The winning combination...

[sweeps]

Re: The winning combination...

b4: Makes sense. I think it's important to mention those things when recommending the Upromise card because some people may use it for all purchases and not just for the Upromise-only purchases where you really get the bang for the buck.

My store (Meijer) also does baby bucks, but they're not as lucrative as yours: $250 in purchases gets you a $20 gift card. One nice thing is that the full price of the items apply toward the baby bucks, before any coupons and rebates are applied.

On formula purchases we usually bought at Babies R Us. We'd wait for it to go on sale and then use a coupon or rebate check on top of it.

[b4freedom]

Re: The winning combination...

uppromise is only for a child's college account, right? I have no children.

No. You can use it to pay for your own college, or another relative. Or you can give it friend’s kids.

I opened a upromise account before I was even married (three years ago). I knew that some day I would have a family. My son is less then a year old and already has around $1300 for college from upromise. That $1300 cost me nothing but a few minutes of time. I didn’t open the 529 account until after he was born. I think of it as free money, why not sign up, someday you might help buy someone a book or two for classes.

[slimcustomer]

Re: The winning combination...

My store gives me $10 baby bucks towards a $50 purchase when I purchase $75 in baby items.

Do you shope at ShopRite? I know they have a baby bucks program. You can also earn free Continental ONEPASS frequent flyer miles shopping at Shoprite when you register your PRICEPLUS card with the ONEPASS program. You earn 1 mile for every $2 spent.

[jmjj215]

Re: The winning combination...

b4: Makes sense. I think it's important to mention those things when recommending the Upromise card because some people may use it for all purchases and not just for the Upromise-only purchases where you really get the bang for the buck.

Perhaps I misunderstood upromise's terms.

If you have a citi 5% cb card, and you 'link' it w/ upromise, you'll be earning 5% per citi's agreements, and another 1% on upromise items that comes from the vendor - not from citi. So what's the harm in linking up all of your dcs/ccs to upromise for the possible extra 1% on upromise items?

[sweeps]

Re: The winning combination...

Jesse, we're talking 2 different things. Yes, you should link all of your cards to Upromise -- so whenever you happen to buy a Upromise item you automatically get the credit.

But what b4freedom is talking about is the Citi Upromise card, which offers you 1% on all purchases except for 11% on Upromise-specific items (and 2% on ExxonMobil gas stations, but who's counting). What b4freedom is doing is making a special trip into the store to buy all Upromise items with the Upromise card for the maximum 11%.

[b4freedom]

Re: The winning combination...

Do you shope at ShopRite? I know they have a baby bucks program. You can also earn free Continental ONEPASS frequent flyer miles shopping at Shoprite when you register your PRICEPLUS card with the ONEPASS program. You earn 1 mile for every $2 spent.

Do it. I also open the Continental credit card and use it to pay for a business trip wait a few months and then close it. I get tons of free points when I do this. I wonder how many times I can open and close a new credit card to get the extra points before they put a stop to it. Any ideas?

[b4freedom]

Re: The winning combination...

Jesse, we're talking 2 different things. Yes, you should link all of your cards to Upromise -- so whenever you happen to buy a Upromise item you automatically get the credit.

But what b4freedom is talking about is the Citi Upromise card, which offers you 1% on all purchases except for 11% on Upromise-specific items (and 2% on ExxonMobil gas stations, but who's counting). What b4freedom is doing is making a special trip into the store to buy all Upromise items with the Upromise card for the maximum 11%.

Correct. And I do this because my son has to use a special ridiculously priced formula (Nutramigen). If it wasn't for the baby food and formula, I probably wouldn't do it. But each container of formula I buy, I get about $2.90 towards upromise. He uses 4 containers a week. They do not produce coupons for this formula (I’ve looked). It never goes on sale (I’ve looked). I’ve checked out every store possible, including the web. The only thing that I can sometimes get is rebate checks from the manufacturer for $2 or $3. But, they stopped sending those months ago. I tried to order it in bulk from a couple of grocery stores and they wouldn’t give me a discount because they told me that they were only making pennies on it.

I also use the upromise card when my citi dividends card reaches the $300 max dividends.

[sakigt]

Re: The winning combination...

I havent maxed out yet (and probably wont) but I use my Discover card for my monthly bills and gas. Its nice to automatically get 1% back for doing nothing.

[jmjj215]

Re: The winning combination...

Jesse, we're talking 2 different things. Yes, you should link all of your cards to Upromise -- so whenever you happen to buy a Upromise item you automatically get the credit.

But what b4freedom is talking about is the Citi Upromise card, which offers you 1% on all purchases except for 11% on Upromise-specific items (and 2% on ExxonMobil gas stations, but who's counting). What b4freedom is doing is making a special trip into the store to buy all Upromise items with the Upromise card for the maximum 11%.

Ah, got it. Thanks for clarifying.

[quiznut1]

Re: The winning combination...

Okay, thanks for everyone's input. I don't want to get everyone off track, but I have just one problem. I referenced in a previous post that I am just a college student, no kids, still single , and will likely be taking on more expenses once I graduate in December.

I don't really want to go through the hassle of applying for a 529 account, just so I can get the MBNA Fidelity 2% card. I believe the Bank of America Power Rewards would be my best choice for most everything else of my expenses in the future, to get the most cash back (besides gas, grocery, drugstore). It is a 2% cash back card when I reach 50,000 points (at 1 point per dollar = $1,000 statement credit), and of course I have the option to buy up to 10,000 points per statement cycle if I want to cash out sooner. Are there other 2% cash back cards available that I am unaware of (besides MBNA Fidelity 529)?

Any other help would be welcome, thanks.

[sweeps]

Re: The winning combination...

quiz, where does it say about getting $1,000 for 50,000 points? There is no such reward on BoA's site.

Would you buy a GM vehicle? You can get 5% from the GM card. Or if you like Suburu, you can get 3% on the Chase Suburu card. Or would you take a cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines? They have a card for 3%-4%.

[quiznut1]

Re: The winning combination...

quiz, where does it say about getting $1,000 for 50,000 points? There is no such reward on BoA's site.

I did my research on this a few months ago, when I first noticed that reward disappeared from the website. I called a Power Rewards representative, and they told me they removed the reward from the website because users of this card can no longer redeem for the 30,000 and 50,000 point rewards online. They have to call the Power Rewards Center, and the rewards are still available. She told me they won't be going away either. See This Fat Wallet Thread for more information. As it stands right now, you can redeem 30,000 points for $450 (1.5% back), and 50,000 points for $1,000 (2% back).

Would you buy a GM vehicle? You can get 5% from the GM card. Or if you like Suburu, you can get 3% on the Chase Suburu card.

I'm probably going to buy my first car used, and both those cards are for new car purchases.

Or would you take a cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines? They have a card for 3%-4%

You know it's funny, I've never been on a cruise in my life. I always thought Carnival was the big player in that business! You learn something new everyday. Otherwise, I don't think that would make a good fit either.

[34saving]

Re: The winning combination...

b4freedom -- check out eBay for Nutramigen. The cans may or may not be worth it (I'd do a seach for a local auction to avoid shipping). However, those checks you mentioned are for sale. Even if you're only saving a few bucks here and there . . . . Around here sometimes those checks come up on Freecycle too. I suppose you could even do a "wanted' if you participate in your local Freecycle community. . . and now back to your regularly scheduled thread . . . .

[b4freedom]

Re: The winning combination...

b4freedom -- check out eBay for Nutramigen. The cans may or may not be worth it (I'd do a seach for a local auction to avoid shipping). However, those checks you mentioned are for sale. Even if you're only saving a few bucks here and there . . . . Around here sometimes those checks come up on Freecycle too. I suppose you could even do a "wanted' if you participate in your local Freecycle community. . . and now back to your regularly scheduled thread . . . .

I've tried looking for Nutramigen online, including ebay. But, nothing is better then what I'm doing now. I haven't tried looking for the rebate checks. I'll definitely give that a try. Thanks for the tip.

[quiznut1]

Re: The winning combination...

Okay,
It's been a while and I haven't gotten any more advice on my situation. I'm moving this thread back to the top again to attempt to get some more replies. Any other advice? Is the BOA Power Rewards my best bet at 2% cash back? I want cash back for sure, and I want to use it for everything except gas, grocery, drugstore, and restaurant purchases, since I already get 5% cash back for those. Any other thoughts would help, and don't pull the Dave Ramsey on me, "I think you should get rid of your credit cards."