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While the credit card market is replete with offers for travel rewards, many cardholders still prefer the value, convenience, and simplicity of cash back rewards. Nevertheless, April saw the expiration of a pair of limited time, cash back sign up bonus offers. Both the Freedom card from Chase and the Citi Dividend Platinum Select Visa Card saw their sign up bonuses decrease from $200 to $100.  The fact that both of these major card issuers are cutting their cash back sign up bonuses in half on their leading products can only point towards lower sign up bonuses across the board.

Yet beyond the initial sign up bonus, the Citi card still has a lot to offer. For example, there is no quarterly limit on 5% cash back earnings within bonus categories of spending, unlike the Chase Freedom and the Discover More cards.

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Tags: Back, Cash Back, Credit Card

FSU members at CBA Mortgage Services in Melbourne are gathering at meetings on Friday following the CBA’s decision to cut Mortgage Services jobs despite reporting a record profit for the first half year.

Last week the CBA announced a restructure of Mortgage Services that will see some work outsourced and will affect hundreds of jobs in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. All of the job losses are expected to be from Melbourne.

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The FSU is calling on CBA to find redeployment opportunities for the workers affected by the change. Many of the affected workers could be redeployed and the FSU will be working with CBA to ensure that those who want to stay can be redeployed and that those who will be leaving the bank get certainty as soon as possible.

The CBA now joins the other major banks in slashing jobs at the same time that they are recording record profits.

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Tags: Jobs, Mortgage Services, Mortgage Services Jobs, Services Jobs

At this time of year the FSU Member Rights Centre receives many calls from members querying their public holiday entitlement. Below are the frequently asked questions (and the answers!) which we hope will be a useful guide for you. If your specific circumstances aren’t covered here, or you would like some clarification about your entitlement please contact the Member Rights Centre on 1300 366 378 to speak to one of our trained advisers.

What public holidays am I entitled to?
Can I be forced to work a public holiday?
How am I compensated when working on a public holiday?
I am a part-time employee who is not rostered to work on the public holiday.

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Tags: Public Holiday, Rights

Kiplinger’s Retirement Report.

You wouldn’t pay sticker price for a car these days, would you? If you don’t have health insurance, you may be able to negotiate a big discount on your hospital bill, too.

That’s what Dorene Spak, 60, did a year ago when she was told that a hip replacement would cost her $66,000. Spak, a consultant who lives in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, had dropped her individual health insurance because she could not afford the premiums.

Spak went to the Web site of Healthcare Blue Book (www.healthcarebluebook.com) and found that the “fair price” for the surgery — the price that insurers pay hospital and other medical providers in the area — was considerably less. After visiting several hospitals and the physicians involved in the surgery, she bargained the price down to $22,000. “Because I was self-pay, one hospital off the bat offered a 62% discount,” she says.

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Tags: Big, Big Bills

For many Americans, spending at grocery stores represents the highest share of their essential purchases. To maximize purchasing power, shoppers aggressively search for the best prices and use coupons wherever possible. Another great way to save money at supermarkets is to use a credit card that offers rewards for spending at grocery stores.

One card that helps consumers earn valuable travel rewards at the grocery store and on other purchases is the Venture Rewards card from Capital One. Cardholders earn two miles in Capital One’s program for each purchase. When it comes time to redeem those miles, each mile is worth one cent as a statement credit towards any travel related expense such as airfare, hotels, and car rentals. This card has a $59 annual fee that is waived the first year.

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Tags: Best, Best Cash