By Adam Jusko, ProudMoney.com, adam@proudmoney.com

One of the toughest things to handle during a job search is the question about your desired salary. My desired salary is $5 billion, but I’m not going to land a new job with that answer. So, what should you put on a job application or say during an in-person interview? Should you offer a number, or should you maneuver to get the employer to make an offer first? There’s no easy answer, but here are some things to consider:

Can you sidestep the question?

In the best of all worlds, you could answer the desired salary question by saying your salary is negotiable and that you’d really like to understand more about the position before answering. In other words, you’d like to be interviewed before talking money. If you have this opportunity, take it.

Unfortunately, many times your first step in the interview process is filling out an online application that forces the desired salary answer out of you. (The dreaded drop-down menu that forces a salary range is the worst.) In that case, think about the following questions:

What is the expected salary range for the position you’re seeking?

If a job listing doesn’t state a salary range and you’re not sure what a reasonable salary might be, do some research. One source for such information is the Bureau of Labor Statistics Wage Data, which is listed by area and occupation. This may not get as specific as you’d like, but it could prevent you from stating a desired salary that is way too high or way too low for the position. (If your desired salary is too low, you may appear to be under-qualified for the job, which could knock you out of the running just as fast as asking for too much money.)

By Adam Jusko, ProudMoney.com, adam@proudmoney.com

Wells Fargo has added its own deals portal, offering cardholders the chance to earn cash rebates on purchases with specific merchants. The Wells Fargo Deals we are seeing as of this morning include:

• Happy Cards – Spend $100, Get $15 back
• MGM Resorts Las Vegas – Spend $500, Get $100 back
• Ray-Ban – Spend $150, Get $30 back

You want a credit card but you have no credit history. It’s a “Catch-22” — banks won’t take a chance on you because you have no credit, but you’ll have no credit unless someone accepts you.

Below we offer some unsecured credit card options for those with no credit history. Note that you may have a higher interest rate with these cards and may have to pay an annual fee. (If that sounds bad, you should consider using a secured credit card to help build your credit. This requires a security deposit but is often cheaper overall.)

Capital One “Average Credit” Cards

Capital One has a number of cards that it lumps together under the “average credit” banner, but their description of average credit seems to include those with no credit history, or at least very little history. Among the major issuers, they are the first one we would try. You can also use their Pre-Qualify page to see what you’re likely to be accepted for, without any harm to your credit score for doing so.)

• Capital One Platinum Mastercard – No annual fee but a high 26.99% interest rate. No rewards.
• Capital One QuicksilverOne Rewards – $39 annual fee and the same 26.99% interest rate, but you’ll earn 1.5% cash back on all your purchases.
• Capital One Journey Student Rewards – As the name suggests, this one is for students. Capital One and other card issuers are more lenient with students, meaning it is easier to get accepted, even with no credit history. No annual fee, 26.99% interest rate, cash back of up to 1.25%.

Citi will be ending its Price Rewind Program, effective September 22, 2019. A popup message on the Citi Price Rewind site today says:

Updated June 13, 2019 – If you’ve ever been pitched on opening a new credit card at a retail store while making a purchase, you know that some stores are more than happy to give you instant credit — you apply on the spot, get approved, and you can use the card immediately. Below we offer a list of such cards, including regular bank credit cards as well as retail credit cards. Apply online and get shopping today. (Note that instant approval is not guaranteed.)

• American Express Cards – Most American Express credit cards and charge cards now offer the possibility of an “Instant Card Number” upon approval. Your “eligibility is based on our ability to instantly validate your identity.” If you are eligible, you’ll get an Instant Card Number that you can use even before you have the physical card in hand. Note, however, that you may not be able to access your card’s complete credit line instantly.
• PayPal Cashback Mastercard – One of our very favorite credit cards on the market also lets you use your card today if you are approved instantly. Here’s the language they use to describe the process: “If you’re approved, in most cases, a temporary credit line will instantly be added to your PayPal account and you can start using it on PayPal right away – – even before you receive your card.” Beyond the instant approval, this card gives you a 2% rebate on everything you buy with it — which is the top of the market for cash-back cards with a flat rate on all purchases.

By Adam Jusko, ProudMoney.com, adam@proudmoney.com

American Express has boosted the bonus on its flagship Platinum Card to 70,000 points after $5000 in spend within the first three months.

While this card has offered greater bonuses from time to time in the past, the publicly-available offer has generally been 60,000 points after $5000 in spend for the first half of 2019.

What is Chase Ultimate Rewards?

Chase Ultimate Rewards is the points program used by every Chase-branded rewards credit card, including the Chase Freedom and Freedom Unlimited, the Chase Sapphire credit cards, and also Chase small business credit cards.

You’ll notice that even the Chase credit cards that are marketed as “cash back” are in reality giving you Ultimate Rewards points equivalent in value to cash. For example, the Chase Freedom Unlimited is marketed as a 1.5% cash back card. In reality, you are getting 1.5 points per dollar with the card, and those points can be converted to cash at a penny per point, which equals the 1.5% shown in the card’s marketing. Chase is not being deceptive, however. By using this points system, you actually have more options to redeem your rewards.

How much are Chase Ultimate Rewards points worth?

In most cases, as alluded to above, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth a penny each. For example, 10,000 points = $100 in rewards.

There are some exceptions, though. In particular, you will probably want to know about the enhanced value of points that certain cards give if you redeem them for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. (You must go through Chase’s travel portal to get the enhanced rate.) The three Chase-branded cards that have an annual fee offer this enhanced value for travel:

• If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, your points are worth 50% more when redeemed for travel. In this case, 10,000 points equals $150 in travel value.
• If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, your points are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel. In this case, 10,000 points equals $125 in travel value.
• If you have the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card, your points are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel. Again, 10,000 points equals $125 in travel value.

June 5, 2019 Update: Added Wikimedia as a potential source of remote, at-home jobs.

If we were looking for an opportunity to work from home, these are the 15 opportunities we’d tackle first. All are legitimate stay-at-home work jobs, and this site does not receive any compensation if you choose to work with one of them. (See also: How To Make Money Without A “Regular” Job)

• Enterprise – The well-known car rental company often hires at-home customer service representatives and reservation agents who work with Enterprise customers by telephone.
• TTEC (TeleTech) – Offers work-at-home customer service opportunities. From their site: “As a TTEC@Home associate, you’ll use TeleTech’s proprietary technology to support and assist customers with a variety of customer service and technical needs. This could include helping customers over the phone, via chat, or on social media. Best of all, you can do it all while wearing your slippers or flip flops! (To get started, you’ll need internet access and a home phone.)”
• U-Haul – Employs at-home customer service representatives helping U-Haul customers by phone. These work-at-home opportunities come and go, so keep trying. (After clicking through, search “home” in the job listings to narrow the jobs down to home work opportunities. Last we looked there were a handful of opportunities.)

By Adam Jusko, ProudMoney.com, adam@proudmoney.com

Do you like to game the system? Do you like to look for the loopholes and arbitrage opportunities that others miss? It can be very intoxicating. But sometimes gaming the system can be dangerous as well. Which brings us to credit card churning.

What is credit card churning & why would you do it?

Credit card churning is the practice of getting approved for a credit card, taking the upfront bonuses that the card offers, and then closing the account as soon as possible. If the card has an annual fee, it might mean getting any bonuses available before the annual fee has to be paid. The “churning” aspect is that you do this repeatedly, opening a large number of card accounts and then quickly closing them. Sometimes people even apply for and receive the exact same credit card multiple times.

It is easy to see the attraction is doing this. You essentially get something for nothing. Sometimes you don’t have to do anything to get nice reward bonuses, sometimes you only have to use the card for a nominal amount of charges, say $500, to get the bonus. You could be getting cash, you could be getting points, you could be getting airline miles. Once you have the bonus, close the card and move on to the next one. You can get a lot of free money and other perks this way.

By Adam Jusko, ProudMoney.com, adam@proudmoney.com

Hilton and Lyft announced a new partnership today that will allow Hilton Honors rewards members to earn Hilton points on their Lyft rides.

Specifically, you can earn:

• 3 Hilton points per dollar on standard Lyft rides
• 2 points per dollar on share Lyft rides