Travelers who signed up for a British Airways Visa card issued by JP Morgan Chase got a sweet deal in a recent promotion: 100,000 frequent flier miles after spending $2,000 with the card — theoretically, enough for two free round-trip tickets between New York and London. But those “free” tickets actually cost about $530 each, [...]
May 16
Big banks hit customers with higher fees, and more of them
The nation’s biggest banks are increasing many of their fees, adding new ones, eliminating debit card rewards programs and making it harder for customers to avoid paying monthly charges for checking accounts. On May 24, Bank of America will raise the monthly fee on its most popular checking account from $8.95 to $12. On June 27, [...]
May 12
Mobile apps make it easier to go green
Want to figure out how to get more-efficient energy usage from your household light bulbs? Care to track your driving skills and see how to be more fuel efficient? There’s an app not just for that, but for all things green. The Apple App Store and the Android Market list many apps to conserve energy and [...]
May 12
Groupon and Live Nation form online ticket-deal site
Concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment and online deal site Groupon are forming a venture to develop an online ticketing deal website called GrouponLive. Financial terms were not disclosed. The site is expected to go live ahead of the summer concert season. Groupon, a rapidly growing service based in Chicago that offers hundreds of daily discounts [...]
May 02
Extreme-discount grocers finding higher-income clientele
Vicenza Cerrato stood in the bread aisle of a Giant supermarket and squinted at a receipt itemizing the stash she had just bought down the street at Bottom Dollar Food, a low-frills grocer that opened a few months earlier. The 83-year-old retired cardiology technician ruthlessly monitors what she spends on food, despite living with her [...]
Apr 29
Redbox to add video-game rentals nationwide
Bellevue-based Coinstar said Thursday its Redbox movie-rental business will begin distributing video games for $2 a day nationwide starting in June. Coinstar released the news while announcing its first-quarter financial results after the stock market closed. Redbox rents movie DVDs for a dollar a day at vending machines in supermarkets, drugstores and other places shoppers [...]
Apr 27
Facebook tests deals program
What happens when you cross the world’s largest social network with one of the hottest business models in e-commerce? Facebook wants to find out. Facebook is launching a deals program Tuesday in five U.S. cities, following on the popularity of Groupon and other services that offer deep discounts — for example: $50 worth of food [...]
Apr 25
U.S. helps homeowners get loans to improve energy efficiency
Many U.S. homeowners are now eligible for up to $25,000 in federally insured loans to make energy-efficient upgrades such as adding insulation, sealing ducts or replacing windows. Consumers with good credit scores, manageable debt and some equity in their homes can get PowerSaver loans at or below market rates to finance efficiency measures that also [...]
Apr 22
Celebrate Earth Day with freebies
Today is the 42st annual Earth Day, so let’s drink to that — with free coffee at Starbucks or Caribou (or both) in a reusable cup. Free coffee is one of several free things you can get as we collectively pay homage to our planet and rededicate ourselves to protecting her health. Remember that not all stores participate in national deals, so [...]
Apr 21
More people ditching home phone for mobile, but not NJ
Cellphones are becoming the only home phones in an increasing number of U.S. households, a trend intensified by challenging economic conditions, according to a new report released today from the National Center for Health Statistics. More than one in four U.S. homes, or 26.6%, had only a wireless phone as of June 2010, up from [...]
