Hack the planet(‘s bank account)

Provident Bank is giving away $123 for new Provident Checking Account holders if you open before March 31st, this is the easy three step process:

• Step 1: Choose and open your checking account, plus order your FREE MasterMoney™ debit card.
• Step 2: Sign up for Direct Deposit.
• Step 3: Start using your new account and get $123.

Terms & Conditions:

* Provident Bank will award $123 to personal checking customers that open a new Totally Free, Regular, Interest or Platinum checking account between February 2 and March 31, 2009 that have direct deposit and an active Provident MasterMoney™ debit card by April 30, 2009. Customers that enroll in Provident Bank’s Power Points debit card rewards program by April 30, 2009 will receive 500 bonus points by May 31, 2009. Limit one per household. Employees and their families of Provident Bank and its subsidiaries are not eligible for this offer. Minimum opening deposit of $25 is required for all personal checking accounts. Checking account Annual Percentage Yields as of January 21, 2009: Interest: .10%; Platinum .25%. Yields may vary after account is opened and may vary by branch location. Fees can reduce earnings. The cash award will be deposited into qualifying personal checking accounts in good standing on or about May 31, 2009. The maximum award for this promotion is $123. Customers will be responsible for applicable taxes. Offer valid for limited time and cannot be combined with other promotional offers.

PNC Bank is offering 7500 pennies ($75!) when you open a new PNC Personal Checking account with qualifying direct deposit. Be sure to get the PNC Free checking where there are no minimum balance requirements and no monthly service charges. You also get Non-PNC ATM fees reimbursed if you have an average $2,000 monthly balance. Offer expires 1/31/09.

Terms & Conditions:

Offer requires the opening of a new PNC Bank Free Business Checking, Business Basic Checking, Business Enterprise Checking, Analysis Business Checking, Non-Profit Checking, Retail Businesses Checking, Medical Professionals Checking or Real Estate Services Checking account by January 31, 2009 and enrollment in online banking by February 27, 2009. $75 cash bonus will be credited to your new PNC Bank Business Checking account by May 31, 2009. Offer not available for PNC Business Checking accounts opened using an individual’s Social Security number. Fees may apply to the account. Please refer to the Business Checking Accounts and Related Charges for current prices on account features and other services. Offer may be extended, modified, or discontinued at any time without notice and may vary by market.

My current credit card strategy is to carry three credits and only three credit cards. I have two that are focused like laser beams to give me the highest cash back possible on the things I spend money on and then a “catch-all” backup card that has no annual limit on rewards and can be used to get everything else. I don’t want to carry any more than three cards and I don’t feel carrying less than three will be as effective. Every additional card is more overhead, it’s another account to manage, it’s another account I can be late on paying, it’s just too much headache and hassle for very little return.

So, which cards do I consider the best? Well that depends on how much you’re spending and where. The “best” card for me may not be the best card for you. I buy groceries but it’s not my largest expense, you may have groceries as your largest; so your optimal card and my optimal card are different.

So, the best way to do this is to analyze your spending, probably best done through a budget, and select from the following list of best cash back and reward credit cards.

Sovereign Bank is offering a $100 bonus for new checking accounts if opened and deposited, with $10, by 2/27/09. In addition to the deposit, you have to make six purchases within 60 days of opening the account and your $100 cash will be deposited into your account 15 days after the 60 day opening period.

The two accounts that are eligible are the Interest Checking and the Premier Checking, though the Premier has some pretty steep requirements to avoid a fee. Interest Checking has a $5 monthly fee that is waived if you set up a direct deposit.

Terms & Conditions:

Open a new Sovereign Premier Checking, Business Owner Premier Checking, Interest Checking or Partnership Checking account by February 27, 2009 with a standard minimum opening deposit of $10 and request a Sovereign Visa® CheckCard (“CheckCard”). If you make 6 CheckCard purchases within 60 days after you open your account, you will receive a credit of $100 to your new checking account within 15 days after the expiration of this 60-day period. One $100 credit per customer. Your account must be open in order for you to receive your bonus. Annual percentage yield (APY) of 0.05% for Sovereign Premier Checking or Business Owner Premier Checking when balance is less than $5,000 and 0.20% APY when balance is $5,000 and above. APY of 0.05% for Sovereign Interest Checking. APY of 0.05% for Sovereign Partnership Checking when balance is less than $2,000 and 0.10% APY when balance is $2,000 and above. APYs valid for new accounts only, are effective as of 1/17/09 and are subject to change thereafter and after account opening. Fees may reduce earnings. The amount of the bonus credited to your account will be reported to the IRS as interest for the year in which the bonus is paid. Current personal checking customers or anyone who has had a personal checking account with Sovereign Bank or any of its divisions in the last 6 months are not eligible for this offer. Current employees of Sovereign Bank or any of its divisions are also not eligible for this offer. Cannot be combined with other personal checking offers.

Flagstar Bank is offering $100 new checking account bonus if you open a new checking account with them but it’s available only at their retail banking center (locator).
Terms & Conditions:

$100 deposit available for new checking account customers only (no existing Flagstar checking account). For a limited time, open a new personal checking account with an automatic, recurring direct deposit of income of at least $250 per month, excluding interest deposits, and we’ll deposit $100 into your account within 30 days after the first recurring direct deposit takes place. Minimum opening deposit is $50. Direct deposit must be established within first 60 days of account opening. All accounts must remain open and active for a minimum of six months. If checking account is closed within the first six months, Flagstar reserves the right to reclaim the $100 deposit. See your Flagstar representative for more details. Flagstar will issue a 1099 for the $100. Offer not good in conjunction with any other coupons or checking account offers. Some restrictions apply. Limit one $100 deposit per customer per account. Offer subject to change or cancellation at any time without notice.

Wainwright Bank, located Massachusetts, is offering a $200 Series EE Savings Bond for new personal value checking accounts. This promotion is available nationwide.

Terms & Conditions:

To be eligible to receive a free $200 Series EE U.S. Savings Bond you must open a new Wainwright Bank personal checking account and have a recurring payroll, Social Security or public assistance Direct Deposit made to the account; limit one bond per household; bond will be mailed within 90 days of account opening; account must be in good standing with active Direct Deposit at time of Bond mailing; offer is subject to change and may be withdrawn at any time; new account opened subject to approval; initial value of Bond will be reported to the IRS as interest; offer not available for current personal checking customers or anyone who has had a personal checking account with Wainwright Bank in the last 60 days.

Bank of America is running yet another new account bonus, this time a $50 promotion bonus for a new checking account. Click the link or go to a bank and use the code AOU261208 by Feb. 27, 2009 and the cash is yours.

Terms & Conditions:

Offer expires 2/27/09 and is available through our online application or in any Bank of America banking center. Offer does not apply to second or multiple checking accounts and/or existing checking customers. Student checking accounts are not eligible for this offer. Bank of America associates are not eligible for this offer. All accounts are subject to our normal approval process. This form must be presented at the time the account is opened if account is opened in a banking center. This minimum deposit required to open a new, personal checking account and receive the $50 offer is $100. We will make every attempt to directly deposit the $50 into your new Bank of America checking account. If for any reason we are unable to do so, a check will be issued as a replacement. We will deposit the money within 90 days of opening your new account. Limit one check per household. To the extent required by law, Bank of America will report the value of the offer to the IRS on Form 1099. Any applicable taxes are the responsibility of the account holder. For interest-bearing personal checking accounts, the Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is 0.05% as of 11/14/08 for any account balance. The rate may change after the account is opened. Fees could reduce earnings on the account. Please consult a Banking Center, visit bankofamerica.com or see the Personal Schedule of Fees for other account fees, rates and information.

Citi has been cracking down on unused credit cards and I was one of the people affected. They decided to drop the credit line on my Citi Professional card, a card I haven’t used in a year or so, and then axe it entirely at the end of the month. Fortunately, I have a proper response.

Citi lets you periodically request credit line increases through their online interface. Today, while looking at my Citi mtvU card, I requested it and they granted a $2,000 increase with no credit pull.

To request a credit line increase, log into your account. Then, at the top, look for Tools & Service, then click Request A Credit Line Increase. You will either be notified that you’ve been given one or asked to fill out more information.

If you are asked for more information, cancel it. If you offer the information, you’ll have your credit pulled. If you are offered an increase like this:

Congratulations!
Your credit line can be immediately increased by $2,000.00 for a total new credit line of $9,600.00.

During the evaluation process, a credit bureau report was not pulled.

Please indicate below whether or not you accept this amount. If you want a lower credit line, call Customer Service at 1-800-950-5114. Outside the U.S., call 605-335-2222.

Click Yes!

There you have it, quick and easy credit line increases.

Citibank is once again offering a $25 bonus for new Citibank Ultimate Savings accounts. You’ll need to open and fund a new Ultimate Savings Account with $1,000 by 1/31/09 and then maintain that minimum for three consecutive calendar months. Promotion code is CYA8.

$25 offer is not valid for existing Citibank deposit customers. To qualify for this offer you must: (1) Open and fund a new Ultimate Savings Account with a minimum initial deposit of $1,000 by 01/31/2009 using offer code CYA8 and (2) maintain a minimum balance of $1,000 in your account each month for the next 3 consecutive calendar months. $25 will be credited to your Ultimate Savings Account within 120 days from the date of satisfaction of offer terms. Account must be open and in good standing at the time of $25 credit. The amount of any bonus payment will be reported to the IRS as interest earned in the year credited.

When you leave something plugged in and in the “standby” mode, it’s probably using electricity. It’s pretty obvious on appliances like your microwave, but it’s less obvious for appliances like your receiver, something you don’t see lit up when it’s in standby. But did you know that appliances can suck away about a hundred dollars a year in “vampire electricity” usage a year? Yep, it’s true. Lots of appliances suck up electricity when they’re in the off position and it’s because our society has fallen in love with instant gratification. I want my appliance to turn on quickly, not take some time to power up. The easiest way to tell if your appliance sucks up vampire electricity is whether it has a hard switch that goes click. Unless the circuit is broken, the appliance will suck up electricity.

Easiest way to prevent it? Plug everything into a surge protector and unplug it when you’re not using it!