Last night I clicked on the “Transfer Money” tab on Bank of America to move some money from savings to checking. But instead of seeing the usual screen, I was first prompted with this…

…it was a solicitation for me to participate in their new program that gives you the ability to email money or send it via phone, to other accountholders at Bank of America, Wells Fargo, or Chase (if they are also enrolled in clearXchange service.

After clicking “Yes” here’s what the next screen said:

Introducing a new way to send and receive money. Now you can make transfers simply by using an email address or mobile phone number, with no account number needed. A fee may apply when you use this new service (fee waived for a limited time). The fee amount is disclosed prior to each transaction and is also in the service agreement. Please note that there are dollar amounts and other limits for these transfers. Please also see the service agreement for applicable daily cut off and delivery times.

About transferring money to others

• For a fee (fee waived for a limited time): Make transfers to another person using the recipient’s mobile number or email address.
• No fee: Make transfers to other Bank of America customers using the recipient’s account number. Most customers may also use Bill Pay to send money to individuals without charge (see your service agreement for details).

By checking this box and selecting “I agree” below, I confirm that I:

a. have read and agree to the terms of the service agreement, including the terms of the Email/Mobile Network Transfers sections;
b. consent to receive email and automated text messages about Email/Mobile Transfers;
c. will only register mobile numbers where I am the account holder; or if I am not the account holder, I have the account holder’s permission to register that mobile number; and
d. will obtain the consent of the person to whom I want to send a Mobile Transfer text message to receive the automated text message.
e. consent to receive surveys requesting my feedback about this service, even if I am on a Do Not Solicit list.

Message & data rates may apply. For help text “HELP” to 53849. To cancel your plan, send a text “STOP” to 53849 at anytime. In case of questions please contact customer service at 1.877.343.7174.

Supported Carriers: AT&T, Sprint, Nextel, Boost, Verizon Wireless, U.S. Cellular®, T-Mobile®, Cincinnati, Bell, Virgin Mobile USA, Cellular South, Centennial and Ntelos

I did some digging around on my own to find out more about this clearXchange (or as I was initially calling it, Clear Exchange) and this is what I’ve learned:

1. It’s a joint effort by BofA, Wells, Fargo, and Chase. It’s unclear whether it will be offered to other and smaller banks once the programs is completely rolled out.

2. Who they’re going after is Paypal, obviously. I’m all for this, because Paypal fees are outrageous (especially for non-credit card payments) so it would be great to see this become popular.

3. The banks are keeping tight-lipped about what the clearXchange fees will be. Currently no one’s getting charged but if you rewind back 10+ years ago, Paypal’s slogan was “Always Free!” and we all know that ended up being a crock.

What are your thoughts on this banking service for emailing money or texting money? Have you used it yet? Have any insight as to what the service fees will be?

I’m sure you’ve seen the commercials, but what is it and how does it work? My Chase Blueprint review will clear things up for you.

What is Chase Blueprint?
In a nutshell, Chase Blueprint is the most advanced tool available to manage your credit card finances. Here’s what it can help you do:

• Pay off your balance faster
  You can set up a plan for how fast you want to pay off your Chase credit card debt. Simply enter how much you want to pay each month or how soon you want to pay it off. The Chase Blue Print system will tell you what you have to do to fulfill that goal.

• Choose which categories you want to pay in full
  A very neat feature of Chase Blueprint is that it allows you to choose which categories you want to pay in full each month. For example, maybe you want groceries and eating out to always be paid in full… so you don’t end up paying interest on a silly pizza! This feature allows you to avoid interest on the categories of your choice, even if you have other balances.

• Advance tools to track your spending trends
  Manage your money better with the help of this feature. You can review your purchases by category and even set up budgets for them! There are dozens of categories, so you can really get specific with this if you choose to.

• Make a plan for paying off big purchases
  If you’re making a big purchase and want to pay it down in a certain amount of time, Chase Blueprint can tell you how to do that. You can choose a recent purchase, select how soon you want to pay it off, and Blueprint will create a game plan for you to follow so you can make it happen.

Does it cost anything?
No, Blueprint by Chase is completely free. However it is only offered on eligible Chase credit cards, so in order to use it you must have a participating card.

What if I change my mind? Am I forced to follow the plan I setup?
Absolutely not. On your credit card bill you will be shown two amounts; the normal minimum payment amount as well as your custom Blueprint payment amount. You are only required to pay your regular minimum payment amount (which would be the same amount regardless of whether or not you are using Blueprint).

So rest assured, the Chase credit card Blueprint plan will always be optional. However it is encouraged that you follow it so you can stay on track with meeting your goals.

Which Chase credit cards have Blueprint?
The two cards we recommend the most are the Freedom and Sapphire. To learn more about these cards so you can do your own Chase Blueprint review, check out our sponsored reviews:

Chase Freedom and Chase Sapphire

Over the past 12 months, for most of us those little non-descript envelopes which contain credit card solicitations aren’t showing up in our mailbox as often. However this doesn’t appear to be the case for a Chicago-area family. They decided to save all their credit card offers they received in the mail over the course of a year. The result? 23 lbs of wasted paper, over 445 different envelopes containing credit card applications. Whether it was an airline reward card, 0% balance transfer credit card offer, or virtually any other type – it was all there.

The father and husband of the family, Gary Silbar, observed that the biggest peddlers were Chase, Citi, and Amex. In fact, roughly 25% were from Chase alone. In the third quarter of 2008 there was a 28% decline in credit card offers when compared to the year before.  However that still leaves over 1.34 billion card offers that were mailed out during the third quarter this year. The difference is that now, creditors seem to only be targeting those with the best credit, like the Silbar family.

And what did these banks get in return for spending several hundred dollars on sending the Silbars these credit card offers? Absolutely nothing – no new card signups. No wonder the banks are broke when they’re wasting money like that!