Chase Freedom: Free Money

So seeing that I need to build my credit history I decided to sign up for another credit card to add to my Citi Professional Card. I was waiting for a card to give me a signup reward and a worthwhile cash back program. Enter Chase Freedom.

While reading slickdeals.net @ work, I came across the post for a $250 signup reward when applying for the card. I was hesitant at first seeing that you only saw the signup on the landing page occasionally and on the application form there was no mention of the bonus. Regardless, some posters had detailed their success in getting the reward so I took the plunge.

Weeks passed and I was worried whether or not I'd actually get the card. I gave my email address and everything, but I'd had no word from Chase for a good two weeks or so. Eventally the card came but no mention of the rewards. I quickly signed up for the online account and scoured the pages for the reward. Nada.

So I thought I'd been screwed, but low and behold when checking my account balance one day the rewards showed up in my account. Clicked on "redeem" and received my $250 check in the mail about a week later.

So what's the good and the bad with the card?

Good:

• Accumulating $200 in rewards is good for a $250 check (Otherwise you can cash out $50 in rewards for $50). Effectively that's a 1.25% cash back instead of 1.00% if you can wait to accumulate $200.
• 3% on Gas, Grocery and Quick Service Restaurants. I rarely buy gas or groceries, so that really doesn't matter for me. I do go to places for lunch, but I've yet to see getting 3% back at the delis and sandwich shops I go to... I wonder if its only for fast food which I've been trying no to eat...
• Online account is easy to use. No hassles

Bad:

• Ridiculous APR. I pay my balances in full every month, but if you miss a payment on this baby you're screwed. So definitely sign up for the email reminders when your bill is due.
• No 3% back on regular restaurants.

All in all, I think I'll use the Freedom card over the Professional for everyday purchases and the like and reserve the Professional for restaurants. In the meantime I'll be on the lookout for possibly another card with a different type of reward.

One Love,
Look

Hands on with the Garmin Nuvi 350

So I plopped down $400 or so for Garmin's Nuvi 350 from Amazon.com for my dad's Christmas gift a while back. At that time, it was one of the better rated models and was a steal considering other big box retailers were selling it for $500+. Since then, the price has come down as the model will probably be discontinued for its bigger and "better" successor the 660.

Some quick notes. The actual device itself is very lightweight and pretty easy to use. I thought the screen would be a little too small and clumsy, but it actually works quite fine. Switching between maps is sometimes a pain and I haven't quite gotten it figured out yet. The device works well, using mostly main roads (so side street detours can prove troublesome), but unfortunately it doesn't have any construction information about detours, etc. So if you are off the suggested route, you'll hear endless directions to try and put you on something where you can't go.

So far, so good, however. Further review after continued use.

One Love,
Look

The Incredible Shrinking Interest Rate... Citibank eSavings

If you've been paying attention to interest rates in the past few months, you've noticed they've leveled off after the Fed stopped raising its rate. Banks have quietly reduced the APYs offered on their accounts, with Citibank being the sneakiest (to me) of them all.

So without warning I've noticed the rates they offer have freefalled. From a high of 5.5% it decreased to 5.0% then 4.75% and now 4.65%. Having so many different webpages and different ways to access the site, I didn't even notice the decrease to the recent 4.65% rate until recently. I think they should show the rate on the login screen or at least show you the eSavings details including interest rate/APY when you log into your account.

As such, I've moved most of my money in the Citibank eSavings account to Emigrant Direct and locked in a CD at 5.20% APY. With its current trajectory Citibank will fall to a level of ING at which point I will take most of my money there out. The only reason I leave money in there is for bills and such. O wells. Citi, kiss my $$$ goodbye.

One Love,
Look

Washin' your clothes in style.

How do you wash your designer duds in ordinary washers? Pssh. Silly.

Enter Samsung's Hauzen washer. Designed by Andre Kim this washer features a stainless steel door door and is frosted in a unique pattern you can't find on just an ordinary washer. To top it off, as you watch your clothes in the spin cycle, you can admire the golden coat of arms adorning the center window.

Worth it? You decide. No word on price points or other features, but a designer washer? Now that just seems ridiculous.

One Love,

Look

Coke vs. Pepsi... Who Cares?

The debate over Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and Pepsi (NYSE: PEP) seems to never end. Just today, some co-workers of mine debated over the qualities of each and which was the superior cola beverage. A professed Pepsi drinker, I can say I do have a preference. However, its crazy to me when people launch tirades over which is the better beverage. To me, bubbly is bubbly. If Pepsi is available, I'll go for that. If it isn't, I won't cry about it I'll simply just go with a Coke. Sometimes if I'm feeling adventurous I'll just go for Coke to switch things up. Call me crazy.

Now there's taste tests and all that jazz on the drink people prefer. Now if you like Coke or Pepsi, so be it. But that doesn't mean you should go biblical on others and force your beverage of choice upon them. Yes they do taste different. I'm no expert, but I'd say Coke is a bit more bubbly and Pepsi is a bit more sweet. I don't know if anyone else notices this, but I'd definitely say that Coke/Pepsi in a can tastes different than Coke/Pepsi in a bottle and still more different than Coke/Pepsi from the tap. It also depends what type of glass you put it in (plastic/glass/etc.). I'm sure at restaurants you order one thing, but they give you whatever they have there. Also, I'm sure most people go with "I'll have a coke (not specifying brand)" rather than sounding like a tool and saying "Make mine a Pepsi." Well at least thats what I say. The restaurant could give me some third party brand (RC Cola anyone?) and I probably wouldn't know the difference. Truth is, fountain sodas are way too inconsistent on their syrup to whatever ratio and it never tastes the same.

Alas, no matter what your cola of choice is, I say if you feel so strongly about it you end up looking like a silly fool. Yes, thats right silly fool. I'm a silly fool for wasting the time to write this entry. Anyway, by being so brand-loyal you've fallen for their multi-million dollar marketing campaigns and have become enslaved to the corporation. Call me frugal/cheap or what you will, but if I'm in the grocery store I'd go with whatever costs less because at the end of the day, are those seconds you have the bubbly dancing on your tongue worth that extra dough just because its from a particular brand? To me it ain't.

So as you chug down your cola (you actually shouldn't it's bad for your teeth... wash it down with water after you're done or go brush your teeth) in the end it doesn't matter. There's plenty of room in this world for both of these outfits. As seen in the charts below, both Coca-Cola and Pepsi have done quite well for themselves. As poor chaps like me continue to drink the stuff even with all the health warnings (not unlike tobacco...), these stocks seem to have a solid customer base that keeps refreshing itself. So maybe you should just invest in these stocks instead of drinking them. This way you can stay brand loyal by choosing your company and have a brighter smile by avoiding the stains these colas bring.

The Coca-Cola Company (KO)

Pepsico (PEP)

One Love,
Look

Citi Professional Card: Back in Business... (an update)

Back in the building, back on the map. My credit card rewards were corrected in fact.

So earlier I wrote about a troubles with my Citi Professional Card, as I had been shorted the 1% back on everything and the 3% back on restaurants. Recently I got my statement where my rewards were correctly adjusted and my new purchases correctly reflected my purchases.

Now although the rewards information was correct, the thing that worried me more was the balance of my bill. Ever since I got the card, it seems that my balances have slowly been climbing. Although there was a big jump this month, it was due to some Christmas shopping and a fancy dinner at Cafe Grey. That being said, I'm glad to have gotten 3% back on my near $300 bill from the feast at Cafe Grey. Who knew rabbit, fish, and all that stuff I never really eat could cost so much? Anywho, I think my balances will continue gradually rising as my girlfriend from Tampa has come back to NYC. She's definitely a food monster and I will continue to be greatful for the 3% back on restaurants.

In other news, I cannot express enough how much I enjoy this holiday season. Family, friends, food and just good times. Now if only work didn't get in the way...

One Love,
Look

Citi Professional Card as Rewarding as it Claims?

To take advantage of the offers being handed out by credit card companies, I decided to sign myself up for the Citibank Professional Card (To find out more go to Citibank's site here: http://citicards.com/). The card rewards include 3% Cash Back on purchases made at restaurants, gas stations and some office supply stores and 1% Cash Back on all other purchases. Seeing that I've been spending TONS of money at the fine restaurants NYC has to offer, the feature that sold me on the card was the 3% Cash Back on restaurants. Add up all those lunch meals and dinner gatherings, the cash could definitely pile up in a hurry.

At first, the card was great and the rewards were given as advertised. I've had the card for about 3 months now and my experience with it is beginning to sour. I noticed last month that my rewards were lower than 1% of the balance on my card for the month. This was especially troubling seeing that over $300 was spent on restaurants. So not only was I not receiving the 1% Cash Back, I wasn't getting the 3% Cash Back on restaurants. I figured there must have been some mistake that was easily fixible so I emailed the support.

Their Response:

Customer Service Wrote:

To better assist you regarding rewards, we need to speak with you directly. Please contact us at 1-800-950-5114. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Outside the U.S., call collect at 605-335-2222.

Thank you for using our website.

Well I thought that was annoying, but I went ahead and called the number. After being on hold for a good 7 minutes, I was finally connected with a rep. I thought it was a bit strange that I had to tell the rep my password to my account, but wanting to fix the problem I went ahead and disclosed that information. I told her about the problem and she assured me she would get it fixed. Pleased, I hung up and thought it would all be fixed.

Weeks later I checked my account again and the problem was still not fixed. Apparently the rep hadn't come through for me. I called the number again to complain and try to get the situation fixed. The new rep, while more helpful that the previous one, didn't seem to have a handle on how the whole rewards process worked. I went through the calculations with him, having to repeat slowly what I was calculating until he finally got it. He then said that the rewards were showing up correctly on his system, but I told him they were incorrect on the online statement. He proved to be little help as he said "I'm sorry I can only tell you what's on my screen and I don't know why the online statement shows something different." So I thanked him for his time and hung up. Currently, my rewards are still incorrect and its beginning to seriously annoy me. So I'll wait another week or two before I call them back and release an angry tirade on them.

That said, I think its time to start looking for another credit card. Any suggestions?

One Love,
Look

Nintendo Wii... Gettin' you up outta yo' seat.

Wii!

This weekend I was lucky enough to get a hold of Wii, Nintendo's latest and greatest gaming system, which has grand ambitions of revolutionizing gaming as we know it. (To find out more go to Nintendo's Wii site here: http://wii.nintendo.com/) Aside from eBay, the Wii is pretty much out-of-stock nationwide, but was more widely available than Sony's PS3. Initial estimates show Nintendo was better able to meet customer demands and all in all had a better launch than Sony's bumbled efforts. If you weren't able to get your hands on the launch, have no fear, as Nintendo is shipping thousands of units over weekly to the states.

Now on to the fun. The aesthetics of the console itself (as seen in the picture above) are very Apple iPod-esque. The gaming unit is a clean, simple but still sophisticated machine. As like its other Nintendo brethren, the unpackaging to playing was a relatively simple and painless process. The setup used was a basic straight to TV job, but if you're willing to kick in some more $$$ you can throw down for better cables for a better viewing experience. Those wishing to spare their wallets can rest easy, as the Wii experience can still be enjoyed without purchasing this upgrade.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of unboxing the Wii is the controller pictured below. The remote-like controller was very lightweight, but the handling both the joystick and the remote took lots of patience, getting-used to and coordination. The selling point of this new controller is the motion-sensitive chip which captures the player's movements to control objects on the screen. At first, this was definitely something strange but after playing for a while it became second nature.

Well, thats all the time I have for today's post. Wii gameplay shall be covered in a future post.

One Love,
Look