My wife and I are avid readers and one of our favorite things to do is go browse in a book store. Buying a new hardcover book is something that we both enjoy. The problem is that these books are very expensive. Luckily for us, we found out that we can often get these books for 25-30% off using coupons.
I didn’t even know that a major book store chain like Borders would offer coupons, but they do. In fact, they regularly offer a 25-30% off coupon on 1 book. Considering that many hardcover books cost $20, a 30% savings equates to a $6 savings. Saving $6 for a few minutes of searching is well worth the effort.
So where do I find my Borders coupons? I do a search for them at fatwallet. They pop up frequently so keep checking. There are many coupon sites out there, so you may have some luck searching there also. Here is a link to a post on fatwallet on 9/7/06 for a 30% off coupon:
http://www.fatwallet.com/t/18/650701
Do you spend more than $200 at Borders every year? If you do you should really consider getting a borders rewards card. With the rewards card 5% of purchases go into a holiday account. When your account reaches $10 you can use that towards your next purchase. It’s not a lot of money, but it’s a free $10 if you are going to buy the books anyway.
Believe it or not there is actually a Borders Visa rewards credit card. If you do a lot of shopping at Borders you may want to consider getting the card. This is because this card is a 3/2/1% cash back credit card. The 3% cash back applies to purchases made at Borders. Just so you know, 3% is a very good percentage for cash back.
The credit card is not a bad card to have at all. This is especially true if you purchase a lot of books. There is no annual fee and they are running a promotion right now that gives you a $20 Borders gift card and 1000 bonus points on you first purchase if you sign up.
If you really do spend a significant amount of money on books every year you should consider the coupons, rewards cards, and credit cards that Borders offers. If you don’t take advantage of these programs, you are leaving money on the table when you leave the store.
Written by admin on September 13th, 2006 with no comments.
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I recently learned of the $20 trick a week before my honeymoon trip to Las Vegas. Basically the trick involves tipping the check in clerk $20 and asking for a room upgrade. This is common practice and has worked for many people. Below is my experience with it:
I arrived at the Tropicana with my wife at 2pm and saw that they were checking people into their rooms a little early. Having been thinking about the $20 trick for a week, I was more than ready to try it out on our 3 night stay. I took out my credit card, drivers license, and $20 bill, placing the 20 between the two.
Informing the clerk that I was checking into the hotel, I handed her the 3 items. I made my move and asked, “are there are complimentary upgrades available?” As she started to answer, I looked down and noticed that the $20 was sandwiched between the credit card and driver’s license. So I very smoothly reached over the counter and moved the credit card so that the $20 was showing.
The clerk smiled at me and informed me that’s not necessary, but she left the tip where it lay. I told her that I was on my honeymoon and wanted to do something special for my wife. She then proceeded to offer me a free $20 per night upgrade. From my research I knew that a suite upgrade was possible. Especially since this was mid-week. So I told her I was hoping to get a room with a Jacuzzi in the room.
The clerk left to speak with the manager for 3 minutes. I got the feeling that she was trying really hard to get me the suite. She came back and said that the best she could do was get me a discount on a suite upgrade of $75 per night. This was down from $150 per night. I politely told her that I’d pass on the suit and thanked her for trying.
The clerk ended up booking us on the 20th of 21 floors in a corner room overlooking the strip. It was an awesome room, well worth the $20 tip.
Here are some observations:
- I was a little nervous as I walked up to the counter, but once I got the ball rolling, I was fine.
- The clerk acted like she had seen the $20 trick before.
- I was friendly, polite, and smiled a lot.
I can fully recommend trying the $20 trick out. Although I did not get a suite upgrade like I was hoping, I saw that it was possible. It just didn’t work out for me that time. Maybe my clerk wasn’t shady enough or maybe the manager was in a bad mood. Who knows?
For $20 I received $60 worth of room upgrade, a high floor and a corner room overlooking the strip. Well worth the money, time, and effort. It doesn’t hurt to try and you never know, maybe you’ll get really lucky and get a suite.
Written by admin on September 1st, 2006 with 1 comment.
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