It's Just Money

Points, miles, etc. update

Since my job change, I no longer have an expense report, and occasional travel to bump up my miles and points.  So, despite the length of time since the last update, there's not a huge change.

Here are the updates.

Points, Miles and Rewards Update

I have quite a bit of good stuff going on in the points/miles/etc. department this month.  Here are the current balances for each of the programs in which I participate.

Southwest Rapid Rewards:  One voucher for a free flight in hand, 13.5 points away from another.

MyPoints:  8,187 points.  About 6,500 points is required to redeem for a $50 gift card to a number of places such as Old Navy, Bath & Body Works, Macy's, or Olive Garden.  I should go ahead and make a redemption, but I haven't decided where I would like the gift card from.  If you are not a member, here is how it works.  They send you email offers, and you get 5 points just for clicking on it.  It opens the offer in a new window, which you close immediately.  Occasionally, they give you 50 points for completing a survey or signing up some sort of offer.  And you can earn lots of points for actually making purchases. If you are not a member, email me.  I can refer 5 members per month, and I get 100 points after you earn 100 points.  I'm at lamoneyguy (at) gmail.com.

Hilton Honor Points:  290,769 points.  This one is the mother lode.  That's enough points to put my Fiancee and me up for over a week at Hilton's most posh resorts around the world.  And no, I don't mean Paris' current residence in the county jail.  I use the American Express Hilton Honors card for the majority of my purchases.  It's not the right card for everybody, but it's the best choice for me.

MBNA WorldPoints:  1,309.

MySurvey:  715 points.  I can redeem 1,000 points for a $10 check.  I have been using them for a few years and have made a total of about $300.  Not bad.  The surveys are mostly pretty short.  Occasionally, you will qualify for a 300 points survey or something.  Sign up at mysurvey.com, (disclaimer:  I'll get 150 points referral credit.)

Discover Cash Back Bonus:  $90.38.  I can redeem $20 for a $25 Men's Wearhouse gift card.  They allow only one gift card per purchase.  I might use them for the tuxes for our wedding, so if I can get enough gift cards, I'll ring them up as separate purchases and get a nice discount on a pretty hefty expense.

I found a Twenty Dollar bill today

I was walking through the parking garage in my office building, and there it was.  There was no one else around, and from about 25 yards away I could see something on the ground.  "That looks like money," I thought to myself.  I slowed down just enough to pick it up, and sure enough, it was a twenty dollar bill!

I stuck it in my pocket, pleased at my good fortune.  I wondered, however, if there was a proper action to take at that time.  Should I have gone to the building security desk and reported the find?  How realistic is it that the person who lost it will report to them, inquiring about any good samaritans?  If not, will they return the $20 to me, or keep it for themselves?

No, I just kept it.  I'll probably pay for brunch on Sunday with my newfound riches.

Points, Miles and Rewards Update for April 2007

Here is the latest update of my points, miles and rewards program balances.

Southwest Airlines:  I have one voucher in hand, and need 15.5 points to obtain another.

MyPoints:  6,903 points.  I earned about 1,500 points this month.  About 6,500 points are required to redeem for $50 gift cards to a variety of places such as Old Navy, Olive Garden, Macys or a host of other optinos.  Not bad for something that doesn't cost any money, and very little time.  If you are not a member, here is how it works.  They send you email offers, and you get 5 points just for clicking on it.  It opens the offer in a new window, which you close immediately.  Occasionally, they give you 50 points for completing a survey or signing up some sort of offer.  And you can earn lots of points for actually making purchases.  If you are not a member, email me.  I can refer 5 members per month, and I get 100 points after you earn 100 points.  I'm at lamoneyguy (at) gmail.com.

Hilton Honors Points:  272,036.  At this rate we'll cover our entire Honeymoon and have points left over.

MBNA WorldPoints:  967.  I had over 25,000 points last month, but redeemed the 25,000 for a $250 check, which I deposited into our wedding fund.

Discover Cash Back Bonus:  $79.05.  Among other things, the Discover Cash Back can be redeemed for Men's Wearhouse gift cards.  I'm thinking about using this for the tuxes for my wedding.

CashDuck:  This is a new one for me.  I signed up at the referral of Tired But Happy.  It's pretty cool.  You sign up for offers, some free, some not, and you accumulate $$$ and "feathers" which allow you to buy stuff.  For every person you refer, you get a piece of their action.  So, click on the duck and be my referral!

Free iPod Nano for opening a TD Ameritrade account

Just go to the TD Ameritrade web site, open an account, and fund it with at least $10,000 and you get a free iPod Nano.  So, I checked the apple site, and found that the particular nano that they are offering retails for $150. 

I'm thinking about doing it, and just dumping the $10,000 in a 9 month CD, currently yielding 5.05%.  I figure the $150 over nine months is a 2% annualized return.  5.05% on $10,000 over nine months yields $378.75, pluse the value of the iPod yields a return of $528.75.  That's an annualized yield of 7.05%, risk free.

I'm not endorsing TD Ameritrade.  I have never used their services, so can't speak to the quality of their products or services.

Free Pizza Today from Pizza Hut

Mmm..  Pizza. In celebration of Pizza Day (I don't think we can blame the invention of this holiday on Hallmark), Pizza Hut is giving away a free slice of pizza to anyone who comes into one of their locations between 3pm and 5pm today.  Check out the Pizza Hut web site for details and location.  Of course, for most of us, this is a very difficult time to get away from the office.  But if you can go, it's good, 'cause hey, free pizza.

Recycling Loot

In a very appropriate coincidence, we brought our recycling load in last weekend.  Why the coincidence?  Sunday was Earth Day!  Admittedly, we're in it for the cash, but if we're doing something good for the environment at the same time, all the better.  After all, "green" is trendy now, isn't it?

Our last load of glass bottles, aluminum cans, and plastic was in early March.  This time is had been only about six or seven weeks since our last load.  We were pretty thrilled with our loot.  We cashed in $61.42!

Wow!  We really had some help this time.  We are collected bottles from several neighbors, both of our families, co-workers and friends.  Once again, the key is just to put it out there to people.  Let them know that you are recycling, and they will bring you their stuff.  Most people want do it for the environment, but are too lazy.  If you'll take it off of your hands and make a couple of bucks while you're at it, everyone wins.  Also, if you have a purpose, such as the wedding fund, as in our case, it's even more compelling.

I don't have the exact total, but that brings us over $200 from recycling!

Yet Another Timeshare Presentation

A couple of weeks ago we were approached at a wedding expo to attend another timeshare presentation.  A little weary from the last one, we asked what they had to offer.  They were offering $75 in gift cards to a variety of vendors, and two AMC movie tickets.  Well, for 90 minutes of our time on a Saturday morning in which we had no other plans?  Why not.  Besides, I kind of get a kick out of these things.

This time, I made a point to write down some of the pricing details so that I can compare it to resale sites such as Timeshares Only.  So, here was the presentation and the pricing details.  By the way, I plugged the numbers into Brian's Timeshare Calculator.  Awesome tool, Brian.

Here are the details of the presentation.

Points, Miles and Rewards Update

Here is the latest update of my points, miles and rewards program balances.

Southwest Airlines:  I just redeemed two vouchers for free flights that we will be taking in a few months.  That depletes my balance, but leaves me with 14.5 points, or 1.5 more points needed for another free flight.

MyPoints:  5,489 points.  I love MyPoints.  Are you a member?  If not, I highly recommend joining.  They send emails with offers for a variety of products.  You earn five points just for going to the recommended site.  Ten points for short surveys.  If you go through their site to a vendor such as Overstock.com, you will earn as much as ten points per dollar spent.  The points can be redeemed for gift cards or airline miles.  If you want to join, send me an email, and I'll send you an invitation.  You could go there yourself, but I get 100 points for recommending you.  Thanks!

Hilton Honors:  258,245 points.  This one's the biggie for me!  This is enough points to stay in their top of the line resorts for six nights, and have some left over.  By the time our honeymoon rolls around next year, I'll be able to use this for our lodging for the entire trip!

MBNA WorldPoints:  25,778 points.  I think I should use this.  I'm just not sure what I want to use it on.  25,000 points can be redeemed for $250 cash.  That would be a direct 1% payout.  A $50 Barnes & Noble, or Bed Bath & Beyond gift card would require 6,000 points.  That's just a 0.83% payout.  I can get merchandise.  I don't have enough for this, but a Microsoft XBox 360 is 76,900 points.  It's listed at Best Buy for $479.99.  That's a return on points of 0.62%.  Man, it keeps getting worse.  Perhaps I should just take the cash.

Discover Cash Back Bonus:  $78.41.  This means that I have $60 available to redeem, because they only let you redeemd in increments of $20.  I'll probably get a gift card or two.  Unlike MBNA, your value increases when you select gift cards over cash.

American Airlines AAdvantage Miles:  13,634 miles.

$100 from Washington Mutual for Opening an IRA (with a bonus math problem at the end)

I don't know if this is a company wide promotion, or just at my local branch.  The other day, I walked inside to deposit some funds.  Yes, I'm one of those guys who actually prefers to go inside rather than use the ATM.  Just don't trust those gosh darned newfangled gizmos!

As I waited in line, a sign caught my eye.  "Open a Wamu IRA with $100, and we'll give you $100!"  And right in the middle, in someone's messy handwriting, "and deposit $100 per month automatically."  So, when I got to the teller, I asked her for more info.  She took my name and number and told me that the woman who handles that is out.

The next morning I get a call from the "woman who handles that."  I asked about the restrictions.  None apparently.  It can be a traditional or Roth IRA.  You can open a savings account, CD or opt for one of the mutual funds that they offer (all load funds).  The only requirement is that I set up an automatic transfer from my checking to my new IRA of $100 per month.  The $100 bonus will be deposited to my account after the first 30 days and will be credited as a current year contribution.

I went in that afternoon to set up a Roth IRA in a 10 month CD.  It was their highest rate with an APY of 5.10%.  I made my initial deposit of $100, and signed the automatic transfer form to make $100 monthly transfers.  Here's the way I see it.  In order to fulfill my commitment, I will have made $1,300 in deposits.  $100 for the initial deposit, and 12 months at another $100.

At 5.10% and an additional $100 deposited after the second month, my balance at the end of 13 months should be $1,444.12.  That's not exact, as the CD is only a 10 month.  At the end of the 10 months, I'll have to put it in something shorter term.  But for the purposes of calculation, we'll assume 5.10% for the life of the account.

If that is my balance at the end of the 13 month commitment, I will have effectively earned a IRR of 47.69%.  Obviously, this impressive rate is due to my making the minimum deposits and taking advantage of the $100 bonus.  I am considering adding my 2006 Roth contribution to the same account, substantially reducing my effective rate.  However, I'll just engage in a little mental accounting, and tell myself that I am earning 5.10% on the 2006 money, and 47.69% on the 2007 contributions.

Heck, even if I add the $4,000 to my calculation, my IRR is still 15.63% for the entire account for the 13 month period.  Of course, this assumes that my calculations are correct.  Maybe I should write to Frank to verify my math.

Actually, here it is for Frank or any other math/excel geeks.