Personal Finance Reviews

LifeLock Coupon Code For 10% Off

pfreviews — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:27:37 +0000

This offer comes at a good time.

I reviewed LifeLock a couple of days ago. Though at the end I concluded that I probably don’t need the service if I can take care of things myself, it is still an option for people who need programs like LifeLock for an extra layer of protection. If you are one of those who are thinking of getting a LifeLock service, you can get it this month in November with 10% off (the original price is $10/month) and a risk-free 30 day free trial. To get the discount, use coupon code NOVEMBERCOUPON when you enroll in LifeLock’s protection service. This promotional offer is good until November 30, 2009.

Can LifeLock Prevent Identity Theft?

pfreviews — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:04:04 +0000

From my understanding, the answer is No, LifeLock can’t prevent identity theft from happening. Rather, it alerts its customer when a potential threat occurs so the customer can necessary actions at the early stage. In fact, it’s more like an alert system that detects when a service subscriber’s personal information may be compromised. In addition, LifeLock also focuses its service on helping customers whose identities are stolen while under their protection plan. But it won’t pay the victim out right for any damage done to him/her. In stead, LifeLock will hire a third party to help the victim to restore his/her identity. That’s basically how the service works. So don’t expect to get $1 million from LifeLock, even if they offer 1 million dollar guarantee.

LifeLock Products

The main product is LifeLock Identity Alert. It’s a system with a wide range of identity coverage and early notification of potential identity threats by email, postal mail, and/or phone when such threats are detected. Usually, the alert will be sent out when your personal information is being used to apply for, for example, credit cards, wireless services, retail credit, utilities, check orders/reorders, mortgage loans, auto loans, and non-credit related payday loans. In addition, other services also available at LifeLock include:

TrueAddress – TrueAddress detect any new address information in address databases nationwide. If it finds the address is changed without authorization, LifeLock will work with you to avoid further damage and restore accurate address information.
eRecon – The service scours known criminal websites for the illegal selling or trading of your personal information, including your Social Security number, credit card number,and driver’s license. It will alert you when such illegal activities are found.
WalletLock – If you lost your wallet, you can use WalletLock service to have everything in your wallet, such as credit/debit cards, driver’s license, social security card, insurance cards, checkbook, canceled and replaced.

The $1 Million Guarantee

As I mentioned earlier, the $1 million guarantee isn’t that LifeLock will pay you $1 million for the damage should you become a victim of identity theft while using their protection service. Instead, the program “will spend up to $1 million to hire lawyers, investigators, consultants and whatever else it takes to restore your name and help you recover the direct losses from the identity theft.” And what the specialist will also do include:

Educate you on the recovery process.
Obtain additional information that is necessary to proceed with the recovery process.
Give you the pre-fill forms, and step-by-step instructions necessary for your state jurisdiction and type of identity theft.
Send over a Power of Attorney form that will allow them to act on your behalf.

Essentially, you will hand over the case to the LifeLock and the specialist it assigned until the issue is resolved, which, as LifeLock claims, usually takes 30 days. However, if you decide to take the matter in your own hands, you will not be compensated for your time and effort under this program, as it explicitly states what the program doesn’t cover

Lost wages or business profits, loss of business or lost opportunities and direct out-of-pocket expenses like postage stamps, gas or mileage to go to local authorities, or any notary public fees, etc. The guarantee does cover the cost for lawyers, investigators, case managers but not any direct losses as a result of the theft. Under the Terms and Conditions, NO money passes directly to our LifeLock members.

Now that you know how LifeLock works, do you think the service, which is at $10 a month, is worth the money?

Personally, I haven’t used any identity prevention or credit monitoring service myself and I am not going to use any from what I can see. It’s not that I don’t believe these services. It’s that I am more like a do-it-myself person who likes to have things in my own control. In stead of having somebody watch out for me, I want to be vigilant on how and where to use personal information and my credit myself. In addition, I also use free services such as free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com and free credit score from CreditKarma.com and Quizzle.com to monitor my credit score.

However, if you are not confident about handling the task yourself or are too busy to do it, then an identity protection program like LifeLock may help.

Personal Finance Reviews Links Of January 16, 2009

SogoTrade 100 Commission Free Trades Promotion

pfreviews — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:11:18 +0000

Here’s another promotion from a discount broker.

SogoTrade is offering 100 commission free trades for every new customer. It’s quite easy to get the free trades: Open a SogoTrade account; fund the account with $500; receive the bonus. There is a restriction on the free trades though. They have to be used within 30 days after the account is funded, or they will expire.

On one hand, the offer is quite generous because the total value of the offer is $300. That’s much better than promotions from other brokers (OptionsHouse also offers 100 free trades). On the other hand, how many investors, especial small investors, can make 100 trades in 30 days?

SogoTrade Commission

How much does it cost to trade with SogoTrade?

SogoTrade is very competitive in terms of commission. It charges $3.00 per internet equity trade, regardless the number of shares. From what I know, the commission is only higher than what OptionsHouse charges at $2.95/trade, but much lower than the fee at other widely used discount brokers like Zecco, TradeKing, and Scottrade. For options trading, there’s another $0.70 for each contract.

SogoTrade doesn’t charge any fee if the account is in dormant mode and, unlike other brokers, it doesn’t charge a fee if you are not happy with SogoTrade and want to transfer the account to somewhere else. The transfer usually costs $50 at other brokers. But this is not the only benefit. If you like Sogotrade and want to transfer your account at another broker to SogoTrade, you will get reimbursed for the account transfer fee charged by the other broker up to $100 if the account balance is $25,000 or more.

So, what do you think about SogoTrade and this promotion offer?

OptionsHouse Free Trades Promotion

pfreviews — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:14:44 +0000

Online discount stock and options broker OptionsHouse is currently running a promotion which will give each new customer 100 commission-free trades when the new account is opened during the promotion period in November and December 2009.

Here’s what you need to do in order to receive the free trades:

1. Open an OptionsHouse broker account using promotion code FREE100 before December 31, 2009 (you have to use this link to open an account to get the bonus. The sign-up link on their website doesn’t have this offer);
2. Make an initial deposit of $3,000 or more within 45 days after account opening;
3. Receive 100 commission free trades;
4. Use the free trades in 60 days after the account is funded.

Currently the fee charged by OptionsHouse for stock trades is $2.95/trade, so the total value of this promotions is $295, which is pretty nice considering what other brokers used to offer in the past promotions (for example, TradeKing is offering $50 bonus in their current promotion). However, I doubt there are many new customers can take full advantage of this promotion unless he/she is a heavy trader because 100 trades in 60 days are a lot of trades to make in such a short period of time. So on one and, you have this nice promotion that could save you a lot of money on commissions; on the other hand, the time frame will certainly limit the effectiveness of this promotion.

Anyway, since OptionsHouse charges much less fee for stock trades compared to other widely used stock brokers (for example, Zecco $4.50/trade, TradeKing $4.95/trade, Firstrade $6.95/trade and Scottrade $7.00/trade), it is still a good option for small investors who want to lower trading cost, even if it may be impossible to exhaust all the free trades. So it you are considering to have an OptionsHouse account, this is definitely a good opportunity to get started with this promotion.

Interested? Open an OptionsHouse account today.

ING Electric Orange Checking $25 Bonus Reference Code

pfreviews — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:35:28 +0000

Here a ING Direct Electric Orange Checking Account bonus offer I just received in the mail, though I don’t use that checking account.

The offer is $25 bonus when you open an ING Electric Orange account before October 31, 2009. However, this is not the only condition that you have to meet in order to get the bonus. In addition, you will also have to use the free Debit Card to make 3 signature transactions within the first 45 days after the account is opened. Once you make the transactions, the bonus will be posted in your account on day 50.

Like the Orange Savings account, the rates of Electric Orange is pretty dismal if you have a small balance. Currently, the yield is only 0.25% APY for balance up to $50,000. And even if you have $100,000 or more and you want to put the money in the checking account (I don’t know why somebody would have $100K in a checking account), then you can earn 1.50% APY, still not very attractive. With that kind of money, you can get a better deal by putting them in a savings account at, for example, Ally Bank, to earn 1.70% return.

Besides, bearing interest, Electric Orange also has some other features that look pretty attractive, such as no minimum balance, no monthly fee, not ATM surcharge, and no overdraft fee, etc.

Anyway, if you are interested, use reference code EL596 to open a Electric Orange Checking Account and get the bonus.

Firstrade Stock Trading Platform

pfreviews — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:28:13 +0000

Firstrade is another popular online discount broker. It offers investors a wide range of investment products, from stock and options trading to mutual fund and fixed income investments. The cost of trading with Firstrade, isn’t low compared with what other discount brokers charge. For example, the commission for stock trade is $6.95 at Firstrade, which is lower than Scottrade’s $7.00 per trade, but significantly higher than Zecco’s $4.50 commission and TradeKing’s $4.95. Options trading at Firstrade will add another $1.95 per contract, where at Zecco and TradKing, the extra cost is $0.50/contract. However, Firstrade does have an edge over these brokers when it comes mutual fund investment: Firstrade $9.95, Zecco $10.00, TradeKing $14.95, and Scottrade $17.95 for each no-transaction fee mutual fund order.

Now let’s take a look at Firstrade online stock trading platform.

What I really don’t like about Firstrade’s account main web page is that the Important Notices section, which is supposed to list important announcement to users, takes a large space right in the center of the platform. I don’t find those notices very important at all and many of them are outdated and rarely updated. In my opinion, that place can be used for information that’s more useful for investors.

Overall, I can’t do much on the account homepage alone because, as you can see, what displayed on the homepage are not all related to trading, or even investor’s personal account information. There are only four pre-determined indices and two index charts to display. There’ s a list of stocks to watch, but it looks like I can only enter up to seven symbols. There’s even no list of positions on the homepage, only an account number with the current market value.

If you want to make a trade, you will have to go to a different page to place your order by entering transaction type (buy or sell), symbol, shares, and order type (market or limit). Though there’s no streaming quotes on its homepage, Firstrade does have another tool, called X-Stream, that provides real-time streaming quotes, which can launched by clicking the Real-time Streaming on the top right corner of the main page.

Firstrades java-based X-Stream allows you to track up to 20 stocks simultaneously. Every field and color is fully customizable and all quotes are updated in real-time as the market moves. In addition to quotes, you also have access to streaming charts with real-time technical analytics, streaming time and sale information, quick order entry, company profiles, and many other features. What I find weird is that though there’s a TRADE button in X-Stream, I can’t really trade from it. If I click the button, it takes right back to the same web page to make the trade. Not very convenient at all.

In addition, Firstrade also has another tool that allows you to track multiple portfolios in real-time and updates your profits or losses on each position and the entire portfolio in real-time without having to refresh. It’s called MarketAce Portfolio Manager. MarketAce shows you each stock’s performance for that day and from the purchase price. You can specify your portfolio name and customize all the positions for each portfolio. You may also enter the cash balance of your portfolio to get the total value of your account updated in real-time. This is a unique tool to Firstrade as far as I know.

So overall, Firstrade isn’t very competitive in terms of trading cost, unless you also want to buy mutual funds through the broker. However, it does have some features that you won’t find at other brokers. If you are interested in trading with Firstrade, the broker is running a triple-bonus promotion that will give you 100 free trades when opening a new account, plus $100 account transfer reimbursement (if you transfer from another broker to Firstrade) and $100 cash back, depending on your account value. Check it out to get more details on how you can earn the bonuses.

Chase Freedom Card $50 Bonus Offer

pfreviews — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:10:31 +0000

How does $50 free money sounds? If you like it, you can get it when you apply for a Chase Freedom Card, get approved, and use the card, to make a purchase or transfer a balance. Very simple.

Chase Freedom Card Rewards Summary

The Chase Freedom Card is designed for those who have good or excellent credit and who plan to take advantage of the cash rewards program. The card currently offers 1% cash back for each dollar spent on every purchase, regardless of the category of the purchase. If you use the card to purchase airline tickets online through the program booking tool, you will earn an additional 1% rebate for each $1 spent. In addition, the card also has a rotating rewards program that will let you earn 3% cash back for every dollar in selected categories, such as gas, home improvement and department stores. If you use the card to make purchases through Chase’s online shopping network, you can earn up to 10% cash back, even up to 20% cash back at select merchants.

As many card issuers have cut back cash rewards of their credit cards, Chase Freedom Card is one of the cards that has kept its rewards program stable. Best of all, there is no maximum number of rebates that you can accumulate in the program, so you don’t have to worry about your unused rewards as they will never expire, as long as you keep your account in good standing.

The Freedom Card has no annual membership fee. Other benefits of the card include 0% introductory rate on purchases for up to 12 months (the exact length of the introductory rate period depends on your credit history) and Zero Liability Protection that protects you from any unauthorized charge.

$50 Bonus Reward

You will receive $50 in bonus rebates with this bonus offer, which can be redeemed for a $50 check. You will qualify for and receive your bonus after your first purchase/first use of the card, including purchases, balance transfers, or any checks that are used to access your account, and excludes cash advances. After qualifying, please allow 6 to 8 weeks for bonus rebates to post to your account. This bonus offer, however, is valid only for first-time cardmembers with new accounts. If you are already a Chase Freedom Card member, then you are not eligible for this bonus offer.

Now, are you interested in the card? If so, apply for a Chase Freedom Card and get $50 free money

Capital One $25 Bonus For Online Savings Account

pfreviews — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:26:22 +0000

Capital One Direct Banking now has a promotion for its Online Savings Account. The promotion will give a $25 bonus for every new account owner from now till November 25th when the minimum deposit requirement is met.

I like the idea that banks offer a little incentive when they try to lure new customers, though what they actually offer also plays a role when deciding whether I want to do business with the bank or not. In this case, what Capital One offers in its Online Savings Account is a annual yield of 1.60% APY. How competitive is this rate compared to other online banks’ offers? Well, it’s higher than ING Direct Orange Savings Account’s 1.30% APY, but lower than EverBank Money Market Account’s 2.51% bonus APY (which is good for the first three months after account opening). The rate is also inferior to the 1.80% APY from Ally Bank Online Savings Account. So in general, Capital One is in the middle of the rate ladder. While the rate seems to be OK, savers, especially those with a relatively small account balance are likely to stay away from the bank because, in order to earn the 1.60% return, you will have to maintain at least $10,000 in the account, a requirement that’s significantly higher than what other online banks require. If the balance falls below the mark, then you can only earn 0.60% APY for your money.

If you can meet the minimum balance requirement, here’s what you need to do in order to get the bonus:

Open a Online Savings Account before November 25th using promotion code SAVER25DF;
Make an initial deposit of $10,000;
Get $25 bonus from Capital One.

Quite straightforward, right?

BTW, the bonus offer is also good for Capital One’s Money Market Account, which has an yield of 1.20% APY.

Trade Stock For Free With Scottrade

pfreviews — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:36:13 +0000

I did a quick review of online discount broker Scottrade a few weeks ago. In the post, I mentioned that Scottrade, which charges $7 for each online stock order, market or limit, isn’t the cheapest option out there for trading stocks. There are quite a few cheaper alternatives, including those I listed in the TradeKing promotion post last week.

Despite the relatively high commission cost, I have been using Scottrade for years and it’s my primary stock broker, not only because of its excellent customer service, but also that I can actually trade with Scottrade for free. That’s right, I don’t pay any a penny when trading stocks with Scottrade. No, there’s no special deal for me. Rather, I take advantage of Scottrade’s ReferAll program that allows me to earn 3 commission-free trades each time I refer a new customer to Scottrade. Three free trades don’t sound a lot, but what if you can keep earning free trades without a limit? That would mean something, right?

Actually, the best part of the ReferAll program is that it allows you earn unlimited number of free trades, as long as you keep the account active. So the more people you refer, the more free trades you earn. The only drawback of this program is that you have to use the free trades earned in 6 months; otherwise, you will lose them. However, if you have the free trades constantly coming in, this shouldn’t be a big issue. I used to use Zecco to trade stocks for free when they offered free trades to everyone with at least $2,500 in the account. Now I am using Scottrade exclusively.

Here how you can start free trades from Scottrade:

1. Open a Scottrade brokerage account if you don’t have one;
2. Use promotion code KGKP0724 to get 3 free trades for yourself;
3. Once your new account is active, use your own reference code to refer new customers to Scottrade;
4. Receive free trades and trade stocks for free.

Since there’s no limit on the number of free trades you can earn, you can keep referring new customers to Scottrade and essentially trade stocks with them for free, forever (of course, to the point when Scottrade cancels the program, if that happens). Sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it?

TradeKing Boune Promotion: Get $50 For Opening A New Account

pfreviews — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:40:33 +0000

How do you like $50 free money?

Online discount stock broker TradeKing is offering $50 bonus during the month of October for anyone who opens and funds a new brokerage account and make at least one trade when the promotion is running.

Here’s how it works:

1. Open a TradeKing account before November 30, 2009;
2. Fund the account with at least $2,500 with 30 days after the account is opened and trade at least once within 180 days of the account opening;
3. Receive $50 bonus from TradeKing;
4. Keep the initial fund in the account for 6 months.

Pretty easy, right?

TradeKing Quick Review

Now, why do you want to trade with TradeKing?

TradeKing’s commissions for stock and options trading aren’t the lowest among discount online brokers. For stock, TradeKing charges $4.95 per trade, whether it’s a market order or limit order, and there’s an additional $0.50/contract for each options trade. To have an idea where TradeKing is compared to other discount brokers, Zecco charges $4.50 commission for stock trading and each stock trade will cost you only $2.95 at OptionsHouse. However, TradeKing does offer an excellent service that was recognized in the industry. For example, TradeKing was name the No. 1 discount online broker by SmartMoney Magazine two years in a row in 2006 and 2007. In Barron’s 14th annual survey of Best Online Brokers early this year, TradeKing was awarded a four-star rating and received high marks for its options trading tools, as well as for its “Trader Network” (the TradeKing Online Community, one of the first in its kind) that enables investors to interact to share ideas, fixed income offerings, and its broad range of educational and research tools.

So, do you think TradeKing is the right broker for you? If it is, then you definitely want to take advantage of this bonus offer and get $50 to jump start your trading.