Did you Know You Can Get Netflix for Free?

My life would not be complete without the ability to binge watch a show from start to finish over the course of several weeks after the kids go to bed. It’s what Netflix is for. It all started with an episode of Scandal  that completely hooked my husband and I. That was the week before Christmas last year. By the New Year, we were binge watching The Blacklist so we could get caught up on season 1 and catch up to season two when it premiered in the New Year. From there we’ve turned to House of Cards and Damages. And we are just waiting for season four of Scandal to premiere in August so we can actually watch that show live come fall television premiere time.

Netflix has changed our lives. Not for the better, I’m certain. I mean, we now spend hours after our kids go to bed watching television and dumbing ourselves down, so that’s not an improvement. Additionally, we drink far more wine now that we have to keep refilling for ‘just one more episode,’ every time we swear this is it and we are going to bed. We’ve become lazy, but we are not ashamed to admit we don’t care. We love Netflix.

Everyone loves Netflix. And the best thing about it is that it’s only like $8 per month. I mean, it’s free for us. My aunt/best friend has it and when she told us we should try it, she gave us her account information and we hooked ourselves right up to hers. And since she’s a single mom with a little boy our daughter’s age and she manages to show up to our house for dinner every single night (Every. Single. Night.), she doesn’t even make us pay her anything for using it. She’s so generous (she’s a teacher, but I think her math skills might be off if she thinks we are even). But despite the fact that Netflix is so inexpensive in the first place, it’s not always in the budget for some families. And that’s why we have a strategy that will help you obtain Netflix free of charge – and it’s pretty genius.

Become Friendly with Bank of America

The first thing you will do is sign up for a BankAmericard Better Balance Rewards Card. Why? Because if you pay off your balance in full each month, you get a $25 reward at the end of each quarter. That means you get your Netflix free of charge for three months ($8 x 3 months = $24). It even covers almost all the tax and only leaves you $1 out of pocket each quarter. This means that you’re now paying $4 per year for Netflix rather than the standard $96 per year. That’s an impressive deal.

The trick, however, is to carry a balance each month into the payment period. For example, let’s say you spend $50 a month in gas on the card and pay it off in full. If you pay it off too early one month, say before your statement arrives, the card will show a $0 balance and you will not be eligible for your reward that quarter. You have to use the card every month and you have to pay it off or at least pay more than the minimum amount due to get the reward (that’s $100 per year, people, for buying things and paying for things you’d buy and pay for regardless).

But that does leave you with a bit of a problem. You are still paying $4 per year for Netflix. That might be unacceptable to some. So we have an even more lucrative deal for you.

Open a Bank of America Checking Account

To be a bit more specific, open a Bank of America Core Checking Account. Why? Because if you have cash rewards with your BankAmericard Card, you can earn an additional $5 per quarter if you have the cash rewards deposited into your Bank of America checking account. That means you are not getting $30 every quarter and profiting $6 each quarter after your Netflix is paid for. That’s an additional $24 per year for you to save or spend on something you just cannot live without.

But there is another small catch. Even the cheapest checking account with Bank of America has a $12 monthly fee, and you certainly do not want to pay that. This account will waive that fee if you either have at least $250 per month direct deposited into the account or if you make the decision to leave at least $1500 in the account at all times. It’s up to you what you do, but know that both options are good ones, and they make the account free.

So now you have officially gotten your Netflix free of charge for the entire year, every year. That is quite an impressive feat, and it’s something we have to say that we are pleased to share with you. Other credit card rewards programs offer cash back rewards to you, too, so you might want to check to see which ones offer more. Perhaps you can get a free Netflix account by signing up for a card that will pay you a cash bonus of $100 or more if you sign up and then spend a certain amount, pay it off and earn cash back. Some cards do it.

Additionally, other checking accounts will offer you a cash back reward that’s significantly higher just for opening an account, making a minimum deposit and having your direct deposits placed into the account each month. In fact, several cards offer this promotion throughout the year and most of the cash back rewards exceed $100 by a pretty penny. Go ahead and see what you might qualify for when you check out available checking accounts.

Just remember; even if you don’t think that it’s worth the hassle to sign up for all this stuff to eliminate a $100 per year payment, think of the fact that you probably drink more wine binge-watching this stuff on Netflix and that $100 will buy a couple bottles.

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