I move my assets to different brokerages and banks to take advantage of the following types of offers. Moving securities is easy. The new broker will do it for you. However, be sure to ask if there is a maintenance fee, or a fee to close the account.

Cautions:

• Many of the brokers, banks, and mutual funds making these offers restrict you to 1 offer in your lifetime. So plan carefully. If you don't have enough money to receive the maximum number of miles now, consider waiting until you have more, taking the risk of the offer disappearing, of course. Your guess is as good as mine whether or not the offers will be increased or decreased or cancelled. (I regret accepting the then maximum 10,000 miles for opening an E*Trade account years ago. Had I waited, I could have received 75,000. However, had I waited even longer, I would have received no miles at all, since E*Trade no longer offers them.)
• Before you accept any offer, be sure to make a copy of the offer and all of its terms and conditions. Mail a copy with the application, along with a note saying that you are accepting that offer. And keep a copy in case anything goes wrong.
• I have made no investigation of the financial stability or performance history of any of the investment companies I list on this page. You are on your own to do appropriate due diligence before giving these companies any of your assets. (Occasionally I will give you some help on how to do that due diligence.)

Stock and Bond Brokers

For most or all offers listed here, you can meet the minimums by funding the account with secures from other brokerage accounts, and sometimes from mutual fund accounts. The receiving broker does all the work for you. Ask if this is permitted and, if so, by what deadline after opening the account, before committing to the deal. And be sure to get it in writing, and do screen shots of the offer and your acceptance of it if you apply on line.

Be sure to find the page on the broker's website (often well hidden) that lists all fees. Beware especially of maintenance fees for low balances, and fees to close the account. You must include these fees in your calculations of how much your miles will cost.

Before accepting any of these offers, you may want to read about the experiences of others on the Epinions page on brokers.

U.S. brokers are supposed to be insured by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. Be sure to read about the limits of that insurance and exactly what it does and does not insure.

The SIPC posts a warning on its website about a brokerage identity theft scam that every investor should read. You can look up a broker on the SIPC's Member Database to see if it is a member. Be sure the address listed is the address of the company with which you are thinking of doing business.

You may also look up useful information about a U.S. broker on the website of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) on its NASD BrokerCheck page.

I have no information on non-U.S. brokers except for what I say about the offers that I list below. I do not know if they are insured. You are very much on your own in doing due diligence for any prospective investment, but especially with one with a foreign company.

On March 31, 2007, a reader wrote:

"My wife and I have a joint account with TD Ameritrade. I called and asked if this disqualified me from taking advantage of the miles offer. I was told as long as the new account was in my name only and that new monies (no interior transfers) were used to make the account, I would qualify."

Apex clients (over $100,000 in assets, I think) are offered elite Gold treatment with the Starwood Preferred Guest program. "Get room upgrades, 4 p.m. checkouts, free newspapers and more. Hit Gold status with only five stays to earn 50% more Starpoints per visit toward hotel stays or even air miles." After opening your account and gaining access to it online, click on the Client Services > Promotions tab to see this offer.

Note: You can do me a small favor by allowing me to refer you before you apply for an Ameritrade account. First check my What's New page to see if I am traveling, so you will have an expected response time. I need your name, the email address you will use for the account, and complete mailing address to do this referral. This will cost you nothing, and will give me a few free trades. You can get any offer mentioned below, or any other offer you find from TD Ameritrade, but I can refer you to a Save Yourself account only if you plan to fund it with a minimum of $2,000 within 90 days. Thanks.

• American (Expires September 30, 2008.)

  Initial Deposit	Miles earned
  $2,500	5,000
  $10,000	15,000
  $50,000	25,000

• Delta (Expires September 30, 2008.)

  Initial Deposit	Miles earned
  $2,500	5,000
  $10,000	15,000
  $50,000	25,000

• United (Expires September 30, 2008.)

  Initial Deposit	Miles earned
  $2,500	5,000
  $10,000	15,000
  $50,000	25,000

• Continental (Expires September 30, 2008.)

  Initial Deposit	Miles earned
  $2,500	5,000
  $10,000	15,000
  $50,000	25,000

• U.S. Airways (Expires September 30, 2008.)

  Initial Deposit	Miles earned
  $2,500	5,000
  $10,000	15,000
  $50,000	25,000

  Everyone seeking U.S. Airways miles should sign up for its Grand Slam promotion to earn bonus miles for participation in partner offers through September 30, 2008.

• Starwood (Expires September 30, 2008.)

  Initial Deposit	Points earned
  $2,000	3,000
  $10,000	10,000
  $25,000	20,000

  Note:

  • Since 20,000 Starwood points gets you 25,000 miles on a large number of airlines (except United), the $25,000 Starwood offer is by far the best for initial deposits of $25,000 or more.

• The Fidelity account must remain open with minimum funding for six months. Additional deposits to the eligible account will earn the customer a higher mileage award provided such deposits put the cumulative deposits above the next eligibility tier (up to a maximum of 25,000 miles). Initial and subsequent deposits must be made within 90 days of account opening.
• This flyertalk discussion suggests a way to get the full 25,000 miles without actually depositing $50,000 in assets, at least until Fidelity figures this out.
• Each offer says "Offer valid for new customers only." However, for a previous United Airlines offer, I was able to simply add equity to my existing brokerage account to get the miles. Ask. Also note that this is for a non-retirement brokerage account. If you have other types of accounts with Fidelity (mutual fund, retirement, etc), you are probably still eligible for this offer. Read this FlyerTalk discussion, then ask Fidelity.
• Each offer says "Limit one per household, per lifetime." This means that if you get a 5,000 mile offer now for a particular airline, then after 90 days of opening an account, you will never be able to get a better offer later for that airline, ever.
• On December 5, 2006, a Fidelity rep carefully checked my account and then confirmed that since I had already received United Airlines miles from them, I could not also receive American Airlines miles.
• Be careful. Read all of the terms and conditions.

  Initial Deposit	Miles earned
  $2,500	5,000
  $10,000	15,000
  $50,000	25,000

• United Airlines offer. Expires December 31, 2008.

• American Airlines offer. Expires March 31, 2011.

• Delta Airlines offer. Expires Expires May 31, 2009.

• I was under the impression that is illegal for a financial institution to offer incentives for transferring your 401(k) or other retirement savings from your employer plan to the financial institution. Apparently I was wrong. Fidelity now offers commission free trades for making such a transfer. Details.

   

ShareBuilder offers:

• 2,500 Alaska Airlines bonus miles are offered when you open a new ShareBuilder account and purchase your first security. Active ShareBuilder accounts earn an additional 1,500 miles at each anniversary date when you invest each month. Mileage Plan members can earn up to a maximum of 10,000 miles.

• 3,000 U.S. Airways bonus miles are offered when you open a new ShareBuilder account after your first stock purchase. 500 additional bonus miles each quarter when subscribed to a pricing program, whatever that means.
  • Everyone seeking U.S. Airways miles should sign up for its Grand Slam promotion to earn bonus miles for participation in partner offers through September 30, 2008.

• 2,500 Hawaiian Airlines miles are offered when you open a new ShareBuilder account afar your first stock purchase, plus 500 miles per quarter when subscribed to ShareBuilder Standard or Advantage Investing Program.

• 2,000 Delta Airlines bonus miles are offered when you open a new ShareBuilder account and purchase your first security. If you're a Delta Skymiles Medallion member, you are offered 3,500 bonus miles after your first investment. Also the opportunity to earn 500 additional bonus miles each quarter are offered when you are actively subscribed to the Standard or Advantage Investing Program.
• Two Continental Airlines offers:
  • 2,500 Continental Airlines bonus miles are offered when you open a new ShareBuilder account and purchase your first security, plus 175 bonus miles each subsequent month you subscribe to the Standard or Advantage Investing Program. (Thanks to FrugalTravelGuy for this information.)
  • 2,000 Continental Airlines bonus miles are offered when you open a new ShareBuilder account and purchase your first security, plus 175 bonus miles each subsequent month you subscribe to the Standard or Advantage Investing Program.

• By comparison, there are cash offers for opening an account:
  • This post on financeallstars.com lists a large number of credit unions, banks, a university, and even Costco, offering cash for opening a ShareBuilder account, ranging from $30 to $55.
  • $50 bonus offer from Pentagon Federal Credit Union. It is not clear if you have to be a member of that credit union to get this offer. The system enters an offer code in the application process, but see no place to enter credit union information on the first page of the application, which is as far as I could get without actually opening an account. But anyone can join the credit union, one way or another, and it has an excellent credit card offer, which you can read about in my Credit Card page on the Free Cards page in the Cash Back Cards section.
  • $30 bonus offer.

  • A reader writes: "A simple Yahoo search for Sharebuilder Promotion Code prior to opening a new account will bring up several codes that will allow a $20 or $25 credit for making 1 purchase of as little as $5 in any stock. Additionally, this can be done over and over. I have earned $150 of my current $600 portfolio just from Sharebuilder thru their offers."

  • These bonuses are probably taxable income, but I don't know this for sure. If I am correct, you would be paying $30 - $50 minus the taxes you would pay on your marginal tax rate for the miles you would get from the other offers. (The miles are not taxable.) Do the math.

Note: This is a very different type of investment account. It is designed for regular purchases of stock or mutual funds intended to be held for a long period of time. Be sure you understand all aspects of the deal before opening an account. For example: It is not clear on the ShareBuilder web site how your purchases are priced. Ask.

As I read the rules on 11/20/2002 (but read them yourself to confirm), you can make market order purchases in real time and make limit orders for a higher fee. Purchases are limited to a list of several thousand stocks and mutual funds. There are many other fees, so be sure you are aware of them before you open an account. (Note that there are three schedules of fees. Use the pull-down menu to read all three.) Note the $50 transfer out fee, in case you were thinking of acquiring some miles for just $4.

• 2,000 QANTAS points for opening an account by December 31, 2008.
• 2,000 QANTAS points for each trade, up to your first 24 trades within the first 2 months of joining. (That's a potential 48,000 more points.)
• 1 QANTAS point per A$3 in brokerage, up to a maximum of 1,000 points per calendar month.

Offers of interest as of July 27, 2006. (Please tell me when they change or disappear.)

• Offer of up to 15,000 miles investing in Deka's fund of the month.
• Offer of 6,666 miles for opening a Trader 6x6 account at Cortal Consors.
• Offer 1,500 award miles for starting a savings plan at DWS Investments.

Banks

Before accepting any of these offers, you may want to see if anyone has written about their experiences with the bank you are considering on the Epinions pages on banks and on internet banks.

Click here to see if a U.S. Bank is indeed F.D.I.C. insured. If you are thinking of depositing more than the $100,000 limit of insurance in a F.D.I.C. insured account, Bankrate has a useful service that rates the financial stability of banks.

I do list offers from some banks outside of the U.S. I do not know if these banks are in any way insured by their governments, and have no knowledge of their financial stability, and I don't intend to research this. You are on your own to do due diligence with any investment you make in any bank or financial institution, but especially with foreign banks.

• From comments starting on post #306 on page 16, it appears that the purchases are charged as purchases, not cash advances.
• Apparently shipping charges are waived. You see this on the checkout page.
• Purhcases are in $250 increments. So that's probably 250 miles or some cash back from your credit card. For example, the Pentagon Federal Credit Union Visa card will give you 1.25% back = $3.13, tax free.
• The coins are heavy. If you plan to take them to a bank, consider the hassle and expense of this.
• Consider that you bank may charge you money for depositing the coins, though there are some comments that banks can't get enough of these and appreciate your bringing them in.
• Think about how you might actually spend these coins in places where you can't or do not want to use your credit card. Bridge and road tolls? Tips? Vending machines? Public transit fares? There are many suggestions in the flyertalk discussion.
• The coins are delivered to your doorstep without a demand that you be there to sign for them. Will they be safe if you aren't there?

• 1,000 miles for each new interest bearing Mileage Checking Account or Mileage Money Market Account. (Limit 2 Mileage transaction accounts per customer.)
• An additional 1,000 miles if you allow me to refer you before you open an account. I need your first and last names, and the email address you will use for this account. First check my What's New page to see if I am traveling (so you will have an expected response time), then click here to request a referral. I get 1,000 miles for the referral (thanks).
• 1,000 miles for each successful referral you make to the bank. (Consider family members, for example.) (Caution: There is a secret 10,000 mile limit on this. After that, neither you nor those you refer get the 1,000 mile bonus.)
• 1,000 miles to convert your Regular Checking or Regular MMA to an interest bearing Mileage Checking Account or Mileage Money Market Account
• 5,000 miles for signing up for payroll direct deposit into a Mileage Checking Account. (Offer good for only one mileage checking account per customer.)
• 2,000 miles for using BankDirect's bill pay service for 12 consecutive months from a Mileage Checking Account. (You must pay at least one bill a month from a BankDirect Mileage Checking Account through its online bill payment system for 12 consecutive months. The 2000 miles are paid out at the end of the 12-month period.)
• 100 miles per month for every $1,000.00 maintained in an interest bearing Mileage Checking Account.
• 50 miles per month for every $1,000.00 maintained in a Mileage Money Market Account.
• 1,000 miles for every $1,000.00 invested in a two-year Mileage CD purchase.
• 500 miles for every $1,000.00 invested in a one-year Mileage CD purchase.
• 250 miles for every $1,000.00 invested in a 6-month Mileage CD purchase.

• You get a free ATM debit card with your checking account. BankDirect charges no fees for using that card at any ATM anywhere in the world (thought the owner of the ATM might charge a fee). Very nice for foreign travel.
• They say to wait 6 - 8 weeks for miles to post after you earn them. But it took only 2 days for my initial opening miles to post.
• There are fees for not maintaining minimum balances on these accounts. For example, the minimum balance to avoid a monthly fee on the mileage checking account is $2,500, and $10,000 for a mileage money market account.
• There is a $5.00 per month inactivity fee may be assessed for checking accounts that show no activity (no credits or debits - posting of interest is not considered an activity) for 90 days. But you are going to use the free online bill paying feature at least once a month to get 2,000 miles, so this will be no problem for you, right?
• Here is a page that has links to the bank's schedule of fees and other disclosures. Note no fee listed for ATM use anywhere in the world.
• The interest rates for these accounts are lower than those for non mileage bearing accounts, but the miles you get can be worth the loss of interest. For example, suppose you were to open the account via a referral, maintain the $2,500 minimum in a mileage checking account for a year, pay a bill a month a year via its bill paying service, and do a monthly payroll direct deposit to the account. You would earn
  • 1,000 miles for opening the account
  • 1,000 miles for being referred to the account
  • 2,000 miles for the bill paying service
  • 5,000 miles for the direct deposit, and
  • 3,000 miles for the 100 miles per month per $1,000 deposited
  for a total of 12,000 miles. The account would earn 0.5%, where you could be earning higher rates at Virtual Bank or ING bank. Do he math on what that would cost you in lost higher interest, but remember that you would have to pay income taxes on that money, and you do not have to pay income tax on miles. If, say, you are in the 28% federal tax bracket and pay no state income taxes (lucky you), the lost interest money to your pocket at, say, 3.5% is only $63. For that you get 12,000 miles, for a cheap cost of 0.525 cents per mile. That price per mile gets better if you are in a higher tax bracket or have to pay state or local income taxes, and gets much better if you earn more miles by referring people.
• The interest rates on Mileage CD's are substantially lower that those you can get from regular CD's from BankDirect, and lower still that CD's you can find elsewhere. So investing in Mileage C.D's for the purpose of acquiring miles is not particularly attractive.

• 1,000 miles for opening a Mileage Checking or Savings Account with at least $200.
• 5,000 miles on 12 month anniversary of participating in bill pay service on your checking account.
• 5,000 miles after 3 consecutive months of direct deposit activity.

• Mileage Checking.
• Mileage Savings.
• A more complete description of all of the accounts offered.

Note carefully the fee schedule. Of particular interest are the $30 fee for closing your account within 120 days of opening it, and the bill payment fees of $6 if your balance falls below $1,500, and $0.50 per bill paid over 25 bills per month.

The Mileage Checking Account and Savings accounts pay small rates of interest on minimum balances. You would probably be better off maintaining a pretty good High Yield Money Market Savings account with the bank and transferring money into the checking account as needed.

On April 16, 2007, a reader wrote

"FYI, if a depositor authorizes direct deposit on *both* savings & checking at UFB, they offer 5,000 AA miles for EACH account. Their CSR told me there's no minimum amount for direct deposit. Most employers can set up more than one bank account for direct deposit. Employees indicate how much to deposit in each account."

"I split my direct deposit between UFB savings and checking. I received the bonus twice."

"I just received my 5,000 AA miles for 12 months of bill pay. The representative confirmed that this is a one-time bonus. I mention this because the wording on their site and on yours implies it may happen on every anniversary, '5,000 miles on 12 month anniversary of participating in bill pay service on your checking account.' ."

Fatwallet has a discussion on this offer.

The American Airlines website says that the bank offers 1,000 American Airlines miles for successfully referring a friend to the bank. I have been unable to find mention of this on the bank's website. Please give me the link if you find it. Thanks.

Beware of the fees for failure to maintain minimums, and for closing the account after less than 181 days. Click here for details.

There are fees involved with this account, most or all of which can be waived one way or another. Be sure you know what they are. If you chose the minimum balance method, be sure to find out what that balance is. I couldn't find it on the website.

Comerica's WorldPerks Personal Check Card comes in two flavors, both offering 1,000 miles for acquiring them:

• Standard Award plan: Earn 1 mile/$2 spent (no PIN transactions) and a $20 annual fee. (That's a not very good cost of 2 cents/mile for the up front miles.)
• Enhanced Award plan: Earn 1 mile/$1 spent (no PIN transactions) and a $55 annual fee. (That's a terrible cost of 5.5 cents/mile for the up front miles.)

Comerica's WorldPerks Business Check Card lets you earn 1 mile/$1 spent (no PIN transactions), plus 1,000 miles for first purchase. There is a $55 annual fee for this card, for a terrible 5.5 cents/mile cost.

Comerica is headquartered in Detroit. I am told that it has branches in Michigan, Ohio, and Florida. The bank has web banking, but I don't know what it does or does not do. The permitted transfers may be limited to between Comerica accounts.I do not know if the bank accepts out of area deposits. Ask.

• FreeNet Checking Account
  • 2,500 points.
  • Customer must apply, be approved and fund a FreeNet Checking Account with a minimum deposit of $1,500.
  • Customer must maintain an average monthly balance of not less than $2,500 for at least one statement period during the first three statement periods after account opening.
  • Otherwise, no minimum balance.
  • Customer may not be a current or former FreeNet Checking Account customer of EverBank.
  • No EverBank ATM surcharge fees. EverBank will reimburse you up to $6 per month in ATM fees charged by other financial institutions.
• Yield Pledge Money Market Account
  • 5,000 points.
  • Customer must apply, be approved and fund a Yield Pledge Money Market Account with a minimum deposit of $1,500.
  • Customer must maintain an average monthly balance of not less than $5,000 for at least one statement period during the first three statement periods after account opening.
  • $4.95 fee for any statement period during which the balance falls below $1,500.
  • Customer may not be a current or former Yield Pledge Money Market Account customer of EverBank.
• Yield Pledge Certificate of Deposit
  • 2,500 points.
  • Customer must apply, be approved and fund a Yield Pledge Certificate of Deposit with a minimum of $10,000 for a minimum term of six months.
  • Customer may not be a current or former Certificate of Deposit customer of EverBank.
• For all accounts:
  • Rewards can be earned for one or a combination of account types, for a period of six months from opening date of first account. Rewards can only be paid to those customers opening the account(s) from the promotional page, and meeting ALL the qualifying terms.
  • If the account is closed within 180 days of funding, EverBank reserves the right to recapture the value of the reward paid to the customer.
    • Note that for the checking account if you don't like the account's regular rate, you can deal with this restriction by simply bringing the account balance to $1 for the second 3 months
    • For the money market account, you must maintain $1,500 for those three months, so do the math to average your yield over the second 3 months. A large balance for the first three months will make that average still quite attractive.
  • Deposits and withdrawals can be via ACH electronic transfer initiated by EverBank or another financial institution.
  • Be sure to read and fully understand all fees associated with the accounts. Note especially the $25 fee for closing the account within 30 days of opening it.

Also, the FrugalTravelGuy says "Just call Citibank with your checking acoount or debit card # by 8/8/08 and get 6000 TY Points. Call 1-866-422-1443 by 8/8/08 and mention code ATTS. View from the Wing has these comments on the offer and on how to use the points.

Citibank offers two debit cards that earn miles:

• The Basic card offers 2,000 American Airlines miles up front and costs $25 a year, for a cost of 1.25 cents per mile. It earns 1 mile per $2 spent, but earns no miles on PIN transactions.
• The Premium card offers 4,000 American Airlines miles up front and costs $65 a year, for a cost of 1.625 cents per mile. It earns 1 mile per $1 spent, but earns no miles on PIN transactions. Do the math to see if this is best for you.

• The WorldPerks Visa Check Card costs $20/year and gets you 4,000 Northwest Airlines miles up front, plus 1 mile per $2 spent if you don't use a P.I.N. The 4,000 miles for $20 is a cheap half cent a mile, but of course, you would use a mileage producing credit card for non pin transactions, since it would probably produce more miles than would the debit card. Click, or call (800) 890-2265 Ext. 7028, or visit any U.S. Bank location.
  • On January 1, 2008, a reader wrote

    "I got an insert in my US Bank checking statement with an offer for the NWA WorldPerks check card, with 3,000 bonus miles and no annual fee for the first year. The insert had promo code VMZAI. The promo code was not unique for me, so presumably anyone could try to get this bonus. It applies to the $20/year version of the WorldPerks debit card, with one mile per $2 spent. I’ve never seen an offer for the debit card fee free for a year."

  • On April 5, 2008, another reader told me that you can get the card with the annual fee waived for a year by mentioning promotion code VFGAK.
• The WorldPerks Visa Gold Check Card and the WorldPerks Visa Business Check Card cost $55/year and get you 5,000 Northwest Airlines miles up front for a cost of 1.1 cents per mile. But these cards offer 1 mile / $1 spent if you don't use a P.I.N. This could be useful for those who don't want or can't get a credit card.

I have an email from Northwest dated February 14, 2006, that says in part

"Create a direct route from your U.S. Bank checking account to your WorldPerks account with the WorldPerks Visa® Gold Check Card or the WorldPerks Visa Check Card. Plus, receive up to 5,000 Bonus Miles when you are approved for a card.

Visit WorldPerks Visa for more information or call 800-890-BANK ext. 8100."

• $25 each for a personal account.
• $10 each for a student account.
• $50 each for a business account.

Bank of America does not offer miles for opening an account, but it does offer up front miles for buying a Visa check/debit card for one of their accounts. The annual fee is $30. Each card gives only 1 mile per $2 spent, so using a mileage producing credit card when possible would probably always be better mileagewise. But the up front miles might be worthwhile, depending on how you value your miles. Each card has its own cap on the number of miles you can earn each year. You can read full information on the cards here.

• The Alaska Airlines debit card gives 3,000 bonus miles for your first purchase with the card, for a cost of 1 cent a mile. The card also offers 1,000 Bonus Miles for each traveler in the reservation for every ticket purchased at alaskaair.com using the card for payment.
• The US Airways debit card gives 1,000 bonus miles for your first purchase with the card, for a terrible cost of 3 cents a mile.

• KeyMiles® Debit Card. The annual fee is $30 for a cost of 0.75 cent/mile. The card gives only 1 mile/$2 spent - 1 mile / $1 spent on Continental Airlines tickets purchased directly from Continental Airlines.
• KeyMiles Preferred Debit Card, for Key Privilege Select clients. No annual fee, 1 mile/$1 dollar in purchases and 1.5 miles/$1.00 spent on Continental Airlines tickets purchased directly from Continental Airlines.
• KeyMiles Business Debit Card. No annual fee for the first year. Annual Enrollment Fee of $30 is refunded in future years when you spend at least $30,000 on your KeyMiles Debit Card. The card gives only 1 mile/$2 spent - 1 mile / $1 spent on Continental Airlines tickets purchased directly from Continental Airlines.

Special Continental Airlines miles offer for opening a checking account at a Chase branch by December 31, 2008. Read the terms and conditions.

• Get 10,000 bonus miles when you open the checking account with Direct Deposit.
• Get another 11,000 bonus miles and earn 1 mile/$1 in qualifying purchases with the Chase Continental Airlines Preferred Banking Card for a $65 annual fee per checking account or choose a lower annual fee option and earn 1 mile/$2 in qualifying purchases with the Chase Continental Airlines Banking Card for a $25 annual fee per checking account.
• No monthly service fee when you have a monthly direct deposit
• It is not clear from the above paragraph if you get the 10,000 mile bonus for the lower priced card.
• There is a Flyertalk discussion on this offer.

Chase Bank usually does not offer miles for opening an account, but it does offer miles for its debit cards. Here are the standard offers:

• 2,500 United Airlines miles up front for buying a Visa check/debit card for one of their accounts, plus 1 mile per $2 using the card. The annual fee is $25, for a cost of 1 cent/mile. Purchases authorized with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) do not earn miles.
• 2,500 Continental Airlines miles up front for buying a Mastercard check/debit card for one of their accounts, plus 1 mile per $2 using the card. The annual fee is $25, for a cost of 1 cent/mile. Purchases authorized with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) do not earn miles.
• 2,500 Continental Airlines miles up front for buying a Mastercard check/debit card for one of their accounts, plus 1 mile per $1 using the card. The annual fee is $65, for an expensive cost of 2.6 cents/mile. Purchases authorized with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) do not earn miles.

   

Bank of Hawaii offers a business check (debit) card for $2/month that earns 1 mile/$1 spent on purchases that do not use the "debit" function of a merchant terminal. On May 28, 2008, the website said they will waive the monthly fee for a year. Please tell me when this offer disappears or changes. Thanks.

The bank offers a business check (debit) card that seems the same as the personal card, except it costs $25/year and offers free primary rental car insurance.

Offers of interest as of July 27, 2006. (Please tell me when they change or disappear.)

• Offer of up to 30,000 miles from Deutsch Bank.

American Bank offers $20 to new customers who open any interest-bearing checking, savings or money market account with a minimum deposit of $100 and maintain at least $500 in it for 90 days, if are referred by a current account holder. That $20 represents an annualized rate of over 16% for that $500. Try to beat that with any 90 day C.D. I would be happy to refer you, as I get some credit for it at no cost to you. Just ask, after first checking my What's New page to see if I am traveling. I need your first and last names, and your email address.

The American Gold checking account for people over 50 years old usually offers an attractive higher interest rate than its other checking accounts. You can see this offer on the bank's checking account rates page.

• Note that there are several American Banks. This one is not the bank at americanbank.com, which is in Texas. The American Bank described here is based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and does online business nationwide. Its website is at http://www.pcbanker.com (because AmericanBank.com was already taken).
• American Bank does not charge for use of its Visa Check (Debit) card in any ATM machine worldwide. (However, Visa will charge you the usual 1%.) I find this most useful to me when traveling in foreign countries. I used to maintain $1 in my American Gold Checking account, except when I am traveling, when I put more money into it. (Now I maintain more to get the 5% yield.) I carry this ATM card, along with others, whenever I travel.
• If you choose the AMERICAN e-CHECKING account, you earn some interest on your money, and when your average daily balance is $1,000.00 or more on the date that the ATM withdrawal posts to your account, your account will receive an ATM rebate of up to $4.75 per transaction, with a maximum rebate of $6.00 during that statement cycle. This applies to ATM withdrawals within the United States. Rebates for ATM withdrawals outside of the United States are subject to rebate limitations and may vary.
• If all you want is the $20, the Free Checking or Gold Checking account would be appropriate, since they require no minimum to avoid fees.
• There is a $20 closing fee for closing your account within 60 days of opening it.

Wachovia Bank will give you a $25 Wachovia Visa Gift Card for opening a free checking account if I refer you. Just ask, after first checking my What's New page to see if I am traveling in order to estimate when you will receive a response from me. I need your first and last name. It really is free.

• You may open the account at any Wachovia Financial Center or by calling 800-WACHOVIA (800-922-4684) after you hear from me and follow my instructions.
• A minimum opening balance of $50 is required for Free Student Checking. Free Checking requires a $100 minimum opening balance. But then you can withdraw that down to $1 (maybe $.01) after funds become available. Just write a check.
• You must open and fund a new Free Checking account and the account must remain open and in good standing for 30 days. Within eight weeks of opening your new account, a Wachovia Gift Card in the amount of $25 will be mailed to your checking statement address. Oh, yes: I get one, too. Thanks.
• You are not eligible for this offer if you were a signer on a Wachovia checking account that was closed within the last three months.
• Offer expires December 31, 2008.
• Wachovia is usually offering a very competitive CD rate for one of its CD's. I find this checking account to be a very convenient place to dump the proceeds of a CD when it becomes due.

RevolutionMoneyExchange

Note: Apparently the $25 offer is gone. But you can still sign up for free, then refer family and friends for $10 for each successful referral. Please click on the banner to join.

RevolutionMoneyExchange offers $10 per successful referral of new customers, up to $500/year. Those referrals can be accomplished by your causing RevolutionMoneyExchange to send an email to the new customer, or by putting a banner on your website on which your readers may click. Thus I hope you will click on mine.

For each of your first 3 purchases of $25 or more using the RevolutionMoneyExchange MoneyExchange RevolutionCard, they will add $5 to your MoneyExchange account. Details. Read them very carefully.

• This company is direct competition to PayPal. So far as I can tell, it does pretty much the same thing.
• I have successfully moved my $25 and some referral money to my checking account. Easy,
• After you open your account, you could then refer you spouse for another $10 to you.
• From the bottom of the page you get: "Revolution MoneyExchange Account issued by First Bank and Trust, Brookings, SD, Member FDIC and part of the Fishback Financial Corporation."
• I found some links to articles and discussions that convince me that this is a legitimate business intending to compete with PayPal.
  • Apparently Ted Leonsis of AOL is the Chairman of Revolution Money. You can read his blog, Ted's Take, about the venture.
  • Washington Post article.
  • USA Today article.
  • PR Newswire article.
  • Tech-Geeks Blog discussion.
• Recommendation: Customer service seems to range from louzy to non-existent. I have five email requests to them, starting in February 2008, which have not been answered. Hold time for phone inquiries can be over an hour. But the $10 referral bonuses and transfer of money to your checking account are automated and seem to work well. I suggest you just go for the free money from the bonuses and wait until they get their act together before actually using the service.

For the following banks

• All of the offers are for money market accounts. The interest rate varies, but all offer some of the highest rates available nationwide. You can confirm this at BankRate.com. Select CD's and Investments in the pull down menu in the Compare Rates box, then click on MMAs, then MMAs/Savings Accounts, then Search by 100 highest yields. Note that this page is usually out of date. But it gives you a point of comparison to the rate you would get from the bank you are investigating.
• All use the ACH system to allow you to make deposits and withdrawals electronically. You link the account to one or more of your other checking accounts, then go online transfer money between accounts. The transfer usually is completed within 2 business days, sometimes 3.
• You may do an unlimited number of deposits to each account. All allow a maximum of 6 withdrawals per statement cycle. If checks are offered with the account, no more than 3 can clear the account per statement cycle.
• All have good telephone customer service.
• I have maintained personal accounts with all of these banks for at least two years, and usually much longer. I am very satisfied with all of them. The websites of all of them work quite well.
• You can check to be sure the accounts are insured by the FDIC at FDIC web site. Click on "Bank Find" in the left menu, enter the name of the bank.
• All of these banks think (rightly, in my opinion) that once you see what they have to offer, you will keep the account you open. The bonuses and referral fees they pay is are very inexpensive ways for them to acquire new accounts.
• Be sure you fully understand the terms, conditions, and fees for each type of account before opening one.

• Virtual Bank offers $20 for opening an eMoney Market account with them, if you are referred to them by a current account holder like me.
  • The minimum to open an account is $100.
  • Each of us receives $20 if I refer you to an "eMoney Market account.
  • All deposits and withdrawals must be done online via the link to your checking account. (But there is telephone customer service.) You may connect up to 4 personal checking accounts to your Virtual Bank account.
  • There are fees associated with this account, one of which is $50 for closing the account within 90 days of opening it. But there are no monthly maintenance or low balance fees. So if you find you don't link the account, just maintain $1 in it for those 90 days, then close it. To find the fees for this particular type of account, search the fee page for "eMoney Market", which is the type of account you would be opening.

  Remember, to receive the $20, you must be referred. I have a limited number of referrals available, but I don't want to waste any on someone who does not actually open an account. But if you have done your due diligence, have definitely decided to open an account, and would like the $20 for being referred, I would be happy to refer you.

  • First check my What's New page to see if I am traveling, so you will have an expected response time. Then send me an email with your first name, your last name, and the email address to which you would like the bank to send you the information you need to open the account.
  • Please add a sentence saying that you have actually decided to open an account, since you would waste one of my limited number of referrals if you were to ask for one and not open an account. (Thanks.) As of April 29, 2006, I referred 31 people, but only 23 opened an account. This wasted $160 for both me and them. This sort of thing causes me to wonder why I do this website at all. So I will not refer unless you tell me that you will actually open an account.
  • You must use the link in the email the bank sends to you to open the account to receive your $20.
  • I can send only one referral per email address, so if you want me to offer this deal to family members and friends, I will need separate information for each.

• ING Bank offers $25 for opening an Electric Orange and/or an Orange Savings account with them, if you are referred to them by a current account holder. They give the referrer $10. You must open the account for at least $250 to get the $25 bonus, but there is no minimum to maintain the account. Incredibly, the account has no fees.
  • All deposits and withdrawals must be done online or via telephone via the link to your checking account. You may connect up to 3 personal checking accounts to your ING Bank account.
  • The minimum to open an account is $250, and this is done completely electronically. No postage, no deposit slip, super easy.
  • There are no fees for this account. This bank does things the old fashioned way. They have your money. That's enough.
  • The $25 posts to your account about 30 days after you open it and fund it with at least $250. You must keep the account open until the $25 posts.
  • The choice of Orange Savings or Electric Orange depends on the balance you intend to maintain. Higher balances earn higher interest in the Electric Orange account.
  Remember, to receive the $25, you must be referred. I would be happy to refer you. Just send me an email with your first name, your last name, and the email address to which you would like the bank to send you the information you need to open the account, and which type of account you want. First check my What's New page to see if I am traveling, so you will have an expected response time. (Thanks.) You must use the link in the email the bank sends to you to open the account to receive your $25. Please add a sentence saying that you have actually decided to open an account, since you would waste one of my limited number of referrals if you were to ask for one and not open an account. (Thanks.)

  I can obtain only one referral per email address, so if you want referrals for family members and friends, I will need separate information for each.

Mutual Funds

Offer of 1.5 award miles/euro invested in selected funds from DWS Investments.

Home Buying

These miles do cost the lender or broker money. So be sure to compare their rates to those who don't offer miles - the latter may offer better deals. Note also that you may be able to negotiate a lower commission or a lower loan rate by offering to give up the miles.

• LendingTree partners with many airlines. For comparison, you can get the non-miles offers from Lending Tree's website. If you go the non-miles route, please help me by using my link to get to LendingTree. Thanks.

SmarterTravel has a good article on these offers.

A reader describes how he earned 170,000 United Airlines Miles for $100 in this thread on FlyerTalk. Note that the deal is via Awards for Mortgage, which has associations with several other airlines, most of which are also offering bonuses. Click on the page you are reading now and do a word search on Awards for Mortgage to find them. I have no knowledge of whether or not there are extra fees on these offers that were not found on the United offer. Ask. I suggest you closely follow the discussion. Some good questions and expert advice appear there.

Please tell me about any programs you come across. I will add them here after I check them out. You can often find them through the web site of your favorite airline. Look for the partners of its frequent flyer program. Here are the ones I know about:

• Alaska Airlines
  • Awards for Mortgage and Real Estate - home loans, real estate agents, and moving services.
    Special offers:
    • Bonus offer page for offers expiring September 30, 2008. Read the terms and conditions.
  • LendingTree. Mortgages, refinance, home equity, real estate agent, auto loans, and student loans.
    • 15,000 miles for closing a refinance, 10,000 miles for closing a purchase mortage or real estate transaction, and 5,000 miles for closing a home equity loan. Apply by December 31, 2008, using Reservation Code AA25-15. I leave it to you to read the details.
    • 10,000 miles for closing a refinance. Submit your request by August 31, 2008. Use Reservation Code AK20-15. Details. Read them.
    • 10,000 miles for closing a mortgage or home equity loan. Submit your request by December 31, 2008. Use Reservation Code AK20-15. Details. Read them.
  • Miles4RealEstate offers 10,000 airline miles/$100,000 of real estate transaction value for brokerage, Mortgage and title insurance, moving and relocation, and other unspecified home services.
  • Incentive Real Estate offers up to 250,000 miles for purchase of new homes in California. Details. Read them. I advise caution using this program. Read the terms and conditions very carefully. The homebuilder will know up front that you are going through this program, which may mean your price will be jacked up by more than the miles are worth. Perhaps your spouse should shop separately for the same house to see the difference in price. There is a Flyertalk discussion on this program.
  • The Danny Schurman Home Selling System of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, offers "up to" 2,500 Alaska Airlines miles if they do not sell your home within 120 days. (Alaska Airlines miles for someone in New Brunswick?! If they are moving to the state of Washington, perhaps.)

• United Airlines.
  • Loan, real estate agent, and relocation programs are listed here.
  • AirMiles for Moving offers United Airlines miles for mortgages, real estate agents, and moving.
  • Bank One Home Equity Loan and Home Equity Line of Credit offers are described here.
  • HomeLoanCenter special offer: 1,750 miles/$10,000 financed, plus an additional 12,500 bonus miles after closing a Refinance loan when you complete your application by December 31, 2008.
  • LendingTree offers are listed here.
    • 15,000 miles for closing a refinance. Submit your request by August 31, 2008. Use Reservation Code UN32-15. Details. Read them.
    • 1,500 miles for submiting a home loan request before December 31, 2008. Use Reservation Code UN25-15. Details. Read them.
    • See the special page of LendingTree - United Airlines bonuses.
  • Miles4RealEstate offers 10,000 airline miles/$100,000 of real estate transaction value for brokerage, Mortgage and title insurance, moving and relocation, and other unspecified home services.
  • EasyMiles offers United Airlines miles when you buy, sell, move or finance your home through a choice of local providers.
  • I understand that North American Mortgage is offering United miles for borrowing money from them. Call (800) 500-6262 for details.
  • United lists its bonus offers for home buying and related services here. There are usually several that I have not mentioned above.
  • Also see the special page for Awards for Mortgage and Real Estate - United Airlines special offers. Read the terms and conditions.

• American Airlines.
  • LendingTree. Miles for home loans and realtors.
    • 1,500 miles for submiting a home loan request before December 31, 2008. Use Reservation Code AA25-15. Details. Read them.
  • Citibank. Miles for mortgage. Click on Benefits to read the offer.
    • This FlyerTalk discussion describes a 25,000 mile bonus for a home equity line of credit from Citibank.
  • Wells Fargo Bank mortgage program.
  • Chase mortgage offer. Caution on this one. Nowhere in the online offer can I find what you have to do to get the 25,000 miles it mentions. Ask, and get it in writing before you sign anything.
  • Cendant Real Estate. Miles for choosing one of their real estate agents, and for moving.
  • SIRVA. Miles for choosing one of their real estate agents, and for moving. More info here.
  • Incentive Real Estate offers up to 250,000 miles for purchase of new homes in California. Details. Read them. I advise caution using this program. Read the terms and conditions very carefully. The homebuilder will know up front that you are going through this program, which may mean your price will be jacked up by more than the miles are worth. Perhaps your spouse should shop separately for the same house to see the difference in price. There is a Flyertalk discussion on this program.
  • The American Airlines website has a page dedicated to real estate offers. If my link doesn't work, go to www.aa.com, and in the left column hover over AAdvantage > Partners & Mileage Programs, and click on Real Estate & Mortgage.

• Northwest Airlines.
  • Brokerage and financing from LendingTree and HomeLoanCenter.
    • 10,000 miles for closing a mortgage via LendingTree. Submit your request by December 31, 2008. Use Reservation Code NW34-15. Details. Read them.
    • Also see the special page of LendingTree - Northwest Airlines bonuses.
  • iNest: Search and compare new homes from leading home builders and earn 5,000 Northwest Airlines miles/$10,000 of purchase price plus a 15,000 mile bonus.
  • Incentive Real Estate offers up to 250,000 miles for purchase of new homes in California. Details. Read them. I advise caution using this program. Read the terms and conditions very carefully. The homebuilder will know up front that you are going through this program, which may mean your price will be jacked up by more than the miles are worth. Perhaps your spouse should shop separately for the same house to see the difference in price. There is a Flyertalk discussion on this program.

• Continental Airlines
  • LendingTree
    Special Offers:
    • See the special page of LendingTree - Continental Airlines bonuses.
  • RealEstate.com. Mortgages, re-finance, home equity loans, and real estate broker referrals.
  • Awards for Mortgage and Real Estate program for home loans, real estate agents, and moving services.
    Special offers:
    • Bonus miles for loans applied for by September 30, 2008, and closed by December 31, 2008. Read the terms and conditions.
    • Also see the special page of Awards for Mortgage and Real Estate- Continental Airlines bonuses. Read the terms and conditions.
  • Prudential Real Estate broker offer.

• U.S. Airways.
  • Everyone seeking U.S. Airways miles should sign up for its Grand Slam promotion to earn bonus miles for participation in partner offers through September 30, 2008.
  • U.S. Airways real estate loans and brokers special offers page.
  • Real estate and auto lending, and real estate brokers, from LendingTree. Info here, or call (866) 255-7775.
    • 10,000 bonus miles for a refinance or purchase mortgage or real estate transaction, or 5,000 bonus miles for a home equity loan. Submit your application by December 31, 2008, using Reservation Code US26-15. I leave it to you to read the details.
    • See the special page of LendingTree - US Airways bonuses.
  • Real estate lending and brokers, and bonuses for moving from Awards for Mortgage and Real Estate.
  • Awards for Mortgage and Real Estate.
    Bonus offers. Read the terms and conditions:
    • Also see bonus offers listed on the U.S. Airways website.
  • Chase Home Finance. Home equity loans and lines of credit.
  • Incentive Real Estate offers up to 250,000 miles for purchase of new homes in California. Details. Read them. I advise caution using this program. Read the terms and conditions very carefully. The homebuilder will know up front that you are going through this program, which may mean your price will be jacked up by more than the miles are worth. Perhaps your spouse should shop separately for the same house to see the difference in price. There is a Flyertalk discussion on this program.

• AirTran Airways.
  • LendingTree.
    • Special offer: Earn 0.5 A+ Rewards Credit when you complete a home loan request. Use Reservation Code AT25-15 and submit your request before December 31, 2008 to qualify.

• Midwest Airlines.
  • HomeLoanCenter.com.
  • LendingTree.
    • Special offer: 10,000 Bonus Midwest Miles for refinancing your mortgage by September 30, 2008. Use reservation code MW20-15. Since the Midwest Airlines page to which I link does not itself link to a LendingTree page that mentions this offer, I suggest you first call (800) 779-1277 to confirm it.
  • Chase bank home mortgage and home equity loan offers.
  • Note that you can use Midwest Airlines miles to get tickets on Northwest Airline and KLM. Northwest does not offer miles from HomeLoanCenter.

• Hawaiian Airlines
  • Real Estate brokerage services on O‘ahu and the Big Island from Hawaiian Island Homes Ltd.
  • Home loan services from HomeLoanCenter.com (search on Services, then Financial).
  • HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union offers auto loans. Hawaiian Airlines says it offers an unspecified number of miles for loans from this lender.
  • Miles4RealEstate offers 10,000 airline miles/$100,000 of real estate transaction value for brokerage, Mortgage and title insurance, moving and relocation, and other unspecified home services.

• Frontier Airlines.
  • Home loan services from HomeLoanCenter.com.

• Delta Airlines.
  • Some real estate and loan programs are listed on Delta's Real Estate & Financial Partners page.
  • Realestate.com offers for mortgages, brokers, and home equity loans.
  • Special offers from Chase Bank:
    • 7,000 miles/$10,000 borrowed. Details. Read them.
  • LendingTree offers for brokers and mortgages, home equity, car, and student loans.
    • 25,000 miles for closing a refinance. Submit your request by August 31, 2008. Use Reservation Code DL32-15. Details. Read them.
    • See the LendingTree page for Delta bonuses and the Delta page for LendingTree bonuses.
  • AirMiles for Moving offers for brokers, mortgages, and moving.
  • Miles4RealEstate offers 10,000 airline miles/$100,000 of real estate transaction value for brokerage, Mortgage and title insurance, moving and relocation, and other unspecified home services.
  • Also see Awards for Mortgage and Real Estate - Delta bonuses.
  • Chase Bank may directly offer a better deal for a Home Equity or Line of Credit loan that it does via Awards For Mortgage and Real Estate.
  • Incentive Real Estate offers up to 250,000 miles for purchase of new homes in California or Maryland. Details. Read them. I advise caution using this program. Read the terms and conditions very carefully. The homebuilder will know up front that you are going through this program, which may mean your price will be jacked up by more than the miles are worth. Perhaps your spouse should shop separately for the same house to see the difference in price. There is a Flyertalk discussion on this program.

    After posting the above speculation and caution, I received the following email on May 13, 2008.

    Hello, thanks for giving our program exposure. While I applaud your desire to protect your loyal followers, your advice may be misguided.

    We are not a referral program, sending registrants from our site to outside real estate brokers, then splitting the commission with the other brokers (after paying for miles). Homes purchased through our program cost no more to the buyer than if the buyer purchased directly from the builder, or was represented by a more traditional realtor. Any discounts or incentives offered directly by the builder will also be provided the buyer. We target frequent flyers with the mileage incentive, then deliver those buyers to builders in exchange for the standard real estate broker commission (paid by the builder). We then purchase and distribute the mileage to the homebuyer. (Keep in mind we’ll also split up the reward mileage between the homebuyer’s requested accounts, no one else does that.)

    Builders don’t have one price for those that are represented by a broker, and one for those that are not. Your site and the FlyerTalk thread have mislead readers with pure speculation on how our program works. Please contact me directly for additional information.

    Philip J. Gorman

    Director of Marketing

    Incentive Real Estate, Inc.

    800-454-1782 x44

  You are on your own on this. I have received no further information on this particular program from anyone, and have no independent way of verifying whether or not a person not represented by a broker would get a better price from a builder than one who is represented. That's why I used the word "may".

  Note that the flyertalk discussion is about programs that refer people to real estate brokers and lenders, such as LendingTree, not realtors themselves who use part of their commission to offer miles as an advertising incentive to attract clients.

  All real estate brokers do advertise. But also note that the builder will know up front that he has to pay a commission to a broker. I do know from personal experience as a former property seller that prices for homes for sale by its occupants and prices for commercial real estate are very much negotiable, and the that process of choosing which buyer offer to accept does include, among many other things, the computation of the total amount to be received after brokerage fees that must be paid by the seller. In my case, that price varied depending on who brought the buyer to the deal: me (2%), the broker representing me (4%), or some other broker (6%). I don't know if prices for new homes are negotiable, or if builders of new homes must stick to some previously set and advertised price.

• AMTRAK.
  • Points for Home Loans from E-LOAN.
  • Points for Moving. Amtrak points for real estate agents, mortgages, and moving services.

• Hilton HHonors.
  • Countrywide Home Loans.
  • iBank real estate loans.
  • Awards for Mortgage and Real Estate. Home loans, real estate agents, and moving services.
  • Sirva Relocation real estate services.
  • You may read about the Hilton HHonors program and what it has to do with airline miles in the Points to Miles section of my Other Programs I Like page.

• American Express Membership Rewards.
  • Awards for Mortgage and Real Estate. Home loans, real estate agents, and moving services.
  • You may read what little I know about the American Express Membership Rewards program and what it has to do with airline miles on the Annual Fee Cards page of my Credit Card section.

• Priority Club (InterContinental Hotels Group)
  • LendingTree. Points for real estate and auto lending, and real estate brokers.
  • Chase Home Equity. Points for equity loans and lines of credit.
  • You may read about the Priority Club program and what it has to do with miles in the Points to Miles section of my Other Programs I Like page.

• TripRewards
  • TripRewards Real Estate Resources. Real estate referral and moving.
  • You may read about the TripRewards program and what it has to do with miles in the Points to Miles section of my Other Programs I Like page.

• Gold Crown Club (Best Western)
  • Home123. Points for home loans.
  • You may read about the Gold Crown Club program and what it has to do with miles in the Points to Miles section of my Other Programs I Like page.

• MyPoints
  • LendingTree. Points for real estate and auto lending, and real estate brokers.
  • You may read about the MyPoints program and what it has to do with miles in the Click for Miles section of my Click for Miles, Money, and Good Causes page.

• Qantas
  • Three Mortgage programs.
  • Real Estate agent program within Australia.

• Air Canada
  • Mortgage program.
  • Real Estate agent referral program
  • Moving program
  • Atlas Van Lines

• All Nippon Airways.
  • Earn miles when you move between the U.S. and Japan and within Japan or the United States.
  • Other housing services are listed here.

• Cathay Pacific. Links Relocations. Miles for moving internationally.

• The Finance Page of MyPoints often has offers for home buying and mortgages. You can find that page in the Earn Points section. You can read about the MyPoints program on my Miles for Clicking page of the web site you are currently reading.

• Thornburg Mortgage does not offer miles, but does offer very low rates for mortgages. It specializes in jumbo ARM's. Because I own stock in the company, I can tell you how to get the lenders' fees waived: Just answer "Quarterly Shareholder Letter" to the question "How did you hear about us?". You are welcome.

Car Loans

I do not recommend borrowing money for buying a car. You are almost always much better off making your old car last a few more years, saving up money for the new car, and earning interest on the money saved. That interest alone would probably exceed the value of the miles you would receive from the offers listed on this page, let alone the savings on the interest you would pay on the loan.

Caution: You may be paying for these miles bonuses via higher interest rates. Shop before you accept a loan deal.

• PeopleFirst.com offers 5,000 America West Airlines miles or 7000 Hilton HHonors bonus points for getting your automobile loan with them. Or try (800) 218-1980

• E-loan.
  • 3,500 United Airlines miles for financing or refinancing your new or used car with them. Details.
  • 4,000 Amtrak points for vehicle loans. Details.

• LendingTree offers miles or points for financing your automobile purchase with them. Links to the offers can be found in the Home Buying section of this page. To find them, click anywhere on this page (not the menu to the left - important), then do a word search on "LendingTree".

• Capital One offers 5,000 American or Alaska miles for funding your car loan through them.

  HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union offers auto loans. Hawaiian Airlines says it offers an unspecified number of miles for loans from this lender.

Other Loans

It appears that banks are just beginning to experiment with the idea of awarding miles for loans other than those for the home. Please tell me about any other of these types of offers you find. Thanks.

iBank offers 2500 Hilton HHonors points per $10000 borrowed on a commercial loan.

If you are looking for a smaller short term loan (less than a year), I may have 0% balance transfer offers listed for certain credit cards. For some, you can get a check for your full credit limit, and then make minimum payments until the 0% offer ends. You can often get another check for that minimum amount you pay once the payment posts. The best way to find these offers is to look on my Free Money page.

Student Finance

Here I list miles producing and cash back offers for savings plans and loans for tuition and other student expenses.

If you or your parents are saving for your college education, it appears to me that it would be a very worthwhile hour of time spent studying this program. Most of your questions are found on the Frequently Asked Questions page (which I found by clicking on the Help link at the top of the front page of the website. However, there are still two questions the answer to which I was unable to find:

• Minimums for transfer to a 529 are alluded to, but never stated. What are they?
• Which 529 plans are on your list for eligibility? (And specifically is yours on it?)

The reader who told me about this program says

"...most 529 plans have annual fees exceeding average consumer's Upromise earnings, so people should decide if it's worth it for them to participate, based on their shopping habits. It doesn't mean they shouldn't join Upromise, of course. There is a way to request a check from Upromise, not subject to any 529 penalties, and something they obviously do not advertise."

PhoneHog often has an offer on your personal page for signing up for Upromise. You may read about the advantages of PhoneHog and why I list it on my miles website on my Telephone page.

"A Canadian Trust Plan / RESP is a registered education savings program. It's a fund which parents put money into every month, which can be cashed when the child is 18 to use on education."

Chase Private Student Loans offers up to 40,000 Delta Airlines miles for private education loans issued for the purpose of paying educational expenses at a post-secondary institution eligible to participate in U.S. Department of Education guaranteed loan programs. the rate of payment of miles is not specified. Ask.

Loan to Learn offers up to 15,000 American Airlines for student loans obtained from them. Read the details, terms, and conditions.

Insurance

Be sure to ask if your insurance company accepts credit cards (mileage producing, of course) for payment of premiums. On February 19, 2005, a reader wrote

"I wanted to pay my car insurance with a miles plus credit card. My insurer, GEICO, does not offer it on the paper bill. The web site has no credit card page, but does offer a direct with draw from your checking and a way to pay direct. So, I called them up and asked to pay with the credit card. They said "sure, no problem" and I did.

So, you have to ask."

"GEICO now has a credit card; Platinum VISA or MC, I think. No airline miles, no annual fee. I don't have the info on me, but the main benefit is that GEICO customers don't have to pay the recurring "convenience fee" if they are paying premiums monthly, saving $48 a year and stretching out payments."

I've been an insurance agent for almost 30 years. In NY at least, GMAC, Progressive, AIG, and Travelers accept credit cards. All via phone, and GMAC and Progressive via website.

Please tell me about any other insurance offers offering miles that you know about. Thanks.

• "This offer for Delta SkyMiles is valid for qualified auto insurance quotes and will be awarded to SkyMiles members for only the first valid auto insurance quote every six months. A qualified auto insurance quote is one that receives a rate and is not declined or incomplete."
• On November 23, 2005, a reader told me you can also get this deal by calling (888) 269-1597 and providing your Skymiles number and reference #7M2.

• 250 Hawaiian Airlines miles are offered by A.I.G. Insurance Hawaii for getting an automobile insurance from them by August 31, 2008.
• Then 2,500 Hawaiian Airlines miles are offered for signing up for its electronic funds transfer through August 31, 2008 when you sign up for it when you first buy the insurance.
• A.I.G offers to convert 5,000 Hawaiian Airlines miles to a $25 credit towards your auto insurance. Most people will value their miles for more what is offered. See my page on Value of Miles.
• Details. Click on the appropriate link.

Sentry Insurance offers 1,000 United Airlines miles to residents of AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KY,KS, MN, MO, OH, TN and WI for obtaining a free quote for automobile or home owner's insurance from them. Call (800) 373-6879 and mention promotion code 10-40155-1. Special discounts to UAL members are mentioned. Expires September 5, 2008.

Sentry Insurance offers residents of AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MN, MO, OH, TN and WI 750 Midwest Airlines miles for obtaining a free quote for automobile or home owner's insurance from them. Call 800-3SENTRY. Offer expires December 31, 2008.

Sentry Insurance offers 1,000 Priority Club Rewards bonus points for receiving a no-obligation quote on auto or homeowners insurance. A 10% discount is mentioned. There is no list of eligible states, but the offer is probably limited to the states in which Sentry Insurance does business.