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I just posted on how to save money via Live.com search cash back program on HP, Circuitcity, Target, AT&T and eBay yesterday. According to the post, you can save 25% for shopping at above mentioned websites through Live.com search. It’s a great opportunity to save money during the holiday season. It would be great if you search at live.com first before you place the orders.

The shocking news is Microsoft live.com cash back program will be offering 40% cash back for shopping at hp.com on Black Friday! 40% is huge considering the cash back rate. The highest rate live.com offered is 35% at ebay.com. So how to get the 40% cash back?

Details about the promotion can be found at hp.com via the link.

According to the link, live.com will offer 40% cash back for shopping at hp.com from 7am to 7pm on Black Friday. Please remember the time is on PST, so that’s equal to 10am to 10pm EST.

Many may not know how to qualify for the promotion, here are some points:

1. Cash back excludes all gift cards and transactions that use coupon.
2. You do not need to pay with Paypal (this is for shopping at eBay.com only). Because live cash back works with credit cards or other payments. But you have to click the link at live.com to place the order.
3. There is no cash back limit, unlike eBay’s $200 limit. But you have to pay attention that there is a total of $2,500 total cash back limit per account per year.
4. This is an HP advertised special, so it will work 100% on anything with instant rebate and without EPP/APP/ Additional Coupons.

FDIC just released the third quarter report which indicated that the problem banks have increased to 171! This is a shocking news to all of us. Maybe your bank will be on the list of problem banks. Although FDIC increased the insured amount to 250k, consumers are still feeling scared and uncertain about the American’s banking industry.

It’s very obvious that the banking industry is getting worse. The number of problem banks has increased from 117 to 171. The banks are taking steps to tighten the loan applications to minimize the losses. Provisions for loan losses continue to be high.

In the report, FDIC indicated:

Commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reported net income of $1.7 billion in the third quarter of 2008, a decline of $27.0 billion (94 percent) from the $28.7 billion that the industry earned in the third quarter of 2007.

Nine FDIC-insured institutions failed in the third quarter, the most since the third quarter of 1993. The failures included Washington Mutual Bank, with assets of $307 billion. The FDIC’s “problem list” grew during the quarter from 117 to 171 institutions, the largest number since the end of 1995. Total assets of problem institutions increased from $78.3 billion to $115.6 billion.

Problems still exist in the banking industry:

Higher levels of troubled loans, in both consumer and commercial portfolios, led to increased provisions for loan losses in the quarter.

Charge-offs and noncurrent loans are still increasing. Insured institutions charged off (removed from their balance sheets because of uncollectibility) $27.9 billion in troubled loans in the third quarter. The annualized net charge-off rate of 1.42 percent was the highest quarterly average since 1991.

Community banks are also facing increased stress. Community banks — those with total assets of under $1 billion — are beginning to exhibit stresses similar to those facing the industry as a whole.

Higher loss provisions for bank failures were primarily responsible for a decline in the fund balance to $34.6 billion at September 30th from $45.2 billion at June 30th.

The full press release can be accessed from here.

We all know that Microsoft live.com is offering huge cash back at eBay.com on “But it Now” items. This promotion have been running for a long time. My first report of this huge promotion is very popular in the past three months. Today, I realized that Microsoft is actually offering huge cash back for shopping at other popular electronic producers.

25% cash back for shopping at hp.com (and ebay.com)

This means if you click the link at live.com and then place your orders at hp.com (shopping.hp.com), you can get 25% cash back! This 25% cash back is the highest rate that I have ever seen. If you but a laptop through live.com, you actually get 25% off!

How to get the links at live.com?

It’s very simple. Search “hp” at live.com and you can see the link at the sponsored sites position.

20% cash back for shopping at circuitcity.com and target .com

If you search for “hp” at live.com, you can also see the link which leads you to the circuitcity.com and gives you 20% cash back. Another way to get the 20% cash back link is to search “iPod” and you can see the link at the right. You will be asked to enter your account email address when you are redirected to the circuitcity.com or target.com (if you haven’t logined to your account).

10% cash back at overstock.com

Search for “iPod” and you can get the 10% cash back link at the right (see above screen shot).

25% cash back at AT&T

Search AT&T at MSN.com or live.com and you can find the link which will lead you to a 25% cash back for shopping at AT&T.

Other huge cash back opportunities can be found at live.com/cashback. For example, footlocker.com is offering 20% cash back, and drugstore.com is offering 10% cash back (Currently, it’s offering 25% cash back. Search fish oil at live.com and a link with 25% cash back will appear at the right!).

It would be a good idea to search what you want to buy at live.com before you place your order at other places. Maybe you can get huge cash back for shopping through live.com.

Chase just launched a new credit card product not long time ago—the Chase Travel Rewards Credit Card. This is a high-end Chase Credit Card with some great benefits. Furthermore, this card is offering 25,000 bonus miles after first purchase which is a great deal to catch for most people with decent credit score and solid credit history.

The 25,000 bonus miles is the reason why I recommend this card to my readers. Nowadays, most credit card issuers are having a hard time. More and more credit card members are filing bankruptcy and can’t pay their balance down. Recently most credit cards are not offering 0% APR on balance transfer any more. This is a sign that credit card issuers are tightening their wallets. Chase Freedom Card is now only offer 3% Cash Back on Gas, Groceries, and Fast Food Purchases for the First 6 Months. And then the categories will be changing every quarter. The Chase Freedom Plus Card seems not have been influenced and is still offering 10,000 bonus miles and 3 miles per $1 on 6 categories.

So what is the requirement to get 25,000 bonus miles?

After your first purchase, you’ll receive enough bonus miles to redeem for a round-trip ticket when booked through Chase. In addition to booking travel on your own, Chase Travel Rewards lets you redeem a round-trip ticket with a $400 value for just 25,000 miles.

Although there is a $49 annual fee, this fee is waived for the first year. (Pretty same as the Gold Card from the American Express)

Chase claims that the rewards can be used to book any flight, any hotel, any reservation — anytime, anywhere. With Chase Travel Rewards, you won’t be tied down to one business or even a group of businesses. Earn and spend your miles the way you want. There are no caps, no expiration, and no blackouts.

As Chase indicates, you can redeem for:

• Any flight
• Any hotel
• Any restaurant
• Any time
• Any place

There is no pre-set spending limit on this card which gives you additional spending flexibility should you need it, so you can enjoy added peace of mind. You will receive a year-end summary statement from Chase which allows you to better understand you spending and save more in the future.

How to apply for the Chase Travel Rewards Credit Card?

You can view more information at www.choosetravelrewards.com (Yes, this is not chasetravelrewards.com but it belongs to Chase.). Or you can call 1-866-253-3569 to apply by phone.

I subscribe to many personal finance magazines like Money, Smartmoney, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and Forbes. Reading articles from above magazines usually give ideas on what to write about at mycardblog.com. Usually the articles are written by experts on personal finance and are highly recommended to everyone. They cover all the aspects in your daily life in terms of personal finance: credit cards, banking accounts, mortgages, auto loans, investments, stocks, and even retirements.

In the November’s Kipling’s Personal Finance, they voted the best Savings, Checking and Money Market Account in 2008. I think it is important to let everyone know what the experts’ best banking accounts. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance usually publishes its annual list of what it considers the best items related to personal finance, such as best credit card, best savings account, and best retirement tool.

Following are Kiplinger’s 2008 picks for excellence in savings and checking accounts:

Online Savings Account: FNBO Direct. Earn 3.5% APY on the FDIC-insured savings account at www.fnbodirect.com. The savings account at FNBO features with no maintenance fees and no minimum-balance requirement plus minimum $1 to open. You can also link your FNBO account to other banking accounts.

Money-Market Account: Express Money Market, Flagstar Bank. You can earn 3.65% APY from the FDIC-insured money market account. Flagstar Bank also provides free checks and a free visa debit card which allows you to easily access your fund at money market account. You can also get free, unlimited ATM withdrawals through the Allpoint and Presto networks

Checking Account: Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking. This is a highly recommended checking account. You don’t have to be a Schwab customer to apply for this account. You can apply online at www.schwab.com. Earn 1.50% variable APY in an FDIC-insured checking account—plus no ATM fees, no minimums, and no monthly service charges. The Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking is highly recommended!

Money Market Mutual Fund: Fidelity Cash Reserves. The Fidelity Reserves is the safest mutual fund in the market. However, we should admit that the yields are low in the current market. If you want to put your cash is a safe place during the financial crisis, Fidelity is a top choice. Fidelity has signed up for the new government insurance program. Minimum investment is $2,500, and check-writing is available.

I really should have included the FNBO direct online savings account into my Top 7 Online Banks for High Interest Savings. The full report of the 2008 best list can be found at Kiplinger.com.

About Kiplinger’s Personal Finance: It is a magazine that has been continuously published, on a monthly basis, from 1947 to the present day. It was the nation’s first personal finance magazine, and prides itself on delivering “sound, unbiased advice in clear, concise language”. It offers tips and tricks on managing money and achieving financial security, as well as information and practical guidance on saving, investing, planning for retirement, paying for college, and buying automobiles, homes and other major purchases.

Most of Citi credit card members enrolled in the Citi Credit Protector Program. But it seems there are few people forget to cancel the Citi Credit Protector after receiving the promotion bonus. (Free Digital Picture Frame and $50 Visa Gift Card) Of course, the “few people” include myself. This post is to remind you to cancel the Citi Credit Protector because whenever there is a balance on your monthly statement, you can to pay $85 cents per $100 balance.

I enrolled in the Citi Credit Protector program early last November (for my Citi Dividend Platinum Select MasterCard for College Students). And then I didn’t use that card for a while until recently I used that card to buy a round trip flight ticket. After the statement came out, I realized that there is a fee charged by the Citi Credit Protector. Thus I called them up and requested to cancel the service. After about several minutes, I was able to convince the customer service to cancel my Citi Credit Protector program.

The hot line for the Citi Credit Protector is 1-888-592-7344. This is a special line for Citi Credit Protector, if you call them through this number it will get you faster connection. Of course, you can use general Citi customer service number 800-347-4934 and them will transfer you to the Citi Credit Protector Program.

Just as any service cancellation process, the customer service representative will try to persuade you to stay in the program. The first time will just be a reiteration of program benefits, and make sure you aware of your benefits. Later on she/he will offer some small money of maybe lower your rate to try to keep you in the program. The cancellation process will be very simple if you insist to cancel your Citi Credit Protector Program (No, thank you!). And you have good reason to do so because in the agreement it clearly indicates that you can cancel Citi Credit Protector at any time for any reason.

You can cancel at any time simply by calling 1-888-592-7344 or in writing to Credit Protector Processing Center, at P.O. Box 901016, Fort Worth, TX 76101-2016. We may cancel your enrollment for any reason, but we will provide you with at least 30 days written notice of cancellation (except for cancellations based on account status).

Remember, whenever there is a balance shows up on your month statement you will be charged a fee of 85 cents for every $100 balance.

This is a short notice for all MyCardBlog.com readers that CVS is running American Express Gift Card Promotion starting on the Sunday. According to the flyer, you can get $10 extra bucks from CVS for buying any 3 American Express Gift Cards. Plus you can also get a $15 gas card via mail-in-rebate from American Express for purchasing 3 American Express Gift Cards at CVS stores.

SO for 3 $25 American Express Gift Cards you pay $75 plus about $12 fees. But you can get actually $75+$10+$15=$100! So there is about $13 profit.

The $10 extra bucks is limited to 1 per household. And the $15 gas card is also limited to 1 per household. You have to mail the rebate form to get the $15 gas card.

Update: Official American Express Gift Card information can be found at www.americanexpress.com/gift.

Mint.com is offering free credit score promotion—free FICO credit score for Mint.com users! This is a limited time offer which is ended on November 26, 2008. This is a special promotion from Mint.com partnered with myFICO.com to offer mint.com users a free credit score.

All mint.com users have received the email titled “Get a Free FICO Credit Score: Limited Time offer to Mint.com users”. The email indicated that:

Through an exclusive partnership with myFICO, you can get this valuable information free when you visit Mint.com before November 26, 2008.

What is FICO credit score?

First, FICO is the acronym for Fair Isaac Corporation, a publicly-traded corporation that created the best-known and most widely used credit score model in the United States. So FICO score is the credit score most lenders use to determine your credit risk. Your score is based on information the credit bureau keeps on file about you. The FICO score is primarily used in credit decisions made by banks and other providers of secured and unsecured credit. Only myFICO actually is offering FICO score to general US consumers. We usually get the credit score from our credit reporting agencies. However, those are not real FICO score. It’s not normal to see there are up to 100 difference in credit scores provided by credit reporting agencies. For example, TransUnion might say your credit score is 756, but Equifax indicates that your credit score is only 687! The reason behind this is those credit reporting agencies are only using similar model to estimate your FICO score but absolutely not real FICO score. Usually, people call those scores are FAKO score to distinguish from the FICO score.

Consumers who received the invitation email can login to Mint.com and click the “Get my FICO score now” tab at the mint.com account. This will lead you to www.freeficoscore.com which indicates that only the first 40,000 responding can get the free FICO score. It’s free. NO credit card required. And no obligation.

You need to put your SSN and address to verify your personal information to get the FICO score.

I have a post named “6 Web Based Personal Finance Tools” which introduces many web based personal finance tools. I think most of the users of the 6 personal finanace websites have received the offer. Since your FICO credit score directly influence your loan rate, and your other financial matters in your life, it’s important to know your FICO score. Do not miss this chance!