at Discover Bank

Opening a savings account at Discover Bank is a simple process:

Choose your account type, in this case online savings account- you can open up to 5 accounts per application.
Fund your account through an ACH transfer from any checking or savings account, wire transfer, or by mailing a physical check.
Verify and submit your information

Open a Discover Bank High Yield Savings Account today.

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ING Direct Black Friday Sale 2010

RC — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 16:17:09 +0000

ING Direct, home of one of the great internet savings accounts and checking accounts, is having a Black Friday sale today through Sunday with a couple of really good deals including the following:

$103 Bonus for opening an electric orange checking account

From ING:

Open Electric Orange November 26th – 28th, and make a total of 7 purchases using your Electric Orange Card or Person2Person Payments (or any combination of the two) within 45 days.

For example: If you made 4 Card purchases and 3 Person2Person Payments within 45 days of opening your account, you’d receive the $103 bonus.

Card purchases can be either signature or PIN-based.

Your $103 bonus will be automatically deposited into your account on day 50.

Bonus only available for new Electric Orange checking. Only one bonus will be provided per household.

Oh, and no need to enter a Reference Code or anything when you open your Electric Orange. We’ll take care of everything

$25 Bonus for opening a Kids Savings Account

From ING:

Open a Kids Savings Account November 26th – 28th and we’ll put a $25 bonus into your new account.

Only available when you open a new account with at least one new Customer (either you or the kiddo must be a new Customer to ING DIRECT).

$25 bonus starts earning interest upon account opening, and is available for withdrawal after 30 days.

There’s no minimum deposit amount required. 1.10% Variable Annual Percentage Yield effective as of 04/06/2010.

Oh, and no need to enter a Reference Code or anything when you open your Kids Savings Account. We’ll take care of everything.

ING Direct is also offering some other great deals including:

100% Cashback Giveaway for using your electric orange debit card on Black Friday-

Use your Electric Orange Debit MasterCard® at least one time from 8:00 AM ET, November 26th – 7:59 PM ET, November 26th, and you’ll be automatically entered into the 100% Cash Back Giveaway.
We’ll randomly select 1 transaction every hour and deposit 100% of the transaction amount (or $100 if the transaction is less than $100; Maximum Giveaway amount is $5,000) into the winner’s Electric Orange.
All 12 winners will be notified via email by Tuesday, November 30th (So, make sure your email address is up to date.)

25% rebate on all real time trades that execute today(Nov. 26) or Cyber Monday(Nov. 29) trades with ShareBuilder.com for new or existing accounts -New accounts use Promo code: BF2010, Existing accounts use Promo code: CM2010

$30 Referral Bonus for referring a friend who opens an ING Direct orange Savings Account.

Refer a Friend November 26th — November 28th and you’ll receive $30 for each friend that opens an Orange Savings Account^SM or Electric Orange^SM with a minimum deposit of $250 using the link in the referral email before December 31st 2010.
Your friend still gets a $25 bonus.
The referral email must be sent November 26th — November 28th.

There are a few other deals available, including a 2% 36 Month IRA CD, and others, so be sure to check out the ING Direct Black Friday page for more details and other offers.

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