How One Guy Got Netflix For Free, And You Could, Too

Netflix

Tired of paying for Netflix each month? Well, so was The Penny Hoarder’s Douglas Clinton. In his blog post on the topic, he showed how hwe eliminated his monthly bill of $8.67. His game plan involved two key things from Bank of America: a credit card and a checking account.

1. Get the BankAmericard Better Balance Rewards Card

With this card, at the end of each quarter, you’ll get $25 back (after paying off your entire balance each month or at least making the minimum payment). For instance, Clinton was paying $26.01 per quarter for Netflix. So, theoretically, the $25 from the bank would almost cover his movie- and TV-streaming. “That’s certainly a good deal, but as a Penny Hoarder, I was up for the challenge of eliminating that expense, not just minimizing it,” Clinton said.

2. Get a Bank of America Checking Or Savings Account (Like the Core Checking Account)

After reading the fine print about the card, Clinton discovered that he could earn $5 more per quarter… if he deposited his cash rewards into a Bank of America checking or savings account. Seems easy enough, right? So, he went from getting $25 a quarter to $30, which easily covers his Netflix bill. (And, of course, he pays it using his Bank of America credit card.) Bank of America has a few types of checking accounts, and Clinton chose the one best-suited for him, the Core Checking Account. Though it has a $12 per month fee, that is eliminated if you deposit at least $250 a month or keep at least $1,500 in it. (This does not apply to high school or college students.) After signing up, make sure your cash rewards go into your new checking account, Clinton advised.

“Be sure to wait for a new credit card statement to post before you make your payment. One month, I paid twice in the same statement and went into the next month carrying a $0 balance. If you do this, you’re not eligible to receive your quarterly reward—which means you’ll have to bear the cost of Netflix for the next three months. So long as you avoid that pitfall, there’s nothing standing between you and free Netflix. Now when you settle in to stream your favorite shows and movies, you’ll have the added satisfaction of getting it all for free!” —Douglas Clinton, The Penny Hoarder

Sounds great to me! You? Personally, I think Netflix is only the beginning. If we get creative, we can find all sorts of ways to eliminate monthly expenses.

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About the Author
Natalia Lusinski
In addition to Simplemost, Natalia is an ongoing writer for Bustle (sex, dating, relationships, and money), HelloGiggles (pop culture and news), The Delite (feel-good stories), and Don’t Waste Your Money (yep, money issues!). You can also find her writing in the L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune's RedEye, xoJane, Elite Daily, Scary Mommy, Elephant Journal, and Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies, among other publications. She has a Ph.D. in couch-surfing, having spent four years sleeping on over 200 L.A.-area love seats and sectionals, all in an effort to whittle down her student loan debt. She still loves couch-surfing in other cities, too (hint, hint).

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