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I won’t be writing a new post because not much has changed in the world of getting free credit reports from the big three agencies (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion).

Instead I’ll let this post server as your reminder and link back to our post from last year on Getting Free Credit Reports directly from the big three.

Coinstar has expanded its Gift Card program to include more locations and more gift cards. You can now go to their advanced machine locator and find a machine near you that lets you turn your unwrapped loose coins into gift cards. If you choose the gift card option, you pay no processing fees and get the full value on your selected gift card.

Merchants now include: Starbucks, Amazon.com, Circuit City, JCPenny, itunes, Borders, Pier 1, Eddie Bauer, Cabela’s, KB Toys, Old Navy, Timberland, DisneyShopping.com, Hollywood Video, AMC, & Linens & Things.

More details can be found at their FREE Coin Counting page.

TAGS: giftcard, gift cards, coinstar, free

Avis and Budget are rolling out programs in the Northeast US this Saturday to rent EZ-Pass transponders to the renters of their cars.  Cars rented at New York City’s Airports, and in Manhattan, northern New Jersey, and southern Connecticut.  The cost will be $1.50 per day for the rental, plus the payment of all tolls.  The two companies are also looking to expand the program to Houston and Washington DC

Hertz has been testing a similiar program in Houston and is working to expand their tests in the coming weeks.

This innovative product is amazing. As great in function as it is beautiful in form, the card beeper is worthy of any desing contest.

This product is for anyone that fears losing their card. Never again will you stress out hawking over a merchant waiting for the return of your card. Why?? Because every 20 seconds this card holder is empty it will beep at you. It even has a money clip on the back side!

It was designed by Pernille Vea and is being offered for sale by Panik Design.

Many more merchants are starting to require the zip code of a credit card be entered upon its use.  This has been happenign for quite a few years now, but the breadth of who is doing it has been growing exponentially.

Exxon/Mobile is going to start requiring it for their Speedpass customers; Walgreens and Walmart both now require a zip code for AMEX users.

We agree with this practice in theory as it is a great fraud prevention device.  We prefer gas stations that require this to support the cause.  However, we’re with Mastercard on the privacy front.  They specifically prohibit this practice in any manned location.  That makes complete sense, because the merchant should be checking IDs there.

Microsoft has launched it’s answer to eBay, Craigslist, and Google Base - Expo.

Expo is a dynamic social listing service that allows members to find and sell items, discover information, and meet other parties in their area – all for free!

With Expo, you can browse and post listings to those you trust, like your buddies, co-workers, and fellow students, or, to all Expo visitors.

I must say that of all of the interfaces, I’m most impressed with Expo’s.  It’s clean, well orgainzed, offers RSS feeds, and allows saved searches.  You can choose to have the site alert you via email or MSN alerts (which can send text messages to your cell phone) when you get offers on your postings.

This marketplace is worth a very serious look.  The only thing missing from it and Google Base is a reputation system of some sort.  Without that, eBay and Craigslist will still reign over this group.

Now all we need is for a Web 2.0 company to come along that will give one intreface for posting management at all the sites for maximum exposure.

Google Base has had listings of items for sale for quite a while.  Now, Google has announced that items for sale in Google Base will be able to be purchased via a Google Account.  Google Accounts have been used for payment processing for other Google properties like Google Earth and Google Video.

This announcement will pit Google Base flatly against the e-Bay/Paypal machine. In fact, they even have a bulk uploading tool that could pit this initative against Yahoo! Stores and Amazon as well.

If you’re a merchant or auction seller interested in being able to accept payments through Google Base, fill out the Google Base seller form.

If you have a credit card, you’ve seen them, the so called courtesy checks that get sent in the mail every month or so. Beware of them. In fact, avoid using them if at all possible. Since they are treated as cash advances and not credit card transactions, there are several cons:

1. Since they are cash advances, the interest rate is not the same as that for regular purchases. Some cards may have a lower rate, some may have a higher rate.
2. Again, cash advances are generally paid first when you have a mixed balance. So, if you have a moderately high balance before using one, then that balance will continue to accrue interest payments until the cash advance is paid off.
3. You are not protected like you are when you use the card itself. Using the checks is like getting a cash advance, and you generally have ZERO protection to dispute “charges” using them.

If a merchant accepts credit cards, but suggests using these checks so they can aoid transaction fees, think really hard about how much you trust that merchant. If they go out of business and don’t provide the service paid for, you are out your hard earned money.

Instead of using these checks, you should just invest in a nice cross cut shredder. This one also shreds DVDs and CDs.

In June, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will introduce its $73 million smart card for its for more than 210,000 daily riders.  Similiar to the area’s EZ-Pass, the new system will not require direct contact, and can be accessed even if the card is in a purse or wallet.

Currently, 10 senior citizens are using the new cards in the system’s first live test drive.

Via North Jersey Media Group

There are a bevy of sites that offer free credit reports.  Many of them request your report for you from one of the big three (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) reporting services and then subscribe you to a credit monitoring service trial.  They will then charge you if you forget to cancel the trial.

EACH of the big three credit reporting agencies allow every US resident to recieve a free credit report every 12 months.  That means you can effectively get three free reports per year.

Go to AnnualCreditReport.com to sign up and recieve the only TRULY free credit reports. This site is sponsored by the big three reprting agencies and results in nothing but your credit report.  Go there and check out their FAQ, it will answer all your questions.