List of favorite accounts

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Topic Author
Planner
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List of favorite accounts

Post by Planner »

I frequently see people talk about the merits of one account over another, but I haven't found a single thread that lists people's preferences and a short explanation of why. I was hoping people could contribute to this post for that -- and of course, I'm always looking for a better way to do things. I feel like these are the tricks everyone should take advantage of. My list would be as follows:

Bank accounts:

-Lake Michigan Credit Union has a 3% checking account if you do 10 transactions each month on the debit card. It also tracks that for you, so you don't have to count. But it is only on up to $15k, though you can open one for a spouse, too, and earn 3% on up to $30k.
-Santander's Extra20 checking/savings earns $20/mo if you shuffle $1500 around using ACH transfers and bill pays. [Lost in summer 2016]
-Mango Money's prepaid debit card comes with a savings account that earns over 5% after a monthly fee if you keep the balance maxing out the $5k limit.
-Union Plus's prepaid debit card earns over 5%, and you can dodge the monthly fee by shuffling $500 around each month using ACH pushes and pulls. [Lost in fall 2015]
-[edit] Prepaid debit cards that come with 5% APY savings accounts on up to $5k: you can open 3 Netspends cards, 2 Brinks, 1 Insight, 1 Mango Money, 1 PayPal. You can often avoid any fees by automating transfers or direct deposits. So you and a spouse can have a total of $5k x (3+2+1+1+1) x 2 = $80k earning ~5% FDIC-insured.
-Discover Bank has a checking account that earns $0.10 per billpay check sent or debit card transaction. I use credit cards for almost everything, but for the unavoidable check, I use Discover. Or for tiny debit card transactions.
-Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking refunds any ATM fees worldwide. Used it in Poland to withdraw cash, and they paid all the fees.

Credit cards:

-Bank of America Better Balance Rewards Card combined with $300 in a Regular Savings account basically earns $10/mo. Me and my spouse have one, so we get $20/mo. You just have to do one transaction each billing cycle (we buy $0.50 Amazon gift cards) and pay it off on time.
-Sallie Mae Mastercard earns 5% on groceries (up to $250 spending), 5% gas (up to $250), and 5% books (up to $750, including amazon.com).
-5% rotating categories cards include: Chase Freedom, Discover It, Citi Dividends, and U.S. Bank Cash Plus Visa Signature card (and you can pick the categories).
-Penfed Platinum Plus Cash Rewards is 5% back on gas. Automatically deposits into my external bank account.
-Citi Forward Card for College Students offers 5 points per dollar spent on food, movies, books (including amazon), and music. You also get 100 points for paying bill on time. So I think it earns about 5% (with the bonus) on these categories, despite being a point-based system. The 5 points stuff ended in summer 2016.
-2% everything cards include Fidelity Investment Rewards Amex, and Citi Double Cash Mastercard.
-Capital One Platinum Mastercard Quicksilver Cash Rewards Card has no foreign transaction fees or currency conversion fees. Used in Poland just fine.
-Chase Ink Cash card (marketed to businesses, but individuals can get, too) earns 5% on internet, cell phones, and office supply stores.

Investing:

-For my HSA, I use HSA Bank in conjunction with TD Ameritrade's commission-free Vanguard ETFs. I have to pay $5.50/mo in fees, as I don't keep $5k in the HSA Bank checking account, but I'd rather invest the $5k.
-For Roth IRAs, individual 401ks and individual Roth 401ks, UTMAs, and taxable accounts, we use Vanguard for good options and low expense ratios. No fees. Comes with mutual fund and brokerage accounts.
-For college savings, we use Utah's 529 program, UESP. Has low fees and Vanguard investment options. Good variety of static, age-based, and customized options.
-For Coverdell ESA, we use USAA, and the best investment we found was a Nasdaq tracker, USNQX. High expense ratio, but lower than anything else we could find. I wish Vanguard did ESAs still. We plant o use this on K-12 expenses, including internet at home.
-*edit*For Coverdell ESA, I switched to Schwab for the commission-free, low-expense index ETFs. And maybe for that strange little robo-advisor I just heard about. I also asked them to pay for the $25 USAA closure fee, and they agreed. Nice!
-I bounce my Vanguard ETFs (Roth IRA and Taxable individual accounts) around brokerages to collect the various new account bonuses.

Auto loans:

-Penfed gave us a 0.99% auto loan, so we switched the balance over from our previous lender. Best rate we've found so far. I have heard that many credit unions and banks will match quotes you get, though.

Other:

-Own a share of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), get a discount for Geico auto insurance (a subsidiary).
-Healthcare sharing ministries offer health coverage that may be better for some people at a more affordable price. Excluded from the Affordable Care Act penalties, these nonprofits are not insurance, but an alternative good for some people. To join, you have to agree to their standards of living and belief. Some a very Christian. Some are more open to other faiths.
-SBLI and Banner Life Insurance gave us cheap term life insurance policies, and we also take advantage of what credit unions offer, though it isn't much. We used zanderins.com to find it, but I think term4sale.com works well, too.
-State Farm gave me cheap motorcycle insurance. Other companies seem to have minimum premium amounts that I didn't want to pay for an old bike.


I'm sure there are other better accounts out there, so if you know any, please list them here!

[last edited May 14, 2016]
Last edited by Planner on Sat May 14, 2016 11:57 pm, edited 10 times in total.
Topic Author
Planner
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by Planner »

Oh, man. No one has any accounts they'd like to share? I guess people might be afraid that if others start taking advantage of what they're doing, the benefit will go away. I suppose if no one responds in another day, I'll just delete the post. I hope that's possible. I don't want to waste good forum space with a foolish question!
livesoft
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by livesoft »

I think the problem might be that you didn't list any Vanguard accounts. ;)
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Taylor Larimore
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by Taylor Larimore »

Planner wrote:Oh, man. No one has any accounts they'd like to share? I guess people might be afraid that if others start taking advantage of what they're doing, the benefit will go away. I suppose if no one responds in another day, I'll just delete the post. I hope that's possible. I don't want to waste good forum space with a foolish question!
Planner:

Your question is not foolish. It can be very helpful to learn what works for others.

I have a 3% Pen Fed mortgage because we decided to give our home equity to our kids before we go--not afterwards. I have a small checking and credit-card account at the Chase bank across the street for convenience. All my securities are held directly (no brokerage) with Vanguard for low cost, good service and simplicity (link below).

Best wishes.
Taylor
"Simplicity is the master key to financial success." -- Jack Bogle
surfstar
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by surfstar »

I think we just use the OP for reference. Great post!

Either yours' or another boglehead's post led me to Mango Money. I had been with "RedNeck Bank - that onetime had great APY with rewards checking but has gone down to 2% or less. Opened up one Mango account in Dec and another recently. ~5% is great for my Efund /car fund / general savings

Also have a SalMae MC for gas and groceries.

Seriously, I think you've done the research and we all should be thankful for a great reference point :sharebeer
Choy
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by Choy »

I used to open lots of accounts to rate/rewards chase. I now value keeping things simple. I also abhor anything that requires you to do a minimum X transactions to get something.

Checking
Fidelity / TD Bank. Fidelity because they reimburse ATM fees and have the best bill pay system that I have tried. TD Bank because they are fairly ubiquitous in my area and have the lowest minimum to keep an account open with no fees in case I need a brick & mortar.

Brokerage
Vanguard because I invest in all Vanguard funds and they're free to trade.

Savings
Ally because they allow sub accounts, have decent rates and a good website.
h8 2 lose
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by h8 2 lose »

Great queston and answer. You and I are very similar.
tj
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by tj »

I'll play.

Bank Accounts:

Consumers Credit Union - Rewards checking. Similar to LMCU, but they pay 3.09% on up to $20,000 with 12 debit transactions. If you have thier credit card and spend $1000/mo on it, they bump it to 5.09%, or if you do 12 credit card transactions it is 4.09%. I figured that by shifting credit card spend to these cards, the foregone rewards is much less than the extrainterest earned. I use this instead of a bond fund for this portion fo the $$.
Alliant Credit Union - my main checking account, I have never needed to go in a branch, I can use most credit union and US Bank ATMs for free. They also recently started reimbursing out of network ATM fees, but I haven o need for that.
Santander Extra 20 - as mentioned by the OP, I recently started this as well.
BBVA Compass - Build My Savings. Again - instead of a bond fund. See http://thefinancebuff.com/bbva-compass- ... 7-apy.html

Credit Cards:
Pentagon Federal Union Cash Rewards - 5% cashback on gas
Navy Federal Credit Union Cash Rewards - 1.5% cashback on everything
Chase Freedom - 5% rotating categories (generally only use for the quarter when it is restaurants/dining)
Citi Forward - essentially on hold until Q3 (Chase has restaurants for Q2), but should be put back into the rotation as the US Bank Cash Plus has now dropped restaurants as a 5% category

Investments:
Vanguard

Auto Loan:
Navy Federal Credit Union They gave me $400 to refinance (and extend, by 1 year) my 1.9% Honda loan to 1.79% at NFCU. The total interest paid over the course of the loan is less than the $400.
tbradnc
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by tbradnc »

The problem I personally have with the high yield checking accounts is how much work it is to earn the highest advertised rate combined with the low maximum amount for which they'll actually pay the highest yield.

We don't use a debit card for anything and are retired so no checks to direct deposit. We could start using the debit card and ACH money around to meet the DD requirements but like I said - it's just a lot of work for a little bit of money.
123
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by 123 »

If you've got the time it's great to take advantage of deals in the financial services sector. After chasing deals for a few years I found that it was more trouble then it was worth in terms of the time it took and the hassle factor of opening/closing accounts.

I've decided that if I try to operate at least at 85% to 90% efficiency in everything I do, instead of 100%, I get far more accomplished. For me it's what's good enough, not perfect. Maybe I'm just getting old.
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livesoft
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by livesoft »

OK, after some hesitation, here goes:

Banking: WellsFargo PMA package, free checking, free ATM, free overseas ATM with great exchange rates, free checks, great linkage to your free WellsTrade investment accounts, great online bill paying with e-bills and all that, best and most timely consolidated 1099s, check photo deposits, free children's accounts, free travel checking account, Signature guarantees, no nickel and dime fees on anything, and so on. Added plus: Too big to fail.

Investing: WellsTrade PMA package, free trades on stocks, ETFs, and Vanguard funds. Virtually instantaneous transfers between checking and investment accounts. Great visibility of pending transactions and distributions, great web interface showing all gains/losses in all positions, best and most timely consolidated 1099s, routine price improvement on trades. TDAmeritrade for real-time level II quotes and trading platform. Free trades on Vanguard ETFs.

Credit cards: Fidelity Amex w/ 2% cash-back on everything. Even accepted for college tuition payments. For overseas charges, I like Capital One cash-back card. I like the USAA mastercard but only when it gives me no-fee 0%-interest cash advances (3 years in a row!), but not for charging purchases.

Auto loan: 0% fixed rate loan from Toyota Financial

Insurance: USAA, free auto insurance for teenagers with learners permit.
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Planner
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by Planner »

Thanks for all the posts! I'm going to have to look into a few of those that I had never heard of -- the exact reason I posted this. And of course, the comments that this all may be more hassle than it's worth are probably true. I've gone through so many accounts just to get to where I'm at. A little frustrating, but I sometimes find the motivation to look for something new.

Thanks again!
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fetch5482
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by fetch5482 »

Checking Account:
- First tech federal credit Union - requires no direct deposit, no minimum balance, free cashiers check & money order, decent mobile app
- Penfed.org and NWFCU.org accounts since they consistently have the lowest rates for car loans, mortgages, etc

Savings Account:
- GE Capital Bank: 1.05% FDIC insured returns on your cash, and decent online interface. Use it to park my emergency funds.
- Ally.com: 0.99% return, very good website & mobile app. Use it to deposit my investable savings before it goes into Vanguard or Fidelity for investing :)

Credit Cards:
- Amex: Fidelity Branded American Express Credit Card: 2% Cash Back on everything
- Mastercard: Citi Double Cash: 2% Cash Back on everything (assuming you don't redeem the points as statement credit and pay in full each month) & SallieMae MC for 5% back on groceries & bookstores (incl. amazon.com!)
- Visa: Chase Freedom Visa for 5% rotating categories cashback
- Discover: Discover-it card for 5% rotating categories cashback

Investment:
- Vanguard & Fldelity (I like them both... makes for easier tax loss harvesting since latter has no commissions on some iShares ETF)
- TradeKing for $4.95 commission individual stock trade (do them sometimes with play money)
- Utah Education Savings Plan (uesp.org) 529: Low fees with decent Vanguard fund options in age-based plan.. I am in CA, so no state benefits anywhere made it an easy decision to pick UESP.

Mortgage:
mtgprogessor and zillow rate search tool - consistently finds me the best rate & fees when I need to re-fi!

Insurance
Currently with AAA but really no loyalty here.. every few years I shop around for the best rates for home & auto among the big companies (Geico, AAA, Progressive, AllState, State farm) and buy the cheapest.
Last edited by fetch5482 on Wed Feb 25, 2015 4:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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dolphinsaremammals
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

I have accounts at several local credit unions. I watched them for awhile to see who had the highest interest rates on CDs. Plus Vanguard. I don't have much credit card loyalty except to the credit union I've been with for years and years. Insurance is Amica. Old enough so that no mortgage and no car loan.
DuncanK1
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by DuncanK1 »

I used to love the Fidelity Amex 2% card - until they started refusing it in the oddest places for minor amounts. Grocery stores in my home town, gas stations on my regular route - while at the same time accepting large ticket purchase for furniture on the same day. An hour long conversation on the phone to unblock the card then followed. I paid off every month, had $3m+ assets with Fidelity, put all my spending through on the card. Fraud was never an issue. High credit score. Their fraud trapping mechanism is useless and it left me high and dry, embarrassed and angry on too many occasions. Even letters to the CEO of Fidelity, BoA (who own FIA who operate the card) and FIA itself did not help. I moved my investments to Vanguard. What took you so long I hear you all say!

I much prefer the Citi 1+1 card - so far....
crg11
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by crg11 »

What I use...

Checking Account:
Local credit union that offers 1.5% interest if I have 12 debit card transactions + direct deposit. I therefore link Square Order (squareup.com) to my debit card so my coffee shop purchases take care of this.

Savings Account:
  • Local credit union for family savings (basically, money we're marking for trips and what not). Unfortunately a bad interest rate, so I'm considering moving this to Ally.
  • Ally Bank for emergency fund.
Credit Cards:
  • AMEX Premier Rewards Gold - Was going to cancel this, but during my cancellation call they offered another 15k points immediately plus $5k more if I have $3,000 in purchases in the next 60 days. Currently using this as my main card until this purchase goal is met, then I will probably cancel.
  • AMEX EveryDay - What I will likely shift my purchases to once the AMEX Gold is closed. I love using AMEX because of their extended warranty coverage.
  • Chase Marriott Premier Rewards - Our main VISA card, partially because it helps me with maintaining my Marriott status (I travel a lot on business so points add up quick) and partially as a backup for places where AMEX is not accepted.
Retirement:
For IRAs, everything is Vanguard.

Home/Auto/Umbrella Insurance:
Switching to Amica literally as I write this.

Life Insurance:
Banner Life for my main policy.

Mortgage:
Wells Fargo, because a local credit union sold our mortgage within week of us buying our house to Wells Fargo.
dolphinsaremammals
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

DuncanK1 wrote:IEven letters to the ...BoA ... did not help.
There's your problem, BofA. Zero customer service.
lhl12
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by lhl12 »

Credit Card:

Bank of America Travel Rewards card combined with maximum possible bonus from Merrill Lynch or US Trust. Net result is a 2.625% rebate on all charges, as long as you have travel charges (airfare, hotel, etc.) to apply the rebate against. If you charge a lot to your card annually, then the difference between 2.625% and the 2% available from Fidelity or Citi can become a LOT.
tin369
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by tin369 »

Planner wrote:-Own a share of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), get a discount for Geico auto insurance (a subsidiary).
I am interested to know if I own a Vanguard mutual fund that has the BRK shares, would I qualify for the Geico auto insurance discount? If not there should I just one share of the BRK.B to get the discount?
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fetch5482
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by fetch5482 »

tin369 wrote:
Planner wrote:-Own a share of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), get a discount for Geico auto insurance (a subsidiary).
I am interested to know if I own a Vanguard mutual fund that has the BRK shares, would I qualify for the Geico auto insurance discount? If not there should I just one share of the BRK.B to get the discount?
I believe the answer is no -- owning mutual fund that owns BRK.B underneath will not qualify for discount.
I also believe you can get loyalty discount with GEICO from credit union membership, certain alumni membership,etc... But if you qualify for that discount they will not give additional discount for using BRK.B. do if you already qualify for a discount with GEICO, owning a brk.b share won't help.
Last edited by fetch5482 on Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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rec7
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by rec7 »

I am doing some laughing here because I do a lot of these or have heard of them. You can tell I spend a lot of time on Bogleheads. LOL By doing several of these things I am saving thousands per year.
Last edited by rec7 on Thu Feb 26, 2015 6:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Riceman
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by Riceman »

Amazon Store Card, on autopay. 5% cash back on all amazon purchases given as a discount on my statement. Set and forget.

Mint. It has been an amazing help with tracking spending and flagging potential problems (incorrect salary adjustments, potentially fraudulent credit car payments, checking account approaching an uncomfortably low balance. It's also made my wife far more comfortable with our savings and spending.

Marriott Visa Signature Card. Great backup credit card, as no foreign transaction fee, chip and sig, and visa signature benefits. Automatic silver elite status and one free night at a marriott level 1-5 each year for a 85 dollar annual fee.

Camelcamelcamel: saved me 55 dollars yesterday on something I would purchase anyway. It sent me an alert that an amazon item I had been tracking dropped in price dramatically, and i scooped up extra.

Pandora: 3 dollars a month for great music.
surfstar
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by surfstar »

walletless wrote:
tin369 wrote:
Planner wrote:-Own a share of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), get a discount for Geico auto insurance (a subsidiary).
I am interested to know if I own a Vanguard mutual fund that has the BRK shares, would I qualify for the Geico auto insurance discount? If not there should I just one share of the BRK.B to get the discount?
I believe the answer is no -- owning mutual fund that owns BRK.B underneath will not qualify for discount.
I also believe you can get loyalty discount with GEICO from credit union membership, certain alumni membership,etc... But if you qualify for that discount they will not give additional discount for using BRK.B. do if you already qualify for a discount with GEICO, owning a brk.b share won't help.
This.
I inquired and already have discounts that wouldn't allow the BRK to be added.

A quick email to them will let you know.
tin369
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by tin369 »

I did email them and they said I would qualify but need to send them proof of owning the share. It would save me $50 per year with this additional discount. Should I buy just one BRK.B share
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fetch5482
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by fetch5482 »

tin369 wrote:I did email them and they said I would qualify but need to send them proof of owning the share. It would save me $50 per year with this additional discount. Should I buy just one BRK.B share
You can first check if your qualify for one of the affiliate discounts (https://www.geico.com/information/disco ... on-member/) ... or see if you can open an account at one of the listed credit unions.
(AGE minus 23%) Bonds | 5% REITs | Balance 80% US (75/25 TSM/SCV) + 20% International (80/20 Developed/Emerging)
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Planner
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by Planner »

When I did the BRKB purchase (as mutual funds didn't work), I sent Geico a screenshot of the Vanguard confirmation. They upped my "Sponsored Marketing" discount to the "Associate" discount, which is described on Geico as: "Associate Discount This discount is offered if you (named insured) or your spouse/eligible partner is employed by, or retired from, Berkshire Hathaway or any 80% or more owned subsidiaries." I guess owning one share of BRKB works, too. If you have a discount that is better than the Associate discount, you obviously don't need to purchase BRKB.
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fetch5482
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by fetch5482 »

Planner wrote:When I did the BRKB purchase (as mutual funds didn't work), I sent Geico a screenshot of the Vanguard confirmation. They upped my "Sponsored Marketing" discount to the "Associate" discount, which is described on Geico as: "Associate Discount This discount is offered if you (named insured) or your spouse/eligible partner is employed by, or retired from, Berkshire Hathaway or any 80% or more owned subsidiaries." I guess owning one share of BRKB works, too. If you have a discount that is better than the Associate discount, you obviously don't need to purchase BRKB.
That is good to know.. it seems than that affiliate discount could potentially not be as good as the discount you get for BRK.B... I don't remember what discount level I was at when I was with GEICO though.
(AGE minus 23%) Bonds | 5% REITs | Balance 80% US (75/25 TSM/SCV) + 20% International (80/20 Developed/Emerging)
PennySaved
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by PennySaved »

I have a Serve account so that I can get cash back from charging part of my mortgage payment to my Fidelity Amex credit card which gives 2% back. Serve allow me to load up to $1000 per month (max $200 per day) to the account using my Fidelity Amex. Then I load to Serve another $140 using a debit card from my checking account. Then I use billpay feature of Serve to pay my ~$1140 monthly mortgage to Wells Fargo. This nets me $20 per month in Fido Amex cash back which goes to my Fidelity Cash Management Account. Serve monthly fee of $1 is waived because I load more than $500 per month.
PennySaved
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by PennySaved »

And now Serve has an auto load feature. I have it set to load $200 per week and I do the fifth load of the month manually to make the maximum of $1000 per month for my credit card.
curlyfries
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by curlyfries »

OP is a fantastic resource, I bookmarked it. I was going to add some nice ones I use, but you already had most of those plus several more.

* As others mentioned, both Fidelity and Schwab give you cards that refund ATM fees worldwide, no limit.
* CapitalOne has a credit card with no foreign exchange conversion fees. I think it gives you the midpoint rate, without any percent fee or charge. If you're thinking of getting the Schwab checking account, I believe their card offers the same feature. (I went with Fidelity instead to get the 2% rewards Amex)
* I think Netspend has a debit card like Mango, which gives 5% under 5k, but haven't used it.
psychoslowmatic
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by psychoslowmatic »

Anyone can join Hanscom credit union, they'll pay for your membership in one of a couple different organizations. They have an account called CU Thrive that's kind of unique:

1) you can put in up to $500 per month
2) it pays 3% interest
3) all money returned to you on the 1 year anniversary date.

I open mine in February and use the ~6090 to contribute to an IRA every year, with a little bonus cash for me. It doesn't take long to automate everything.

ETA Link: https://www.hfcu.org/cu-thrive.html
inbox788
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by inbox788 »

rec7 wrote:I am doing some laughing here because I do a lot of these or have heard of them. You can tell I spend a lot of time on Bogleheads. LOL By doing several of these things I am saving thousands per year.
Most of these things take time and effort, yet yield under $100 from what I can tell. Which are the most valuable and least time consuming? Or are you doing dozens to get to the thousands a year?

You need big cash, but if you're willing to play the rotate your cash around the brokerages game, you can get up to thousands on just one deal. Lot of fine print and make sure you're following all the conditions.

https://rewards.fidelity.com/offers/depositbonus
https://www.tdameritrade.com/offer/2500/index.html
https://www.scottrade.com/lp/tradeandin ... |29|882|64
https://us.etrade.com/home?SC=S118401
http://www.merrilledge.com/cmaoffer
http://content.sharebuilder.com/mgdcon/ ... /allwt/LS/
555
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by 555 »

Planner wrote:-Sallie Mae Mastercard earns 5% on groceries (up to $250 spending), 5% gas (up to $250), and 5% books (up to $750, including amazon.com).
Does this cover everything bought at/through amazon.com, or is it specifically only for books?
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Planner
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by Planner »

Their terms and conditions say:
Books – You will earn five (5) Rewards (which includes one (1) Base Reward) on the first $750 charged to the Credit Card Account each billing cycle on Net Purchases of Books. Purchases must be submitted by eligible merchants using the merchant category codes for purchases in this category to qualify for the five (5) Rewards. Purchases made at merchants that do not process transactions under these terms or that use incorrect merchant category codes will not qualify for and you will not receive the five (5) Reward benefit. Barclaycard is not responsible for incorrectly coded purchases. Purchases in this category that exceed the specified monthly limit or that are submitted by the merchant using incorrect merchant category codes, will earn one (1) Base Reward.
My understanding is that most of the time, Amazon.com is categorized with the same merchant category code as a bookstore. I hear electronics-only purchases might be an exception.
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mbk734
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by mbk734 »

For the ESA you might check out TD Ameritrade. They have Vanguard ETF's for no transaction fees and no fees on the account (not sure how they make money).
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fetch5482
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by fetch5482 »

Planner wrote:Their terms and conditions say:
Books – You will earn five (5) Rewards (which includes one (1) Base Reward) on the first $750 charged to the Credit Card Account each billing cycle on Net Purchases of Books. Purchases must be submitted by eligible merchants using the merchant category codes for purchases in this category to qualify for the five (5) Rewards. Purchases made at merchants that do not process transactions under these terms or that use incorrect merchant category codes will not qualify for and you will not receive the five (5) Reward benefit. Barclaycard is not responsible for incorrectly coded purchases. Purchases in this category that exceed the specified monthly limit or that are submitted by the merchant using incorrect merchant category codes, will earn one (1) Base Reward.
My understanding is that most of the time, Amazon.com is categorized with the same merchant category code as a bookstore. I hear electronics-only purchases might be an exception.
I have a Sallie Mae MC & have bought numerous things from Amazon.com. Even electronics-only purchases have received 5% so far.
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SpringMan
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by SpringMan »

livesoft wrote:I think the problem might be that you didn't list any Vanguard accounts. ;)
The OP did list Vanguard accounts.
"-For Roth IRAs, individual 401ks and individual Roth 401ks, UTMAs, and taxable accounts, we use Vanguard for good options and low expense ratios. No fees. Comes with mutual fund and brokerage accounts."
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livesoft
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by livesoft »

SpringMan wrote:
livesoft wrote:I think the problem might be that you didn't list any Vanguard accounts. ;)
The OP did list Vanguard accounts.
Perhaps check the dates of the edits to the OP. :)
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SpringMan
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by SpringMan »

Taylor Larimore wrote: All my securities are held directly (no brokerage) with Vanguard for low cost, good service and simplicity (link below).

Best wishes.
Taylor
Hi Taylor,
I thought Vanguard was converting (or in the process of converting) all direct mutual fund accounts into brokerage accounts. They converted ours a while back, accounts that only had simple Vanguard mutual funds. I don't see any major disadvantage to having the Vanguard mutual funds held in a Vanguard brokerage account, is there?
Thanks,
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SpringMan
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by SpringMan »

livesoft wrote:
SpringMan wrote:
livesoft wrote:I think the problem might be that you didn't list any Vanguard accounts. ;)
The OP did list Vanguard accounts.
Perhaps check the dates of the edits to the OP. :)
Mea culpa, I guess the OP added Vanguard after your post.
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livesoft
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by livesoft »

SpringMan wrote:Mea culpa, I guess the OP added Vanguard after your post.
Or maybe not and I didn't read the whole post carefully? :)
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sawhorse
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by sawhorse »

Citibank Double Cash credit card: 1% cash back when you buy the item, another 1% when you pay the bill

TIAA CREF 457 with former governmental employer: can take it out at any time without penalty other than paying regular taxes, fully liquid TIAA Traditional stable value option currently paying 3.25%
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mbk734
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by mbk734 »

Not all of these are keepers (annual fee 2nd year) but there are some big credit card bonuses:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=157487
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FiveDriver
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by FiveDriver »

We were in Sam Walton's Club last week and I picked up an application for their MasterCard.

Pays 5% on all gas purchases
Pays 3% on Dining and Travel
Pays 1% on everything else

No Annual Fee

I'm thinking we may add this one to my rotation.
rec7
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Re: List of favorite accounts

Post by rec7 »

inbox788 wrote:
rec7 wrote:I am doing some laughing here because I do a lot of these or have heard of them. You can tell I spend a lot of time on Bogleheads. LOL By doing several of these things I am saving thousands per year.
Most of these things take time and effort, yet yield under $100 from what I can tell. Which are the most valuable and least time consuming? Or are you doing dozens to get to the thousands a year?

You need big cash, but if you're willing to play the rotate your cash around the brokerages game, you can get up to thousands on just one deal. Lot of fine print and make sure you're following all the conditions.

https://rewards.fidelity.com/offers/depositbonus
https://www.tdameritrade.com/offer/2500/index.html
https://www.scottrade.com/lp/tradeandin ... |29|882|64
https://us.etrade.com/home?SC=S118401
http://www.merrilledge.com/cmaoffer
http://content.sharebuilder.com/mgdcon/ ... /allwt/LS/
I am doing several to get thousands. Insurance change was a big one for me $600
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