You may have noticed that I havent covered too many black friday deals this year.
Truth be told there’s just not much reason to. So many of the deals can be found right here on ctownbochur.com year-round and without fighting hundreds of other people to get what you want.

While a couple stores still have good deals, like Best Buy, you have to be among the first 18 or so to get anything good, meaning waiting from 9pm until 5 am outside. After that point all you’ll get are some 2 GB SD cards for “$70 off” which ends up being $30+tax, or more than double the price you can get one for right on your computer from buy.com today!

So is it worth going to the stores this year? Only if you get there early enough the night before to be among the first in line!

Amazon Customers Vote Linky

Remember to save an additional 5% instantly on all Continental tickets by using your Continental credit card!
Pittsburgh -Denver -$118+ RT On Continental

An anonymous commenter wrote in the following:

“For all you people who enjoy bragging about the amount of credit cards you have with the best point systems, you should know that (according to equifax )having multiple cards could damage your credit score as it shows you have some financial instability. For all the headache and bother you get from managing cards and their points, you could get an honest job and make back that money. I have 1 single card for the past 4 years and Bank Of America has increased my credit to $11,000 on their own and my score is more than 800.”

Wow-1 credit card…it’s been years since I’ve had just one!
Im not sure where you read that having multiple cards is bad for you, but its simply not true. Opening multiple cards at one time can be bad-and I’ll discuss those ramifications below.

I don’t claim to be an expert on the many factors that comprise one’s credit score, however I have done tests and am confident that in the long run there is nothing to lose by having multiple cards.

According to Fico:
-65% of your credit score is your payment history and the current amount owed.
-15% is the length of your credit history.
-10% is new credit.
-10% is the variety of credit that you have.

The 65% includes the number of accounts that are in good standing, and the percent of credit that you use. So the more accounts you have open-the better this category gets, because you have more accounts that get paid on-time, and you utilize a lower percentage of your overall credit.

Anon-if you were to need to spend $10,000 for whatever reason, your credit would take a HUGE hit, because you would have a very high percentage of your credit limit used up. For me on the other hand it wouldn’t even show as a blip on the screen.

So far I’ve covered the positives of having many cards and a high credit limit.
The downside is that opening a card directly affects the 10% category of new credit-but here’s the rub-since it only looks for accounts opened in the past 6 months or so opening a card can only hurt you for a maximum of approximately 6 months. There are no lasting long-term affects to your score, so as long as you are not buying a home or taking out a loan-go apply for a card and enjoy the free trips that the banks are currently doling out like never in history.

In my informal tests on my own credit score I have found that upon applying and getting a new card my score will lost a few points, however after paying it off for a few months it will go higher than where it started off at. Even with the dozens(yes, dozens) of cards that I have opened in the past 12 months my credit score has gone up by some 40 points!

Bottom line:
Don’t worry about opening numerous cards unless you are buying a home or taking out a loan in the next 6 months. Enjoy the gravy train of credit card offers while they last!
Also keep in mind that as far as lenders are concerned you will get the same rate whether you have a 765 or a perfect 850. Either way you will get a top-notch rate, as you are a safe creditor and pay your bills on time-which is by far the most important factor.

Coupon Linky

Jetblue Business Amex
Jetblue Consumer Amex

I ranked the Jetblue card as follows in the following categories:
Best Credit Cards To Use And Spend To Earn Miles: #5 and #6.
Best Credit Cards To Have For Miscellaneous Benefits: #6 and #7.
Credit Cards Good For A One-Time Bonus: #5 and #6.

Key facts:
-Signup Bonus: 25 Trueblue points and $50 credit for the business card and 25 Trueblue points for the consumer card.
-Annual fee: Business and Consumer-$40 yearly.
-Signup Bonus Earned: After first purchase.
-Maximum points that can be earned in 1 year from spending: Unlimited.
Maximum Number Of Times The Signup Bonus Can Be Earned: One Consumer bonus and one business bonus.
Minimum Wait Time Between Applying For The Consumer And Business Card: None, you can apply for both on the same day.
Jetblue’s Convoluted points system: 200 Amex points=1 Trueblue point. 100 Trueblue points=1 Free ticket. So 20,000 Amex points=1 Free ticket.
Consumer Card Points Earning: Earn 2 amex points per dollar spent at restaurants, movie theaters, sporting events, golf courses, arts events, gym memberships, and on jetblue. Earn 1 Amex point per dollar spent elsewhere.
Business Card Points Earning: Earn 2 amex points per dollar spent on wireless telephone services, car rentals, gasoline, office supplies, and on jetblue. Earn 1 Amex point per dollar spent elsewhere. Get a 5% Cash rebate in addition to points for spending with ATT, Fedex, Hertz, and Jetblue, get a 3% cash rebate in addition to points for spending with Delta.

Reason for the being ranked #5 and #6 in “Cards To Use And Spend To Earn Miles” category :
Better earning than the Starwood card in the double miles categories.

Reasons for the #5 and #6 ranking in “Miscellaneous Benefits” category:
-Jetblue points normally expire 12 months from the date of earning. However when you have either Amex card as long as you earn 1 trueblue point a year your entire Trueblue points balance will never expire!
-On the business card you save 5% on all Jetblue ticket purchases.

Reason for being #5 and #6 in the “Credit Cards Good For A One-Time Bonus” category:
-It’s one of the weakest signup bonuses in the industry, and you can only get it once.

Summary:
This card (especially the business card) is an absolute must-have for all Jetblue flyers.
Although you dont get much of a signup bonus, the 5% discount(business card only) and the never-expiring Trueblue points benefit(both cards) easily covers the annual fee. Plus the business card comes with a $50 signup bonus which more than covers the annual fee.

Even if you dont like rebates $20 is a great price for a 2 GB SD card…

Price:
$30.00
– $10 for google checkout
– $5 rebate
= $15
2 GB Kingston SD Card Linky
$5 Rebate Linky

Signup Promo Linky
Already have an account? Open a new one!
Thanks to “other guy” for the heads-up…

I leave for NYC in the morning, so I may or may not update as frequently this week…

This is the perfect solution if you have a desktop without wi-fi and a wi-fi enabled laptop in your house. Just plug your dsl/cable into the router with the included cable and plug the usb adapter into your desktop, and voila, you now have 2 computers sharing your high-speed internet connection wirelessly!

Price:
$64.24
– $10 for google checkout
– $35 rebate
= $19.24
D-Link Wi-Fi Router And USB Wi-Fi Adapter Linky
$35 Rebate Linky

San Diego-Fort Lauderdale-$104+ RT On Northwest and United

$20 Paypal Promo Registration Linky

Amazon Had This In Stock At 11:05AM For About 25 Seconds…Hopefully They Will Post More Later…
Nintendo Wii Linky
This will go up sometime between 3:00AM and 3:00PM EST…
Price will be $249.99…

Update 2: 11:25AM: Sold Out-But Not Before I Got My Hands On One…Off To Ebay I Go!
Update-10:55AM: Now Online!!!
Costco.com Wii Linky
Costco.com and some Costco stores will have the Wii for sale today!
Expect it to be on the website between 10AM and 11AM!
Price will be $339.99 including the console and 2 games…

Price:
$70.38
– $10 for google checkout
– $15 rebate
= $45.38

120GB External Hard Drive Linky
$15 Rebate Linky

Indianapolis-Los Angeles-$98+ RT On Northwest

Buffalo-Las Vegas-$88+ RT On United
Baltimore-Las Vegas-$92+ RT On United
Fort Lauderdale-San Diego-$104+ RT On United
Indianapolis-Portland-$112+ RT On multiple carriers.

Update: Sold Out!
As promised last night, the PS3 is now for sale at costco!
PS3 Linky

Update: 10:00AM: We’re still an hour away and the site is just getting pummeled…
According to Costco CS the PS3 will be on sale at costco.com at 11:00AM EST and will be on the home page for purchase.
Limit 1 per household!
costco.com

Gap.com Linky(Using this link helps support this site!)
Use code (Exp. 12/14): GAPHOOD

Free Shipping codes:
No Min.-Requires Banana Luxe card: LUXE
$50 Min-Requires Banana Card: BRCARD
$50 Min-Requires Gap card: FREESHIP
$100 Min: FREE100

bananarepublic.com
20% Off $75 And Free Shipping-Requires Banana Card-Exp. 12/24: TAKETWENTY
20% Off $100-No Required Cards: WINTERBR

Free Shipping Codes:
$0 Min-Requires Banana Luxe Card: LUXE
$50 Min-Requires Gap Card: FREESHIP
$50 Min-Requires Banana Card: BRCARD
$125 Min: BRFREE

Price:
$30.00
– $10 for google checkout
– $15 rebate
= $5.00

Kingston 1 GB SD Card Linky
$15 Rebate Linky

Here is a great site that will ping woot every 10 seconds letting you know exactly how much % of each woot is left.
Remember the best deals only last a couple minutes, so
-be sure to have this checker open
-be logged into your woot account
-have a valid credit card already on file in your woot account to improve your odds of getting a great deal at today’s woot-off!
10 Second Woot-Off Checker

Instead of the normal 1 woot per day listed at 1:00AM EST, for the next 24-72 hours or so woot will be selling lots of things for very short periods of time-expect some very good deals-but dont expect them to last more than a few minutes!!!
woot.com linky
If you’re lucky, you may even be able to buy the infamous “Bag Of Crap” for $1…

Both airlines stocks shot up earlier today as investors seemingly thought this is a good move for both airlines.

Will this merger actually happen? I doubt it, and I hope not!
1st of all USAirways has a terrible mileage program in which if you dont have activity every 18 months you lose all of your miles. I personally have zero USAirways miles, but i do have Delta miles that I wouldnt want USAir to touch with a 10-foot pole.
2nd-Since when does the #7 company in the industry take over the #3? USAirways still hasn’t even fully integrated America West from the last merger…

If by some crazy means is does go through (Delta has said they want to remain stand-alone) I wonder which hubs will be cut, which name they will keep, and which alliance they will stick to…

The last USAirways merger saw Charlotte, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, and Phoenix survive, with just Pittsburgh being cut.
Delta operates a mega-hub in Atlanta and smaller hubs in Cincinnati and Salt Lake City.
I would imagine that Charlotte, Cincinnati, and Salt Lake City would have to lose their hub status in such a merger.
My other guesses are that they would keep the Delta name, which has a far better reputation than USeless Airways…
USAirways joined the Star Alliance just a couple years ago, and Delta is the founding member of Skyteam, so most probably they would stick with Skyteam…

Anyway this is all just speculation…
At the end of the day I highly doubt that this merger will happen. However I am sure that within a couple years we will see major consolidation in the industry…

Micro-SD is the format being used in most new, non-pda phones today…
Price:
$42.23
– $8 Rebate
– $10 for google checkout
= $24.23
1 GB Micro-SD Card Linky
$8 Rebate Linky
Make sure that you select budget shipping on the google checkout page in order to get free shipping!!!

The nuvi 350 was ranked as the best portable GPS by Consumer Reports magazine…
Somehow in a package that weighs 20% less than my treo, they fit in a 3.5″ Touch-Screen LCD, 700MB of memory, and the strongest GPS receiver out there today!
It is on sale for $519, plus 5% taken off instantly at checkout=$493 shipped!
Cnet Video Of The Nuvi 350
Nuvi 350 Linky
The Nuvi 360, which is the exact same thing as the 350 but with bluetooth so you can use it as a speakerphone for your phone, is $549 after 5% off at checkout…
Nuvi 360 Linky

5% Off Details Linky(Exp. 11/20)
Discount taken at checkout…

Update: DEAD!
Price:
$37.06
– $10 for google checkout
= $27.06
Jabra BT350 Bluetooth Headset Linky
Make sure that you select budget shipping on the google checkout page in order to get free shipping!!!