How Much Cash Back Does Your Bank Offer?

There's a great article in today's NY Times about online cash-back programs. They mention Fatwallet (I won't say "told ya so") and Ebate, but the really interesting part is their excellent overview on cash-back rewards programs offered by different banks and credit card companies. If you have a card with Chase, Citibank, Capital One, Discover, or American Express (yep, that's pretty much all of 'em), you can get money put directly into your checking account just for connecting to websites through their portal. (Basically, you visit their site first, then click on the link to, say, Amazonto get the reward.)

Incidentally, if you've never checked out the Times' archives on personal finance, you're missing out. They have the most informative article on credit scores I've ever read, and another one explaining which "free credit score" sites you can trust and why. And if you're feeling bad about your personal debt, check out their interactive feature that lets you compare your debt to the rest of the country' (25 percent of families owe between $100,000 and $320,000! .