Merrill Edge 529 $50 Sign Up Bonus

If you’re looking to start saving for college for your children or other close family members, this week’s Free Money Friday offer is for you!

Merrill Edge is offering a $50 sign-up bonus!

How to Get Your $50 Bonus

  1. Open a NextGen College Investing plan with Merrill Edge.
  2. Fund the account with at least $5,000 in cash within 30 calendar days.
  3. Get $50 deposited in your account to jumpstart your savings!

Terms & Conditions

  • One bonus per account.
  • Bonus will be applied to your account within 90 days.
  • $50 bonus will invested in the various securities based on your new-investment allocation in effect on the date that the bonus is provided.
  • Balance must be held in the account for a minimum of 90 consecutive days following the funding date.

More on the 529

Tax Benefits. We are huge fans of 529 college savings plans because they can help you save on taxes both now (with state tax deductions in certain states) and later (your money grows tax-free)!

Investment Options. Merrill offers you a number of options for investing, including age-based portfolios, single-fund portfolios and diversified portfolios.

Sign Up for Williams-Sonoma

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Over $3,000 in Free Money Sign Up Bonuses

Free Money Friday! That’s my favorite celebration every Friday here at My Dollar Plan! Every week we feature a free money offer for you to earn some extra money. Our goal is to find the best free money offers that feature easy sign ups.

To kick off the New Year, it’s time to take a look back at the entire collection of active free money ideas that we covered to date.

When I added it all up, you could potentially score anywhere from $2,500 to $3,000 in sign up bonuses, plus free flights and hotel stays per person.

High Dollar Free Money Offers

My favorite free money offers right now are obviously the $400 and $500 credit card sign up bonuses. I sorted the list of credit card sign up offers by the bonus amount so you can start at the top and easily determine which offers are worth your time.

Credit Card Bonuses $400 – $500

Credit Card Bonuses $150 – $250

Credit Card Bonuses $100

More Featured Free Money Offers

You can also earn free money with investment accounts, free flights, cash back, gift cards and more. Here are more of the free money offers we’ve featured that you can take advantage of:

Investment & Checking Account Bonuses

IRA Account Bonuses

Free Flights

Free Nights

Cash Back Rewards Programs

Credit Card Rewards Programs

As always, we’ll be back next Friday with a new offer in the Free Money Friday series!


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Southwest $500 – $800 Sign Up Bonus

UPDATE: This offer has expired. Please see our Airline Rewards section for other offers.

It’s back! Just like clockwork, the annual Southwest free flight or mega gift card offer is back! The Southwest offer is a great way to celebrate Free Money Friday for anyone planning travel or gift giving this holiday season (which probably covers just about all of us)!

The Southwest offer is for $500 in gift cards or two free roundtrip flights. But you’ll have to hurry, just like last year, the offer is for a limited time.

How to Get Your Sign Up Bonus

  1. Apply for the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Card.
  2. Spend $2,000 in the first three months.
  3. Get 50,000 Bonus Points, redeemable for either:
    • $800 in Southwest Wanna Get Away fares (2 free roundtrip flights)
    • $500 in gift cards

Terms and Conditions

  • $99 Annual Fee.
  • Fare availability dependent on destination, time, and day of travel, which are subject to change.

More on Southwest

More Points. You’ll earn 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest tickets and Rapid Rewards Hotel & Car partners, plus an additional 6,000 points ($100 in Wanna Get Away fares) every year on your Cardmember anniversary.

Travel Benefits. Southwest offers no change fees, no blackout dates, no points expiration, unlimited reward seats and your first and 2nd bags checked for free!

Gift Cards. If you’d rather redeem your points for gift cards (which is what I plan to do since Southwest doesn’t fly the routes we need), some merchants include: Amazon.com, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Wal-mart.


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American Express $25 Small Business Saturday Shopping Credit

One of our favorite annual Free Money offers of the year is back! American Express is running their Small Business Saturday promotion again and it means an easy $25 statement credit for you!

How to Get Your $25 Statement Credit

  1. On November 18, register your American Express card for Small Business Saturday.
  2. On November 24, 2012, (that’s the day after Black Friday) use your registered card for a purchase of at least $25 at a small business near you.
  3. Receive a $25 statement credit from American Express within 8 weeks!

American Express Terms and Conditions

  • Limit one (1) $25 statement credit per American Express Card.
  • Prepaid and Corporate Cards are not eligible.
  • Qualifying small business locations are those identified on the Shop Small® Map, available
    at ShopSmall.com.
  • Multiple transactions of less than $25 will not qualify even if the combined total of those transactions is over $25.

More on Small Business Saturday

Enroll Early. Enrollment opens at 12:00AM MST (“Mountain Standard Time”) on November 18, 2012 and the number of enrollments is limited. I can’t find a total number, so your best bet is to enroll first thing on November 18.

Multiple Cards? Are you thinking what I’m thinking? The terms state one credit per Amex card… not one credit per person. We have lots of American Express cards, so I’m thinking we can enroll all of our cards, right?

Fedex Confusion. Don’t confuse this offer with the FedEx American Express $25 Gift Card Giveaway. They are two separate offers and you can take advantage of this one, even if you already got a $25 gift card from Fedex.

American Express Cards. If you don’t have an American Express card yet, you should still be able to get one in time for the Small Business Saturday promotion. Our favorites include:


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FedEx American Express $25 Gift Card Giveaway

Remember the FedEx and American Express $25 giveaway last year? If you took advantage of the offer, I’m sure you remember the debacle during the giveaway! Believe it or not, they’re attempting the giveaway again… with a few changes.

The free $25 gift card is our Free Money Friday offer. You’ll have to hurry, the giveaway ends tomorrow!

The gift cards are part of Small Business Saturday, the day after Black Friday, to encourage you to shop at small businesses.

How to Enter the $25 Gift Card Giveaway

  1. Visit and “like” FedEx’s Facebook page.
  2. Enter the giveaway to receive a $25 American Express gift card by November 3, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
  3. They’ll randomly select 40,000 people to get an American Express $25 gift card on or around November 4, 2012.
  4. Use the gift card on Small Business Saturday, November 24, 2012.

Terms and Conditions

  • You can “Unlike” the page at any time after entry.
  • Limit: One (1) entry per person/email address during the Promotion Period.
  • The winners will be sent their prize within 3 weeks of drawing to the physical mailing address entered on the registration form.

More on Fedex Shop Small

A Year Later. Last year the American Express $25 gift cards were first-come, first-serve. We were able to score some of the gift cards last year, however, they had a lot of technical difficulties. Hopefully, it will run more smoothly this year since it’s random. The good news? They’re giving away 40,000 instead of 30,000 gift cards.

Stacking the offers. The gift card will be in addition to the $25 you can get from American Express for Small Business Saturday American Express plans to roll out soon.

Sign Up for Fedex

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Meet a Free Money Reader: Steve

I know that many of you are Free Money junkies just like me.

After a reader, Steve, left a comment about his accounts, I just knew you’d want to hear his story! Steve has 202 checking, savings, investment, credit card, and various other open accounts. He says: “I am also one who hates to pass up free money.” I asked Steve to tell us more about it!

Free Money Reader Profile

Name: Steve

Amount of Free Money: $6,000 in sign up bonuses last year.

What he’s doing: Steve’s method is pretty simple, if it has a bonus, he applies. And he hasn’t found a bonus yet that he can pass up.

How he manages it: Steve tracks all of his accounts on excel and calendars all of his bills in Outlook.

Tips and Tricks

Double Up. In order to double up on the bonuses, he also signs his wife up for an account too. Using the spouse is an easy way to double almost any bonus offer.

Recycle. He also likes to recycle bonus offers as often as he can, but he notes that: “some (like ING) don’t close your account and so their bonus is a one-time deal.” In order to recycle a bonus offer, you need to close the account after meeting all the requirements to get the bonus. Then, when they offer another bonus, you’re free to sign up again. Just be sure to read the terms and conditions to see if it’s a one time bonus (if it is, we usually try to list this when we highlight offers).

Credit Score. Here’s Steve’s take on the impact to his credit score:

I was somewhat concerned with my credit score, but I don’t need to buy on credit, so I asked “what are you saving it for?”. I have had a high of 790 and a low of 750. While 40 seems like a lot – it is not much when you consider the number of accounts. And 750 is still an excellent score, and that represents a lot of account opening and closings.

Free Money Future

Steve didn’t keep a detailed list of all the bonuses he signed up for (just a running total), but he is currently on pace to beat or come close to the $6k again this year. He adds: “Not bad for a part time JOB.” No, not bad at all, Steve! Thanks for sharing your story with us!

Are you also a free money fanatic? Want to share your story? Let me know and maybe we’ll feature your story in a future free money reader profile!


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Discover Escape 25,000 Mile Sign Up Bonus

Time for 25,000 bonus miles on your Discover credit card with frequent flyer miles. Happy Free Money Friday!

Discover is offering a 25,000 bonus miles for the Escape by Discover Card.

How to Get Your Bonus Miles

  1. Open a new Escape by Discover Card.
  2. Earn 1,000 bonus miles by making one purchase each month for the first 25 months on your Discover credit card with frequent flyer miles.
  3. Redeem your bonus miles for travel credits, cash or gift cards.
  4. Promotional miles will be applied within 8 weeks.

Discover Terms and Conditions

  • There is a $60 annual fee.
  • Rewards have no expiration date.
  • 0% intro APR for 6 months for purchases and balance transfers.

More About the Miles

Extra Miles. In addition to the bonus miles, you earn 2 miles for each dollar you spend on all purchases on the Escape by Discover Card.

Miles Never Expire. The miles never expire, so you don’t have to worry about redeeming them right away. Just be aware if your account is inactive for 18 months you forfeit your miles.

Do the Math

To earn 25,000 miles over 2 years, you’ll have to pay $120 in annual fees. Keep this is mind and subtract it from the bonus miles.

I verified with Discover that 10,000 miles can be redeemed for a $100 credit for any travel purchase. For example, if you make $10 in purchases each month for 20 months, you’ll end up with 20,400 miles. Redeeming those for $200 in travel credit will cost you $120 for 2 years of annual fees. You’ll net $80, or about 40% cash back on your purchases.

Sign Up for Escape by Discover Card

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Colorado 529 & Upromise $75 Sign Up Bonus

It’s another great Free Money offer for all of you college savers! You can stack the 2 bonuses below to get a $75 bonus: $50 towards a Colorado 529 plan account and $25 for a Upromise account.

How to Get Your $50 Sign Up Bonus

  1. Sign up for Colorado’s CollegeInvest 529 Plan.
  2. Fund the account with a minimum of $50.
  3. Set up a $1 minimum automatic transfer to the account for six months.
  4. Receive a $50 bonus in your account!

FirstBank Terms and Conditions

  • Limit one gift per beneficiary.
  • FirstBank College Savings Accounts do not have a minimum balance.
  • Minimum opening deposit of $50 and an automatic transfer into the FirstBank College Savings Account(s) of at least $1 is required to receive the gift. Transfers must occur at least monthly for six consecutive months.
  • The $50 award is considered interest and is subject to IRS and other tax reporting.

More on Saving for College

UPromise Bonus. You can earn an additional $25 if you open a Upromise account and link it to your Colorado 529! The $25 will be credited to your Upromise account.

Saving for College. If you’re just getting started on saving for college, make sure to check out our comparison of college savings plans and things to consider when saving for college.

Sign Up for Colorado 529

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11 Cash Back Reward Sites for Your Holiday Shopping

Happy Black Friday! Did you get all your shopping done and pick up your Black Friday free stuff? Now it’s time to settle in at the computer to prepare for round two: the online shopping extravaganza!

And in Free Money Friday spirit, I’m ranking the cash back programs in order of sign up bonuses so you can earn some cash back today before you even start your shopping!

11 Online Cash Back Shopping Sites

To maximize online shopping over the next few weeks, I make sure I have all of my cash back sites and login information at my fingertips. How many of you actually remember all your passwords from last holiday season?

Here’s a rundown of the sites I’m planning to use this holiday season and the sign up bonus (if they have one):

  1. Ebates: Get a $5 sign up bonus.
  2. Mr. Rebates: Get a $5 sign up bonus.
  3. Cash Crate: Get a $1 sign up bonus.
  4. SwagBucks: Get a 30 swagbuck sign up bonus.
  5. Cashbaq: Your Cashbaq account needs your attention; it’s time to convert your Cashbaq account to Ebates. Ebates will then pay you the amount in your Cashbaq account.
  6. Shop at Home: Don’t forget the 110% cash back guarantee to get the highest cash back.
  7. Upromise: Are you skipping Upromise because the money is cashed out in a 529? Don’t. You can request a check!
  8. MyPoints: My original and oldest cash back account.
  9. FatWallet: The FatWallet cash back is convenient if you are using Fatwallet to search for deals.
  10. Bing Rewards: At some point Bing went away and came back as Bing rewards. My old login still works.
  11. Big Crumbs: Don’t forget the ability to refer your family members and earn extra cash back tiers on their accounts.

More on Your Cash Back Accounts

Cash Out Your Accounts. As you verify all of your login information for each cash back program, don’t forget to cash out any money you have sitting in those the accounts from the last holiday shopping season. I was pleased to find $34 I had forgotten about!

Note Redemption Amounts. In addition, as you go through your cash back accounts, if you are close to any redemption levels, make a note of that and make sure you get the needed amount to cash out.

Now, don’t forget to take advantage of your American Express $25 Small Business Saturday Shopping Credit this weekend!


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Discover Double Cash Back for Amazon Purchases

This one is for all of you Amazon lovers taking advantage of the countdown to Black Friday lightning deals!

We’re continuing our holiday week full of Free Money online shopping offers. Discover is offering double cash back at Amazon for up to $250 in purchases!

How to Get Your Double Cash Back

  1. Shop at Amazon.com during this billing period.
  2. Use your Discover card for your purchases.
  3. Automatically earn a 2% Cashback Bonus.
  4. The cash will be credited to your Cashback Bonus account within 5 weeks!

Discover Terms and Conditions

  • The 2% is subject to a cap of $250 in purchases. After that, you still earn 1% cash back.
  • If a purchase is coded for a merchant other than Amazon.com it will not qualify.

More on Discover Cashback

Discover Miles. Miles by Discover cardmembers will earn 2 Miles for every $1 in purchases made at Amazon (subject to a cap of $250).

Discover Cards. If you’re looking for a Discover card recommendation, don’t forget Discover More is offering a $150 sign-up bonus! You can stack the Amazon cashback bonus and the sign up bonus.


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