Now From Your Bank: 0%...and a Toaster!
01.01.70
In an era when banks charge for everything from wire transfers to checking accounts, the offer seems too good to be true: a program with no fees, better rates on loans and deposits, and a "direct phone line to a team of specialists" for help with almost any money-related matter. The only catch: You have to maintain a minimum of $50,000 to qualify.
The offer -- called Platinum Privileges -- is from Bank of America, but it's far from the only new package of perks banks are rolling out for their highest income customers now. Citibank promises a $500 savings on home-closing costs as part of its Citigold offering. HSBC's suite of Premier service extras includes a waiver of pesky international money-transfer fees. And most premium options provide better access to customer-service reps. "This is the banking equivalent of frequent fliers who get first-class upgrades and priority seating," says Greg McBride, Bankrate.com senior financial analyst.
But just as frequent fliers must log serious mileage to earn an upgrade, banking customers also "pay" for perks. In this case, that means submitting to the new industry standard for account minimums, which can get as high as $100,000. What's more, the extras aren't always that significant. Put $100,000 in KeyBank's Key Privilege Select Checking account and your freebies include a safe-deposit box -- provided it's the small size. (A KeyBank spokesperson says the box is "part of a broader suite of rewards.")
Source: Smartmoney.com
Tidbits: Biscuit breakfast
01.01.70
New in the freezer case are Grands! Biscuit microwave sandwiches from Pillsbury (the exclamation point is part of the name, not an indicator of Mr. Tidbit's level of excitement). These are "breakfast sandwiches" - scrambled eggs, cheese sauce, and sausage or bacon between halves of a buttermilk biscuit.
Right next to them in the freezer case are Pillsbury's new microwave Egg Scrambles - scrambled eggs, potatoes, cheese sauce and either sausage or "bacon & veggies." (The veggies in question are red and green bell peppers and onions.)
Mr. Tidbit wondered about why the name "Egg Scrambles" includes the word "egg" - what other kinds of scrambles would there be? Oh, yes: Pillsbury's own Toaster Scrambles (cheese sauce, egg and bacon or sausage in a toaster pastry). Summing up, Pillsbury offers you eggs, cheese and bacon or sausage all by themselves or inside a biscuit or inside a toaster pastry. Sure to follow: inside a tortilla wrap, inside a croissant, inside an English muffin, inside a Kaiser roll, inside a brioche, inside a hamburger bun, inside a bagel ... well, maybe that one could be with kosher salami.
Source: Sacramento Bee