Save up to 30% by using cashback when online shopping

Sorry for the lack of posts, but I just wanted to make sure you are aware of Bigcrumbs.com that allows you to earn cash back on your everyday online shopping.

Tiny sample of some sites that offer cash back:

Walmart - 1.8%

The Container Store - 4.8%

Staples.com - 3.2%

Skype - 20%

Magazines.com - 28%

Here I'll explain how it works and how to sign up. In my next post, I'll talk about some advance techniques so you can double dip and get cash back twice!

How it works:

1. Sign up at Bigcrumbs.com
2. Then before you shop, sign in to Bigcrumbs.com, and find the retailer you want to shop at, and click through.
3. Shop as usual!
4. In about 2 months, you will get a paypal deposit with any cash back you earned! Payments take about 8 weeks, so purchases made throughout the month of June will be paid on Aug 15. (Always the 15th)
5. That's it!

Note, please go through my referral link, I do receive a small commission if you sign up through my account. If you go on to refer others, you will end up earning a little cash on your referral's shopping also!

How I keep track of my miles and points

As the year nears an end, I'd like to share with you how I keep track of all the various mileage and points programs that I participate in. From CVS Extracare to National Car Rental to United Mileage Plus, I use Awardwallet.com to view ALL (yes, all) my accounts in one easy location.

First of all, a disclaimer: I am sharing this not only to help you manage your award programs, but also to participate in the 12 months of Awardwallet Plus promotion. Anyone who writes or posts about awardwallet.com gets 12 free months of Awardwallet Plus!

I have actually paid for Awardwallet Plus in the past and it's pretty helpful. Besides keeping track of the balances, it will keep track of when your miles expire. This is invaulable if you have multiple accounts and need to take action to prevent miles from disappearing.

Another great benefit is the ability to help your family members manage their accounts too - all under one Awardwallet.com account.

Really, Awardwallet.com is the best site out there for keeping track of your point programs. It's free, so go on over and give it a try!

Happy Holidays.

New blog on hotel deals

I know this isn't NYC related, but I just stumbled upon hotelcashback.com - a new blog that will try to alert you to any hotel deals that they have found. Currently, their selection isn't impressive, but it's a start.

They have listed:

$24.11 / night @ Stratosphere tower in Las Vegas, USA

$50.68 / night @ Sheraton Buganvilias Resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

$93.54 / night @ Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki in Honolulu, USA

and others...

5% Coupon on Continental.com

If you fly Continental, there is currently a 5% discount code that works on both domsetic and international flights. There isn't much known about the terms and conditions of this coupon, so use it soon.

The discount code is 9702533697.

Courtesy of Upgrade: Travel Better.

MTA fare raises less than feared, despite Alabany's "help"

It looks like the fare raises will be less than originally feared (as in the "Doomsday" scenario).

Albany has passed a rescue bill that will provide the MTA with additional sources of revenue. While this is good news, the bill doesn't go far enough to sustain the MTA and their capital budget (the budget to continue to improve and expand the system). What we really need is congestion pricing and make drivers pay their fair share, but that's a dicussion for another day.

Relevent to this blog will be the lesser fare hikes. My earlier post about how to save money on NYC Transit still applies.

Key points of the fare hike and rescue package are summarized below:

Base fare will rise $0.25 to $2.25

30 day metrocard will rise $8 to $89

Taxi fare will have an additional $0.50 surcharge

Metro North and LIRR fares will rise by a little less than 10%

Full details are in this NY times article and on the MTA website.

4 Tips to save money on NYC Public Transit

Given that the recent "Doomsday Budget" has been passed by the MTA board, we are now facing a fare increase from $81 to $103 for the 30 day unlimited pass.  For those that end up buying a pass every month, your annual spending just went up from $972 to $1236 - an increase of $264!  (There is still time to undo this - call your state senator!)

Luckily, there are still some techniques that one can use to help themselves save money on public transit.  These tips are catered mostly towards commuters and not tourists, and they revolve around the subway and the bus systems, but could be applicable to Metro North, LIRR, PATH, and taxis also.

Here are a few of my favorites (in no particular order):

1)  Be aware of any credit card / bank promotions that may be going on.  Bank of America recently had a promotion going on where you would get $10 back for every $100 spent.  Chase is currently offering $10 back for every $150 spent on an enrolled card (hurry, ends 4/30/09).  This ends up being a 6.6% to 10% discount!

2)  This is a follow up to the credit card promotions.  Know and have any credit cards that give you bonus cash back or points for transit purchases.  For example, the Citi PremierPass Elite card gives you 2% back in points + 2% matching flight points for a total of 4% back in points.

3)  This method works only a few times, but could potentially save you a lot of money.  It applies only when you have paid for a 30 day metro card, but will end up being out of town for a period of time (1-2 weeks) during the middle of a 30 day card period.  For example, I purchased a 30 day metrocard and used it for 15 days, but I will be out of town for the remaining 15 days.  One could decide to instead go pay as you go, or buy a 14 day unlimited for the first 15 days, but with this method, you can still use the 30 day metrocard and there by have the lowest cost.

The way to do this is with the Metrocard Balance Protection Program.  This program will automatically prorate and refund any unused portion of your unlimited metrocard when you call in and report your card "lost or stolen".   By doing this, you have essentially custom created a personal xx-day metrocard at the 30 day unlimited metrocard rate!  Note, you can ony do this once a calendar year for free, the 2nd time will cost you an extra $5.  You can also use multiple credit cards to get around this.

4)  Lastly, commuters on MetroNorth or LIRR should know that they can get a 5% discount by purchasing their tickets and passes online at mta.info.  MTA will then mail the tickets to you for free!

5)  Oh and one more thing, if the fare hikes do happen, you can normally stock up on a few 30 day unlimited metrocards at the old price and still have them work!  I will update this as more information is available.

I hope this helps.  If you have any tips to share, please feel free to leave them in the comments!

MTA Doomsday Plan passed! Call your senator today.

As you may or may not know, the MTA is proposing a massive 23% fare hike to deal with their budget shortfall.  

To prevent this, the state government in Albany needs to pass the Ravitch/Silver plan - which asks all sectors to contribute to keep our city on the move – but a handful of senators are holding out against it.

Call your State Senator TODAY (deadline is Wednesday) and tell them:

To prevent 23% fare hikes and drastic service cuts, support the Ravitch/Silver plans!

I live on the west side of Manhattan and my Senator is Duane at (518) 455-2451.

In a future post, I will post about how to save money on the MTA - including best credit cards to use, pre-tax options, and other tricks!