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Washington Mutual is now offering a 12-month CD (and also a 13-month CD) with an amazing APY of 5%. It is the best CD offer out there from a major bank. I can’t believe some people are still putting up with savings accounts that give them less than 1%.

Link to WaMu Offer

The minimum deposit required to open this CD account is $1,000. It’s an Online CD, so you have to open it online. You can’t go to a branch. In addition, according to the terms of the offer, to obtain the APY for the effective date on the day you apply, the Online CD account must be funded within seven (7) calendar days. As with any other CD account, early withdrawal penalties (i.e. 90 days interest) apply.

Note: Beware! The financial services industry is going through some major turmoil right now. Washington Mutual is no exception. Since your deposit accounts at Washington Mutual will be FDIC insured, there’s absolutely no risk of losing any funds as long as your deposit is less than $100,000. In these troubled times, I would not keep more than $100,000 in any single bank account. If a bank goes bankrupt, you will likely lose any amount above the $100,000 for which your account is insured.

American Express will give you 5000 bonus points when you sign up for their Green Rewards Card and use it to make any purchase. The card is available both as a consumer credit card and also as a business card. The 5000 points are worth $50 and are redeemable for gift cards from major retailers (e.g. Banana Republic, Dell, etc.).

There are a couple of reasons why American Express seems to be able to give away such generous bonuses:
1. Merchants have to pay American Express relatively high fees when customers pay them using American Express cards. That’s right. And it’s usually more than Visa and MasterCard charge.
2. Cardholders usually pay annual fees. In turn, they can earn better rewards with their cards. Many Visa and MasterCard credit cards, on the other hand, do not charge annual fees. At the same time, their rewards programs are generally not as good as the American Epxress rewards program.

As a potential cardholder, you need only be worried about the fees that you have to pay American Express. So what are the fees? Do you have to pay to get the $50 bonus? Actually, no. With this card, there is no annual fee for the first year. If you decide to cancel the card before the second year, you do not have to pay any annual fee. Either way, the bonus is yours to keep.

I admit the $50 bonus is not quite as generous as the $100+ bonuses available with some of the other cards we list, but $50 is still something. And if you apply for more than one card, the total value of the bonuses quickly add up to a considerable sum. At last count, it was more than $1,100. Not bad, eh? All of that is basically free money considering that you don’t have to pay any fees to get the bonuses.

You can apply for the American Express Green Card right online and instant approval is available for both cards.

Link to American Express Preferred Rewards Green Card (Consumer Credit Card)

Link to American Express Business Green Rewards Card (Business Credit Card)

Get $125 from Chase when you open a personal checking account with direct deposit. Either apply online or print out the coupon and take it with you to a local Chase branch.

This offer expires October 15, 2008.

Note: To qualify for this offer, you need to be an existing Chase customer (either credit card or deposit account). You have to be signed in to your online account or the link won’t work.

Link to Chase Offer

Here’s what it says on the offer page:

You already enjoy the benefits of Chase. For even more convenience and value, open a Chase Free Checking account with Direct Deposit by October 15, 2008 and you’ll receive $125 to thank you for your business.

It’s easy to get $125!

1. Print this page and take it to your local Chase Branch or apply online by October 15, 2008.
2. Open a Chase Free Checking account with Direct Deposit.
3. Watch your account. We’ll deposit $125 into your new Chase Free Checking account within 6-8 weeks of establishing direct deposit.

Chase Free Checking is more than free, it’s:

* FREE with Direct Deposit or 5 debit card purchases*
* FREE access to more than 9,000 Chase ATMs
* FREE Online Bill-Pay - including our Online On-Time GuaranteeSM**
* FREE Visa® Check Card with Zero Liability*** protection
* FREE Account Alerts sent by phone or e-mail to help you avoid fees
* FREE access to any of our 3,000 branches nationwide

Take advantage of all Chase has to offer. Open a Chase Free Checking account with Direct Deposit today. But hurry - this offer ends October 15, 2008.
*Chase Free Checking has no monthly service fee when you have a direct deposit or five or more debit card purchases post to your account each statement period (withdrawals from the ATM or cash advance transactions do not qualify).

Chase Free CheckingSM requires a $100 minimum opening deposit of new money (money not currently held by Chase or its affiliates) to qualify for the $125 offer. Also, you must open a new checking account and initiate a repeating direct deposit such as payroll, Social Security, or other government benefits. The first direct deposit must be completed within 60 calendar days of account opening. The $125 reward will be deposited into your new account within 6-8 weeks after the initial direct deposit and is not considered part of the minimum opening g balance. Limit one personal checking account-related reward/premium per customer, per calendar year. Offer not available on account conversions or in combination with any other offer. Checking account must remain open for a minimum of six months or the reward will be debited from the account at closing. Account is subject to approval. Reward is considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT.

**See the Chase Online Service Agreement for details on the Guarantee.

***Zero Liability protection - Chase reimburses you for any unauthorized card transactions made at stores, ATMs, on the phone, or online when reported promptly.

Bank of America is offering a $50 bonus to customers who open a new checking account. Too bad, they used to offer $75.

The minimum deposit required to get this bonus is $100. This offer is valid until October 31, 2008 and is available online and at an Bank of America banking center.

Link to Offer

Here are the details from the offer page:

Open a new checking account and you can receive $50.
Make the move to better banking and you can receive $50.1 Just open a new, personal checking account, and you’ll enjoy access to your money on the nation’s largest network of bank-owned ATMs. And the freedom to bank from your new home with our free Online Banking service with unlimited Bill Pay.2

With Bank of America you can expect:
- Many ways to enjoy checking with no monthly maintenance fee.
- Free Total Security Protection® package on Bank of America Visa® Check Cards and Credit Cards.2
- Access near home, work or school with over 5,700 banking centers.
Find a location near you >
- Saving made simple with Keep the Change™.
- Free remittance to Mexico with SafeSend®3 and a Bank of America personal checking account.
- Plus, receive $50 when you open a new account.

Your gift is waiting
To receive your $50, apply online or go to your nearest banking center. Use offer code AOU260808, and open a personal checking account before October 31, 2008. Click here for a location near you.

Here are some new bonuses you can get when you sign up for select Bank of America credit cards. There is no annual fee associated with these cards.

1.  Get a $50 Gift Card when you sign up for the NFL Extra Points Visa Credit Card. You pick your favorite NFL team and your Bank of America credit card is going to have your team’s logo.

Link to Offer

• Get a $50 Gift card after your first qualifying transaction(s) using your Extra Points™ credit card.
• Introductory 0% Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for Cash Advance Checks and Balance Transfers through your first 12 billing cycles* (subject to a 3% transaction fee, no less than $10).
• Earn 1 point for every net retail purchase dollar spent.
• No annual fee.

2.  Get $50 store credit at the NASCAR.com superstore when you sign up for the NASCAR RacePoints Visa Credit Card. You can pick the NASCAR flag of your favorite driver to put on your card.

Link to Offer

3. In case you’re wondering, Bank of America also offers a Major League Baseball credit card. Actually, it’s a MasterCard. Unfortunately, there is no sign-up bonus, so there is really no incentive to sign up for this card unless you’re a huge baseball fan. (Bank of America does not have an NBA-branded credit card.)

Amazon is offering a 1-month trial of Amazon Prime. Good way to save on shipping if you’re ordering something for under $25.

Link to Offer

“Amazon Prime members enjoy the following benefits:
1. Unlimited FREE Two-Day Shipping on millions of Amazon.com Items
2. Overnight Shipping upgrades for only $3.99 per item
3. Shopping with no minimum order size
4. Ability to share benefits with up to 4 household members
5. 1 Month Free Trial”

Discover Card is offering a $10 Discover gift card (which you can use it like cash) for every $100 you spend at participating malls. It basically works out to 10% cash back. All you have to do is collect your receipts and then go to the customer service desk at the mall and they’ll give you the gift card right on the spot.

The maximum amount of gift cards you can get is $50 (i.e. a $50 gift card for $500 in purchases).

There also seems to be a way to make money on this deal. Note that the offer terms do not prevent you from returning items later on should you decide you don’t really need them. Either way, the gift card is still yours to keep.

For additional details and a list of participating malls, click here to go directly to the Discover Card mall promo page.

Here’s How it Works
* Find a mall near you from the list of participating malls below
* Shop in the mall and use your Discover Card
* Collect your Discover Card receipts from any store at any participating mall from August 1 through September 7, 2008
* Bring your Discover Card receipts to customer service and redeem for your $10 Discover Gift Card

“Get a $10 Discover Gift Card for every $100 you spend on your Discover Card at participating malls from August 1 through September 7, 2008.*”

*Get a $10 Discover® Gift Card when you make $100 in purchases with your Discover Card at a participating mall between 8/1/08–9/7/08, while supplies last. Original receipts and your Discover Card must be presented to a participating mall’s Customer Service by 9/7/08. Limit 5 Gift Cards per account, during the promotion period. See Gift Card terms and conditions for full details.

If you’re a Citibank checking account customer, you can get 6000 Thank You Points (redeemable for $50 gift card) just by completing a quick 2-minute survey.

Simply call 1-866-422-1443 by 08/08/08 and mention code ATTS to take the survey.

Sprint wants to pay you $20 for using the Samsung Instinct in your home video on YouTube. They call it ‘Hollywood-style product placement for the small screen’.

Link to Sprint Samsung Instinct Promo Offer

“We’ll pay you 20 Bucks! To put the Instinct in your home video.* $10,000 Grand Prize.”

*First thousand videos will receive $20.

Sure, if you don’t already have a Samsung Instinct, it’s not going to be worth it to buy one just to use it in this video. At the same time, it’s not entirely clear if you are even required to use a real phone in your video. If not, you could save some money and just use a photo image of the phone. Official rules won’t be posted until June 30, 2008 though. So be sure to check back.

Costco gas stations usually sell gasoline at significantly lower prices than other stations in the same neighborhood. The only catch is that only Costco members are supposed to be able to fill up their cars at Costco gas stations. Well, that’s only technically true.

In fact, a membership is not required after all. You just need an American Express credit card. When you’re prompted to swipe your Costco membership card, simply swipe your American Express card instead. It’s as easy as that.

How is this possible? It may have to do with the co-branded Costco American Express TrueEarnings card. This card doubles as an AMEX credit card and a Costco membership card. It may just be technically impractical for the credit card machine at the pump to distinguish between this card and regular American Express cards.

T-Mobile is set to join other cellphone networks and raise their text messaging rates to $0.20 per message starting August 29, 2008. If you haven’t already received the official notice, expect to receive it with your next T-Mobile billing statement.

Unless you have an unlimited text messaging plan, you are going to be affected by this change one way or another. The rate increase is both good news and bad news. If you’re planning to stick with T-Mobile, it’s bad news. If you want to cha