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Capital One is offering $50 bonus for opening a new savings account online and make $10,000 deposit. This is a great opportunity to earn extra money if you are seeking for a savings account now. If there is a Capital One branch near you, you can get a debit card from Capital One and join the SmartCents Program which is a similar program as the Keep the Change at Bank of America.

The promotion page about this $50 bonus is here. In order to get the bonus, you have to keep the following points in mind:

• Offer code is SAVER50DF
• Savings account must be opened online by 11/25/2009
• You have to be new to Capital One Direct Banking
• At least $10,000 must be on deposit on 11/25/2009 to Get the Bonus

One KEY FEATURE of  this account is absolutely NO FEE! Service and maintenance fees don’t apply for this account!

The SmartCents program of the Capital One Savings Account has some features:

• Every time you make a debit card purchase or pay a bill online, 50 cents of your money is transferred from your checking to your savings and Capital One matches 100% of your eligible SmartCents transfers made within the first 3 months, and 5% after that (there is $300 yearly cap).
• Get $15 for your first direct deposit plus an extra $15 for your first online bill payment (total $30)
• You need to have a checking account to work with a savings account to be eligible to join this program

I was shocked when I heard from my friends that Capital One is offering $200 sign up bonus for new customers. But it is true and I would like to share this news with you guys. I hope you or maybe your friends could take the chance to get $200 bonus from Capital One. As far as I know, this is the best sign up offer right now in this country.

The offer page can be found at the capital one website: http://www.capitalone.com/bank/checking/200.php. The Capital One rewards checking account is a great account for customers. It features:

• Get free checking: no monthly service fee and no minimum balance requirement.
• Get automatic rewards for everyday banking (debit card use, ATM withdrawal, online bill pay).
• Get cash, travel, merchandise rewards. You choose.

To qualify for the $200 bonus, you have to:

• $50 minimum opening deposit required.
• You have to receive a mailer from Capital One about this promotion otherwise you can not get the bonus.
• Establish a direct deposit to your account.
• Present the mailer you received when you open a Capital One Bank branch personal checking account and mention promo code RC2.

Capital One is offering $50 sign up bonus for new customers who open a new banking account at Capital One with required deposit. The financial situation of Capital One is pretty good. It did not invest much money in the subprime mortgage market. Put your money at Capital One is really safe. If you are still looking for banking offers, I suggest you take this chance. It is easy to get as long as you make enough initial deposit.

The promotion page is here. This offer is nationally available. You can open a new account online at www.capitalonedirect.com. Following is the detail of this promotion:

• Open a new account before 04/15/2009
• Make at least $10,000 deposit by 05/8/2009
• At least $10,000 must be on deposit on 05/8/2009
• You are a new customer to Capital One Direct Banking
• Offer code: OFFER50

The yield of savings account at Capital One is not bad.

Capital One Credit Card is highly recommended for a international trip. The worldwide acceptance of mastercard and visa card combined with 0 transaction fee make the Capital One credit cards really good credit cards for using internationally. More information about using Capital One credit card can be found in this post.

Another innovation from Capital One I like is the Capital One Card Lab which was launched in November 2007. With the Capital One Card Lab, Capital One credit card customers can personalized the rewards and card design according to their own credit scores.

Today I will introduce the Capital One Image Card which is another attractive feature I think most Capital One credit card members will like. The Capital One Image Card program was introduced in Jan 2008. This program is another way to allow Capital One credit card customers to personalize their own credit cards by printing their own “personalized image”. New and existing Capital One credit card members can go to www.capitalone.com/imagecard and upload your own photo or choose an image from the existing gallery for your credit card. Of course, the image has to be approved by Capital One. Once the image is approved, a new card will be mailed at no cost to you.

It’s true that putting a personalized image on the credit card is a unique way to express your personality and creativity.

It’s apparent that Capital One is dedicated to serve their credit card customers. Following are some great credit card offers from Capital One.

Capital One No Hassle Cash Rewards Automatically earn 2% cash back on purchases at gas stations and grocery stores, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. There is no limit to the cash back rewards you can earn, and your cash rewards never expire.

Capital One No Hassle Miles Rewards Earn unlimited 1.25 miles for each dollar spent on purchases (25% more than regular airline miles credit cards).

Capital One No Hassle Points Rewards Earn unlimited 2% back (2 points per dollar) in point rewards for purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, and drug stores, plus 1% back for all other purchases.

Capital One No Hassle Miles Rewards for Travel and Gas Earn 3 miles per dollar spent on travel and gas purchases, and 1 mile per dollar on everything else. This credit card is ideal for travelers.

Capital One No Hassle Miles Ultra Earn unlimited 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases. A special 2% cash back credit card.

It is no doubt that you can use your credit card for an international trip. But some of you may not know that many credit card issuers will charge a certain amount of transaction fees for using your credit card aboard. The fees may be up to 8% depending on the credit card terms. So before you leave, you’d better read your credit card agreement from your credit card issuer carefully and find out the one with lowest transaction fees.

Hereby I did a little research and summarized the transaction fees from many US credit card issuers to help you choose out the best credit card for an international trip. Another thing you should be aware is your credit card account might be frozen by your credit card issuer sometimes due to fraud prevention.

Foreign transaction fees are charges added to the cost of purchases made in a foreign currency. The card issuers said the cost covers the service of translating the price of the purchase into U.S. dollars, which is the amount reflected on a billing statement. The foreign transaction fees are varied for different credit card issuers and different types of credit cards.

Whenever you make a purchase at foreign countries with a Visa or MasterCard, you will be automatically charged by Visa or MasterCard Networks. Card issuers will also add some fees for foreign transactions. For example, Chase Sony Card will charge you 3% transaction fee for an purchase made outside US. This 3% includes the above mentioned 1% fee charge by Visa Network. But there is an exception which makes it a very good credit card for using internationally. All Capital One credit cards will get 1% refund for any transactions made using a foreign currency or outside US. The HSBC Household/Orchard Bank credit card with 2% cash back used to not charge additional 2% fees. So with 2% cash back and 1% transaction fee, you can still get 1% cash back for using that credit card aboard. All American Express cards will be charged 2% transaction fee. Discover Card will not charge foreign transaction fees for your purchases made using foreign currency or outside US. So all Discover Cards are good choice for using aboard. The only downside for using Discover Card is they don’t have too many networks outside US. You can only us Discover card at limited countries. While Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted in the word.

Some picks of credit cards for international use:

Capital One No Hassle Cash Rewards Card (Or Capital One No Hassle Miles Rewards Card): There is no annual fee associated with this card. There is also no foreign transaction fee for using aboard. You can accumulate cash rewards for using this card everywhere in the world. You can choose either the cash version or mile version.

Discover More Card: There is no foreign transaction fee for using aboard. You can also get rewards for shopping everywhere in the world. No annual fee. If you are a student, you should choose the Discover Student Card which is specifically designed for students. You may also consider the Discover Miles Card for accumulating miles. But you should expect the situation that you can’t use your Discover Card on an international trip.

It’s obvious that current banking system is still not stable. National City Bank followed WaMu and Wachovia’s step to be sold to PNC Bank. Smart American consumers concerned about the safety of their money and investments are increasing turning to trusted online banks and high yield savings accounts for the FDIC insurance protection they afford. Current FDIC insured amount has increased to $250K.

This post is trying to give you some advice on where to shop the best and trust online banks with high yields. If you are looking for the best online banks in terms of those that offer the highest interest rates for checking and savings accounts, you’ve come to the right place. It’s well known that online banks always offer higher rates on savings, money market funds and CDs than generally known banks like Citi, BOA, and Chase.

1. Capital One Direct Banking – 3.55%

Capital One Direct Banking offers 3.55% APY on balance over $10,000. If the deposit is under $10,000, the APY is 2.55%. I think this Capital One online savings account offers one of the best savings rates among the top national banks. During the financial crisis period, there is no negative reports about the Capital One, so I think it’s save to deposit money there. I personally have a Capital One Online Savings Account and I like it very much. The easy to use and link other accounts make me feel that Capital One Direct Banking is a really reliable bank. They will keep sending a statement to you even your balance is $0.02 every month.

2. WT Direct – 3.31%

WT Direct always offers top rates on their high yield savings account. There is no monthly service fees, minimum balance requirement but you have to keep your balance over $10,000 to get the high rate. As their website indicates the WT Direct online banking is part of a family of companies with over 100 years of financial strength and stability—Wilmington Trust Savings Bank. There is no related reports about the falling of this bank. WT Direct was rated as “This institution offers good financial security and has the resource to deal with a variety of adverse economic conditions.” by TheStreet.com.

3. Amboy Direct – 3.25%

Amboy Direct eSavings is an FDIC-insured savings account. For account balance higher than $3,000, you can have 3.25% APY! Plus you can get $50 sign up bonus if you open an eSavings account right now. The other interesting feature of this account is the ability to make (3) free Bank-to-Bank withdrawals and unlimited deposits in any calendar month. There is no monthly balance minimums or service fee.

4. HSBC Direct – 3.00%

It’s no doubt that HSBC Direct is one of the safest online banking choices out there with a wide international and national banking presence. (The world’s local bank!) Although the account opening process is a little complicated for new customers, their customer service is generally good and helpful. HSBC direct online savings account also often offer sign up bonuses. If you travel around the world frequently, HSBC is your top choice.

5. E*Trade Savings – 3.00%

Better known for its online discount broker program, E*Trade also runs a traditional banking component. Their complete savings account features high yield rewards and super fast money transfer service. If you are using the E*Trade brokerage service and want to link E-Trade brokerage account and their online savings, E-Trade’s Complete Saving Account is a recommended choice.

6. Emigrant Direct – 3.00%

The Emigrant Direct American Dream Savings Account is the feature banking product from Emigrant Direct which features no monthly fees and no minimum balance. Furthermore, there is no need to change your checking account. Your American Dream Savings Account will be linked to your current checking account. This bank is always chased by customers seeking for safe and high yield savings products.

7.  ING Direct – 2.75%

When it comes to ING Direct, one thing is common – it’s universally agreed upon is that ING Direct is a great online savings bank. When you read a personal finance blog, online journals, or newspapers, ING Direct is often praised for its super customer support and easy-to-use online account. Once you start a relationship with ING, you just don’t want to try others. Their simplified and streamlined website interface that makes it easy for both advanced users and novice online banking customers to use. The famous Orange Savings Account is not only quick and painless to open, the high yield savings account also imposes no monthly fees or account balance minimums.

As I pointed out in my post “How can Wall Street Crisis Affect Main Street“, the number one result is we will see more banking promotions. And this is true. Most banks have to attract more customers to deposit money in their institutions to meet the requirement from FDIC.

$25 bonus from Citi Ultimate Savings Account

Citibank has a $25 bonus for opening its Ultimate Savings Account with a minimum initial deposit of $1,000. To get the bonus, you have to apply online or via phone call at 877-695-9400 with the promotion code CYA8. The $1,000 initial deposit must have to be maintained in the account for 3 months before the $25 bonus deposited to your account.

The promotion page can be found here. You should remember that:

• This offer is only available for first-time Citibank deposit account customers
• $25 bonus will be credited to your account within 120 days
• This bonus payment will be reported to the IRS as interest earned in the year credited
• NO hard pull any longer for opening a deposit account at Citibank

As a reminder, Citi has a very low ACH outbound transfer limit: $2,000 per day and $10,000 per month.

$50 bonus for opening a Capital One Online Savings Account

The $50 bonus for opening a Capital One Online Savings Account can be found here. Capital One always gives out sign up bonus for this savings account but the typical amount is $25. So I personally think this is a good catch if you want to open a savings account at Capital One.

To get the $50 bonus, you have to open an online savings account at www.capitalonedirect.com/osa1 with promotion code: BONUS50 before 10/31/2008. Of course, you have to fund this account with $25,000 within 30 days of account opening. The bonus code must be provided at the time of the application. The $50 interest credit will be deposited to your account 4-8 weeks after 11/30/2008.

This account has a very competitive rate of 3.55% APY for balance over $10,000. So far there is no nagetive reports about Capital One.

Capital One is reported to launch a nee type of rewards debit card that would change how banks and consumers approach debit cards last year. The unique feature of this debit card is: It can be linked to any bank account and used for purchases and ATM withdrawals, just like the debit card consumers get from their bank when they open a checking account. Another appealing feature of this card is better rewards. Plus this card also features zero-liability. This new type of debit card is being used by some Capital One credit card users.

Today, I received an email from Capital One indicating that if you apply for a new Capital One Debit MasterCard and make a first purchase, you would get 5,000 bonus No Hassle Points. The 5,000 No Hassle Points card be redeemed as a $50 gift card from Macy’s, Amazon.com, or Spa Finder. Furthermore, you can get 1 No Hassle Point for every dollar you spent on this card just like other Capital One credit cards do. However, this offer appears to require you to be a current Capital One credit cardholder.

During the application process, you have to link you current bank checking account to this debit card. You have to verify bank account access.

Basic features of this debit card:

• Earn No Hassle Points^SM on debit purchases. Earn 1 point per dollar spent when you sign for debit purchases.
• No need to open a new checking account. Your transactions are deducted from your existing checking account, wherever you bank.
• Shop with confidence, this card comes with MasterCard Zero Liability.
• There are 9 card designs to choose from.

Please note that, in order to get 1 No Hassle Point, you have to choose “credit” purchase at the check out. A credit purchase means a signature-based purchase. A signature-based purchase is one where you select “credit” (not “debit”) and typically sign a receipt instead of entering a PIN.

The application page can be found at: http://www.capitalone.com/debit/index2.php

The reference code is:K3E6L8K149

You can also call Capital One at 1-866-812-6923 to apply for this card.