5% cash back on purchases made at Amazon with Giving Assistant until November 1st

I’ve been testing out the hot new cash back site called Giving Assistant.  One unique feature this cash back site offers is that you can choose to donate a percentage of the cash you earn towards a charity of your choosing.

You can earn cash back via debit card, PayPal deposit, or check. 

The best part of Giving Assistant so far has been 5% cash back from purchases made at Amazon.com.  No other cash back site can beat this.  You can combine this with the 5% cash back from purchases made with your Chase Freedom card.  Some users report being able to double dip by getting 5% back on purchasing an Amazon gift card, and then getting another 5% back on using the Amazon gift card to complete your next purchase at Amazon. 

Unfortunately, 5% cash back on purchases made at Amazon will expire on November 1^st.  This means you still have more than a week to earn 5% cash back from Giving Assistant at Amazon.

There is a referral promotion where everyone you refer gets $5 cash for signing up.  Once they earn cash back you get $5 and there is no limit to the amount of cash you can earn through referrals.

You can sign up for a Giving Assistant account here (my referral link).  

One free night in Agoura Hills, California thanks to Starpoints

With wedding season in full effect, we have another wedding to attend this Saturday.  The wedding is located in Malibu, which is 67 miles away, and about an hour and a half drive.  At first, we thought about just driving there and then back.  Then we thought that driving 3 hours round trip was just too inconvenient.  Perfect excuse for a one night hotel stay.

While there are several hotels around the area of the wedding venue, I was glad to find out that we could book our hotel stay for free at the Sheraton Agoura Hills Hotel thanks to Starpoints.  This hotel has free Internet access, free parking, fitness center, and is located close to beaches, shops, and museums.  This hotel is also very conveniently located close to the wedding. 

First thing I did was go to SPG.com to book the hotel stay.  I was happy to see that a one-night stay only costs 7,000 Starpoints.  

We saved $126 by booking our stay with Starpoints.  This gives us a Starpoint value of 1 point = 1.8 cents.  By booking with Starpoints, there are no extra fees. 

Using points instead of cash for hotel stays helps us save money for other travel related expenses.  It doesn’t get much better than free.

Two free round trip flights to Portland on Southwest

With the Christmas season coming up soon, I just booked us 2 free round trip flights on Southwest Airlines to visit my wife’s family for Christmas in December 2015.  As usual, we prefer flying on Southwest Airlines because they offer direct flights and free baggage check-in.  Our son gets to fly for free because he is less than 2 years old and will not take up an extra seat on the plane. 

The whole process is so easy. 

First I logged into Southwest Airlines to see the cost of the flight: $717.02.

Next I check how many points I would need to book the tickets: 48,000.

Then I transferred over 48,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

Finally, I booked the flight!

By redeeming 48,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points and paying $22.40, we saved $694.62 ($717.02 - $22.40)!  I'm really glad we were able to book these flights with points instead of cash.  I don't think we have any other plans to fly anywhere in the near future, so it will be a good time to stock up on some more points!