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MicroPlace: Buy a $20 Gift Certificate, Get One Free

MoneyBlogger — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:26:17 +0000

Just got an e-mail from MicroPlace that they are running a gift certificate promotion where if you buy a $20 GC, you get another $20 GC free. The gift recipient can then lend out the money to a poor entrepreneur and receive interest + $20 back later. Since the person actually gets the money back (or at least most of it assuming some defaults), and thus isn’t the same as a “$XX has been donated in your name” gift, I think it’s a cool twist on gift cards.

Give a Gift that Keeps on Giving
Give a unique and special gift this holiday season. It is a gift of connection, a gift of hope, and a gift that believes that poor people can use their ingenuity and hard work to break out of the cycle of poverty.

Your gift can help fund loans to poor people who could start a business, save, and work their way out of poverty. And when you purchase a gift certificate of $20 or more on MicroPlace, we’ll give you a free gift certificate of $20 to send to someone else on your shopping list!

To learn more about Microplace check out these posts, including my last microlending update.

British Airways Credit Card – 100,000 Miles Offer

MoneyBlogger — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:22:30 +0000

Here’s a nice credit card offer for those interested in international travel. The Chase British Airways Visa Signature card is offering 50,000 BA Executive Club miles for new cardmembers with first purchase, and another 50,000 BA miles after spending $2,000 within 3 months, for 100,000 miles total. Regular features include earning 1.25 miles per dollar spent. The card does have an annual fee of $75 as well.

50,000 British Airways miles is enough for an economy class transatlantic flight from USA to their “Europe Zone 1″, which includes the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Switzerland. Note that “all reward flights are subject to taxes, fees, charges and surcharges, including airline surcharges.”, which can add up. I did a quick search and for a random San Francisco (SFO) to London (LHR) flight in March 2010 that cost $807, the taxes and fees alone were $387.

You’ll also need to fly out of a major city that BA services (see route map). Still, two free flights from US to London even for a few hundred dollars each is a big discount for those looking to buy such a ticket anyways.

What if you like to fly in style? 100,000 miles is good for a single business class ticket from USA to Europe Zone 1… and the fees are more reasonable on a relative basis. A business class flight from SFO to Paris (CDG) in March 2010 would have cost around $4,700 in cash, but the fees/taxes are only about $400 as well:

Finally, if you can manage to spend $30,000 a year on the card, you can even earn a 2-for-1 companion voucher. Time to buy some coins? Thanks to reader Paul for the tip.

Waiting for Unemployment…

DebtAway — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:00:06 +0000

We’ve been waiting for a check from unemployment for 4 weeks… and we’re still waiting.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand government paperwork – heck, I process it every day as a government employee! But I think it’s important for everyone to be prepared.

Here’s a head’s up to those who think they may lose their jobs…

save to survive longer than 4 weeks.

Am I alone in this? Anyone else waiting for all of eternity?

We’re still coasting through on savings and odd jobs – and I am grateful we were prepared.