ING direct FF miles?
 

does anyone know of anyway that i could put 100,000 into an ING cd and get miles? they have a better interest rate.
thanks

Check out www.bankdirect.com . You can get AA miles through them with various accounts, including CDs. Plus, you get bonus miles for signing up, and bonus miles if you're referred by someone (let me know if you'd like a referral). I am quite happy with BankDirect.

Though Bankdirect gives miles, it's APR is about a 1% less than comparable products.

With a $100K CD purchase, you are technically paying...
$1K(the 1% spread) for 100K miles on a 2Yr CD
$1K(the 1% spread) for 50K miles on a 1Yr CD
$1K(the 1% spread) for 25K miles on a 6month CD

As you can see, it makes sense only if you buy the 2Yr CD. And within the two year term, your "cost" is going to increase as the "spread" increases because of rate hikes.

IMHO, its a Catch 22 situation. If you are a highly conservative investor, go for it. Otherwise, take a higher APR on a 1Yr CD somewhere else.



[This message has been edited by Bourne (edited 03-12-2003).]

I agree with Bourne. I did the Bank Direct thing and collected my miles, then for my liquidity needs dump all my stuff in ING Direct.

What is ING Direct?

Does ING actually stand for something?

FCOTSTY is right!

http://www.ing-usa.com/

FYI, ING is currently running a $50 promotion for opening a new money market account on-line. After my American Express Money market dropped to a 1% yield, I transfered it to ING for a 2.3% yield.

ING stands for International Netherlands Group. It is a big Dutch financial company offering all kinds of services (banking, investing, insurances, etc.).
A couple of years ago they were in the news when they took over Barings (resulting in ING Barings), after Baring ran into trouble with their Singapore (or Asian) operation thanks to Mr. Nick Leeson. BTW I don't believe that was a very succesful take over...

I use them for asset management (but not in the US) and they are a large and reliable company IMO.

And they are FDIC insured for deposits to $100K.

------------------
Bob

Does anyone know how to link the ING promotion for $50 when you open a new account. Also, do you know what kind of account is valid for the promotion?

http://www2.fdic.gov/structur/search...TE=&CITYINPUT=

I use ING myself (for the 2.30% online account) & am happy, but would be wary of the CDs. The penalty for early withdrawal (half of all accrued interest) is absurdly steep, so you'd better be certain you won't want the money early.

And no, I don't know how you'd get miles out of it.

I use a GMAC Demand Note checking account for 3% interest. It's not FDIC insured though. I'm not too worried. Ford also has a similar program.

boobeary-
not sure about the $50 offer from ING, but I
could send you a referral email for $25 to open an ING savings account (the one that pays 2.3%)

[This message has been edited by Duckman (edited 03-13-2003).]

I think the $50 promotion ended a while back, and it was in connection w/ Quicken purchase. Email me if you want a referral for $25.

Email: [email protected]
Thanks.
Payul

[This message has been edited by pscabrea (edited 03-14-2003).]

I love ING Direct! If I may be allowed to jump on this bandwagon, I'll be happy to refer someone for $25. Jean

Ingdirect is great, highly recommended...Highest available rate, FDIC insured, and very easy/simple/convenient website including transferring money from/to your checking account!

I use it myself and recommend it to clients (I am a Certified Financial Planner).

By the way, I could do a referral too http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[email protected]

I could refer someone to get $25 also.

I opened an account with ING about two weeks ago and received the $50 bonus. You must enroll on-line in order to receive it, and the $50 bonus posted within a day or so. I can't seem to find the link that I used. I'll keep checking and will post a response if I figure it out.

You might want to take tax considerations into account when computing the cost of miles. It would be more appropriate to consider the after-tax spread over bankdirect when making a decision.

I, too, am a very satisfied ING customer. Their website is basic but very easy to use. I love the ability to link up to 3 bank accounts so you can do online transfers (no fee).

Duckman--how does the referral program work? I'd like to refer my friends (and anyone on this board) but don't know how to go about it. I couldn't find anything on the website. Thanks!

ING has worked well for me. I've used it for a year and a half now, and never had any issues. They always handle transfers promptly and never charge fees.

Also competitive for full-service banking is World Savings at 2.13% for money markets > $10K. They have a bunch of free gift options available for new accounts opened online. They also throw in a bunch of free branch services (notary, safe deposit, money orders, cashier's checks, etc.) for accounts with > $10K.

Duckman--how does the referral program work? I'd like to refer my friends (and anyone on this board) but don't know how to go about it. I couldn't find anything on the website. Thanks!

[/B][/QUOTE]

After you log in, look at the bottom of the screen for a link to the referral program.

The program has worked well for me for years. People who want to reward me for my efforts maintaining my web site aske to be referred after reading about the bank in the Finance section of my web site.

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Free Frequent Flyer Miles

Thanks for answering for me, pgary.

The referrals have worked smoothly for me. ING sometimes says the referral program is a limited time offer, but always seems to extend it.

Thanks for the quick response pgary. Now that I see the link on the bottom of the page it couldn't be more clear! Don't know how I missed it. Thanks again.