To boost bookings during what’s normally a slow season for travel, major hotel companies routinely roll out special …
reward programs
How to Pick a Cash-Back Credit Card
The idea of a credit card that gives you money for spending is pretty appealing, which goes a long way to explaining the enduring popularity of cash-back credit cards. The more you spend, the more you earn.
Credit Card Companies Offer Huge Bonuses — If You Have Stellar Credit
Credit card issuers continue to raise the stakes as they compete for customers with ultra-high credit scores, dangling sign-up incentives that can be worth more than $1,000. To get these bonuses, cardholders need to meet spending …
What Will Daily Deals Sites Think of Next? Introducing the Branded Credit Card
The daily deal concept itself was once considered an “outside the box” business model, so it seems natural that daily deal sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial have a long history of taking chances and trying unusual things. …
Maybe Pet Spending Isn’t Recession-Proof After All
Throughout the worst of the economic crisis and a post-recession era bogged down by uncertainty and high unemployment, consumer spending on pets remained strong. In surveys, owners said they refused to spending on their dogs …
Why You Shouldn’t Buy Groceries at Drugstores
The weekly ads for drugstore chains like CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens are loaded with special deals and discounts. These stores have also expanded the selection of groceries stocked in the aisles, hoping to entice consumers into …
What’s Next for Daily Deals: Rewards Programs and (Perhaps?) Branded Credit Cards
The daily deal market led by Groupon and LivingSocial has undeniably gotten popular over the past few years. Some 23 million consumers bought daily deal vouchers last year, and hundreds of startups have tried to get a piece of …
What’s Great (and What’s Annoying) About the Demise of Paper Receipts
“Would you like the receipt in the bag, or in your email in-box?” Increasingly, this is the question shoppers are being asked at checkout at stores like Sears, Anthropologie, Whole Foods, and Gap.
Debit Card Rewards Aren’t Dead
Most banks have been killing off or scaling back their debit card reward programs. JP Morgan Chase, for instance, is scheduled to end its programs for nearly all debit card customers next week, with interchange swipe fee changes cited as a main reason for the debit reward demise. Just as the typical brick-and-mortar-based bank’s perks …
98 Money Tips: Quirky Credit Card Perks, ‘Happy Accident’ Deals, Home-Decorating Ideas Under $5, and More
Also, this week’s link roundup features everything you need to know about navigating this summer’s bargain real estate market—including arguments that, even with the relatively low prices of homes today, it’s still smarter to rent.
83 Money Tips: Get Half Off All Your Purchases, Get Out of Speeding Tickets, and More
This week’s tip roundup also includes lessons learned from taking on DIY projects, from observing the business model of discount supermarkets, and from not shopping for 127 days in a row.
Retailer Loyalty Reward Programs Mean Never Having to Pay Retail
Store reward programs seem like a great deal for shoppers, with instant discounts and special offers not available to non-members. But there are tradeoffs to all these deals. Retailers haven’t designed and instituted these programs out of pure kindness and the generosity of their bottom-line hearts, and at some point the savvy consumer …
