Perth Hacks - best tips, hints and bargains: 2014

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

New Eve Fireworks in Perth tonight

If you are looking to get to a fireworks display tonight for new years eve celebrations in Perth, here are the approved fireworks displays for tonight. Apologies for the format

31/12/2014 11:59 PM SWAN RIVER OPPOSITE THE LEFT BANK RIVERSIDE DR EAST FREMANTLE WA 6158 THE LEFT BANK NYE CELEBRATIONS
31/12/2014 11:59 PM EASTERN END HEIRISSON ISLAND OPPOSITE CROWN CASINO CAUSEWAY EAST PERTH WA 6004 CROWN NYE FIREWORKS DISPLAY
31/12/2014 11:59 PM LEIGHTON BEACH LEIGHTON BEACH BVD NORTH FREMANTLE WA 6159 BIB AND TUCKER NYE FIREWORKS
31/12/2014 9:00 PM WESTERN FORESHORE WAR MEMORIAL LEIGHTON RD HALLS HEAD WA 6210 CITY OF MANDURAH NYE FIREWORKS DISPLAY
31/12/2014 11:59 PM CANNINGTON GREYHOUNDS ALBANY HIGHWAY & STATION ST CANNINGTON WA 6107 CANNINGTON GREYHOUNDS NYE CELEBRATIONS
31/12/2014 11:59 PM SWAN RIVER IN FRONT OF RPYC AUSTRALIA 11 DR CRAWLEY WA 6009 ROYAL PERTH YACHT CLUB NYE CELEBRATIONS

Other parts of WA

31/12/2014 7:00 PM ON BARGE HANOVER BAY ALBANY WA 6330 ALBANY NYE CELEBRATIONS
31/12/2014 9:00 PM ESPERANCE BAY JAMES ST ESPERANCE WA 6450 ROTARY OF ESPERANCE BAY NEW YEARS EVE
31/12/2014 11:59 PM VAL STREET JETTY VAL ST ROCKINGHAM WA 6168 ROCKINGHAM NYE FIREWORKS DISPLAY
31/12/2014 10:30 PM BUNBURY TROTTING CLUB HANDS AVE BUNBURY WA 6230 BUNBURY TROTTS NYE FIREWORKS

Friday, December 12, 2014

Why is Platinum Edge Perth's Best Credit Card deal?

The AMEX Platinum Edge card should be in the wallet of every person in Perth who qualifies. With an anual fee of $195, it comes with a free return economy flight (plus 23kg of luggage) on Virgin Australia from Perth to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide or Broome any time of the year. Seat availability is surprisingly in great abundance even during peak periods.

For people on the East Coast, they only get free flights along the East Coast but for us in Perth, you could save up to $900 on air fares during peak times! We've posted about this card before but if you haven't moved on the offer already, now is the time to get the AMEX Platinum Edge card.

Click through this link to get 15,000 membership reward points rather than the usual 5,000 points (worth $70 in gift cards). Feel free to share this link with your friends.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Phone Charging Too Slow? Probably Your Charger

I've long suspected that charging my phone from different ports or cables results in different lengths of time for the phone to charge. It was not until I got an app called "Galaxy Charging Current" that I realised how much of a difference there is.

Charging via a USB port on my computer charged at only 460mA
Charging via an extension USB cable connected to a wall socket - 600mA
Charging via a Samsung Galaxy S2 USB charger (black) connected to the wall charged at 1000mA
Charging via a HTC USB charger connected to the wall charged at 1100mA
Charging via a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 charger (white) connected to the wall charged at 1400mA

It is an app certainly worth getting to find out whether you are wasting your time trying to charge your phone with your computer's USB port.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Perth Christmas Shopping Starts 7am in SOME Shops

Do you like to shop early? Some shops can now open from 7am Monday to Saturday in Perth but not all major shopping centres are jumping at the opportunity. Currently the following are

Open from 7am-9pm Monday-Saturday from today

Coles
Woolworths
Target
KMart
Claremont Quarter (to 6pm)
Bunnings (to 7pm on Saturdays)
Masters (to 6pm Saturdays)
Spud Shed (open 24 hours in Jandakot and Innaloo)

David Jones will only start opening at 8am three days before Christmas. Myer only opens 8:30am at Morley, Karrinyup, Joondalup, Garden City and Carousel.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Turn off Research in Microsoft Excel Word

There are times we might run into something that took a while to figure out but we wish we didn't waste so much time on it. This is one of those things.

If you are finding that every time you select a cell in Microsoft Excel the Research button starts looking up the contents of the cell in Bing etc, you can turn this off.

Hold down the LEFT ALT button + R
Then press R again

That's all, you can go back to work now.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

What You Need to Know Playing Maccas Monopoly 2014?

McDonalds Monopoly has started again. First of all, what are the food items that can get you a Monopoly entry?

Any 16 oz cold cup medium soft drink (Coca-Cola Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite and Fanta) and Orange Juice;
Any 22 oz cold cup large soft drink (Coca-Cola Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite and Fanta) and Orange Juice (“Large Cups”);
Any Tall McCafé® cup (Long Black, Cappuccino, Mocha, Flat White, Latte and Vienna);
Medium Fries;
Large Fries;
Warm Chicken Salad;
Crunchy Noodle Chicken Salad;
Hash Brown;
McFlurry®;
Grand Angus®;
Mighty Angus®;
McChamp®;
McSpicy®; and
McGrilled®.

There seems to be a larger range of prizes with "Attraction Pass" being a generic prize which can be redeemed from a number of attractions but don't hold your breath, it doesn't include Adventure World or anything like that. More like Timezone (half an hour play) and the Bull Creek Aviation Museum.

How many prizes are available?

Generic Ticket No.	Instant Win Food Prize	RRP each	Max No. of Prizes
779AUS	Chicken & Aioli McWrap	$5.95	399,297
789AUS	Big Mac®	$5.03	931,693
788AUS	McChicken®	$5.03	399,297
787AUS	English Brekkie Wrap	$4.95	261,609
780AUS	Sml Frappé or Smoothie (ex McCafé®)	$4.00	1,064,792
784AUS	Small Hot McCafé®Beverage	$3.56	1,996,485
786AUS	Sausage McMuffin®	$3.04	1,330,990
782AUS	Small Sundae	$3.04	1,996,485
781AUS	Cheeseburger	$2.45	1,330,990
785AUS	Macaron	$1.95	399,297
783AUS	Small Fries or Fruit Bag	$1.00	3,327,475

But the main reason we play Maccas Monopoly is to win the big prizes which brings us to figuring out which are the rare pieces. For this year's game, the following are the rare monopoly pieces that you need for each prize.

Collect one Ticket for each of these Monopoly properties	Collect to Win Prize	Value of Each	Max No. of Prizes
Oxford Street	Jeep®	$32,101.52	15
Regent Street	Jeep®
Bond Street	Jeep®
Strand	Sharp®Home Ent	$10,498	2
Fleet Street	Sharp®Home Ent
Trafalgar Square	~~Sharp®Home~~ Ent
Park Lane	UK Holiday	Up to $10,000	1
Mayfair	UK Holiday	Up to $10,000	1
Leicester Square	Sea-Doo®PWC	$9,000	3
Piccadilly	Sea-Doo®PWC
Coventry Street	Sea-Doo®PWC
Pall Mall	$5K Ozsale Voucher	$5,000	2
Whitehall	$5K Ozsale Voucher
Northumberland Avenue	$5K Ozsale Voucher
Whitechapel Road	Ski Trip	Up to $5,000	1
Old Kent Road	Ski Trip	Up to $5,000	1
Bow Street	Honda Dirt Bike	$3,598	1
Vine Street	Honda Dirt Bike
Marlborough Street	Honda Dirt Bike
The Angel, Islington	$2K Caltex®StarCash	$2,000	2
Euston Road	$2K Caltex®StarCash
Pentonville Road	$2K Caltex®StarCash
Fenchurch St Station	HP®Notebook	$1,000	25
Liverpool St Station	HP®Notebook
Kings Cross Station	HP®Notebook
Marylebone Station	HP®Notebook

Sunday, July 6, 2014

How to Make the Most out of Your Birthday - Freebies and Specials around Perth

So your birthday is coming up and you want to make the most of it. Here are some of the many places that offer specials on your birthday. Which ones have you redeemed and which ones did we miss?

Red Rooster - free meal on your birthday (sign up in store)
AMF Bowling Free Game (Free online registration required)
el Social San Churros (Free churros for two)
Gloria Jeans free coffee (pickup card required)
Baskin Robbins. Free scoop of ice cream.
$10 voucher for Cold Rock
Free Boost Juice drink (pickup card required)
Cheesecake Shop. $5 off any cake.(free membership to Mamuska required)
Subway. Free Lunch. (free six inch sub and drink - Subway Eat Fresh Club recent purchase now required)
Nando's - Members are entitled to a free regular Nando's meal of their choice (subject to availability, being any ¼ Chicken, Burger, Pita or Wrap plus a regular side and a regular drink on the day of their birthday - need to have bought something in the last 3 months)
~~Cicerello's 10% off meal (register online)~~
Muffin Break. Free Muffin (join online via their app)
Free Sumo Salad (need to be Sumo Society member)
MYER $10 gift voucher (free membership required)
Witchery $20 Gift Voucher (valid for 1 month) (pick up membership card required)
Jamaica Blue. Free slice of cake (free membership required)
Sportscraft sends you a free $20 gift card
Salsa's free birthday burrito when you are a member of their Mex Club
Miss Maude's free buffet for kids under 12
Aqwa's free ticket for kids if your birthday is registered
Jeanswest $10 birthday voucher - Join their rewards club (free)
Outback Jacks Free Meal on your Birthday - sign up to their rewards club (free)
Rewardle cafes and restaurants - some cafes and restaurants using Rewardle will have free coffees and free meals or $5 off Pastacup for example on your birthday.

Aren't you glad you found this page? pass it on to your friends and remember to leave comments where we missed something or one of these offers is removed without us knowing.

Birthday freebies are one thing, but there are lots more tips around here worth more than a free burrito -

AMEX Platinum Edge - Free first year! Get $200 travel credit every year, and 10,000 more points using this link. That's $70 worth of gift cards.

Mobile Plans - $30 Prepaid plans compared | Amaysim $10 extra referral credit

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Pizza Hut and Dominos $4.95 all day every day pizzas

Today, the pizza war in Australia has escalated between Pizza Hut and Dominos. Both are now offering their value range / classic range pizzas for only $4.95 pick up. And it doesn't matter what day or time that you order it. Australia quite likely now has the cheapest pizzas in the world. In most countries including those that have a much lower cost of living, Pizza Hut still sells large pizzas at around $AUD10 each for example in Malaysia.

At Dominos, the following pizzas are $4.95

Beef & Onion
Hawaiian
Ham & Cheese
Pepperoni
Simply Cheese
Spicy Veg Trio

At Pizza Hut, the following pizzas are $4.95

Italiano
Aussie BBQ Beef
Pepperoni Feast
Loaded Ham
Big Cheese
Margheritaville

Pizza Hut is also offering the following pizzas for $8.50

Super Supreme
BBQ Meatlovers
Hawaiian
El Scorcho Pepperoni / Beef
New Yorker
Blazing Bird
BBQ Chook / Cheeseburger
Vege Delight
Roast & Rasher

Friday, June 27, 2014

How to Play Kleenheat v Alinta Gas (and AGL)

Last year, Kleenheat Gas came into the WA market and offered 10% off for those that switch over from Alinta to them. Many people who did switch over are also offered 20% off if they manage to get two friends to also sign up.

However, did you know you can still benefit from Kleenheat without switching over?

Alinta has recognised that people are switching over to Kleenheat and have been targeting those that have switched with offers to come back to them. If you are still an Alinta gas customer and would like to get a discount on your gas, all you need to do is ask them!

1. Call Alinta on 1800503442 and let them know you are considering switching to Kleenheat and see what they offer in return.
2. They will say that customer care will call you back and ask for your address and phone number.
3. When they call back, you can mention the Fair Go Advantage that is being offered to Kleenheat customers.

When a friend called up, they received $75 off their next gas bill and $25 off for every bill after that. We are relatively low users so when we called up, they offered 15% off our bill for the next two years. There is no lock in contract. If you are not going to switch over, you might as well call Alinta gas and get a discount on your future bills.

If you don't want to bother with Alinta and you want to sign up for Kleenheat, you can get 20% off your gas bills by asking an existing customer to refer you.

2018 EDIT: With AGL now in the market, you may want to try going to AGL.com.au and wait for the live chat to appear. Ask whether they will offer you 35% off gas $50 credit and 25,000 fly buys points. Many online have managed to get this, which is around $175 worth of extras for signing up. However, make sure that they credit your flybuys account properly.

DID YOU SAVE MONEY? Keep it coming! Check out our best Perth deals and tips below. Tell your friends, colleagues, everyone!

Monday, May 12, 2014

Why You Can't Pay off Your Citibank Credit Card Online

I logged into my Citibank credit card website which I believe has recently undergone a redesign. I wanted to double check that I have direct debit set up to pay my credit card bill. This was because on my credit card statement, nothing indicated to me that I had set up direct debit. After looking through the site, there was nothing to indicate whether or not direct debit was set up.

I was also looking for the option to pay off my bill online on the website. If I wanted to pay off my credit card online, there was no way to do this either. In the MAKE A PAYMENT option under the current and available balance, the only options were to pay OTHER bills with the credit card, not pay the credit card off.

In the end I called up the call centre and asked whether my account was set up for direct debit. They confirmed that it was and that I should be able to see that on the website. After telling them that I couldn't see it and asked her how I can get to that screen, I was put on hold and she came back to say that it's not possible to see it online. I forgot to ask about online payment of your credit card but when I checked the credit card statement again, this is what I saw.

So if you have a Citibank deposit account, you can pay online. If you don't you will need to call up to pay over the phone. With a 20.99% interest rate, I can understand why they would want to make it difficult for you to pay off your credit card each month. Interesting times..

Friday, April 4, 2014

How to Lose Your License this Easter?

From this Easter, double demerit penalties will be for the following offences

running a red light (new) - $150 and six points
using a mobile phone (new) - $250 and six points
drink driving
failing to wear seatbelts ($500 and 8 points details here)
speeding - penalty depends on your speed & vehicle

The Easter double demerit points will be between 17-21 April and 24-27 April. If you run a red light with a mobile phone on your ear, you're probably going to lose your license. It also looks like the police are under orders to book people using mobile phones for as many offences as they've committed such as not staying within your lane, failing to cancel an indication etc. They've also advised other drivers to be on the look out for distracted drivers and to horn them.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

How to Get a Free Virgin Australia Return Flight Every Year

May 2016 update - For a limited time, AMEX is offering the first year free which means you can save $195 and still get a free return flight in the first year! Sign up here to also get 10,000 bonus points which can redeem over $70 of gift cards

What's the cheapest way to fly from Perth to anywhere in Australia? After we managed to book a return Virgin Australia flight from Perth to Sydney during the Christmas break which is currently selling online for $811 using the Platinum Edge card, I decided to repost an older blog entry where we investigated this particular credit card deal which includes a free flight redemption from Perth to virtually anywhere in Australia.

The American Express Platinum Edge card only costs $195 a year (as of April 2013) and includes a return flight to various cities in Australia on Virgin Australia as well as travel insurance for domestic flights and various other platinum services. However it is the return flight that I would like to focus on. It is impossible to get a flight from Perth to virtually anywhere for $195 return but the free redemption for Perth includes cities as far as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane with 23kg luggage. Don't you just love living in the West?

Dealing with the AMEX flight redemption staff is very efficient and pleasant every time, with each representative taking the time to help you with checking what flights are available (apparently, they have about 14 seats available per flight for redemption, even when in one instance the website is saying "one seat left").

If just for the return flight, this Platinum Edge card is surely worth getting unless you don't see yourself making an annual return flight from Perth to anywhere in Australia (except Darwin - which is only available for redemption with the Platinum Reserve Card).

Platinum Reserve destinations - Platinum Edge destinations exclude Darwin and Bali

Virgin also recently launched the Velocity Platinum cards which we reviewed earlier this year. Flights from Perth available for this card only include Broome, Karratha, Newman and Port Hedland.

If Qantas is your flavour, you will probably want to stick with the Qantas Ultimate card but that will cost you $450 / year with a return domestic flight with Qantas thrown in.

Friday, March 28, 2014

How much is 80,000 points worth?

The Citibank Signature card is offering 80,000 points to people who sign up for their card. With an annual fee of $299 per year, many people would be asking just how much is 80,000 points really worth? Generally, with frequent flyer points for example, you can redeem a $100 gift card for about 14,300 points. A general rule I use to measure the worth of points is to multiply the points by 0.007. In this case, 80,000 points is roughly worth about $560.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

KFC 2500 Free Snacks / day

Do you have a smartphone? or two? The "KFC Snack in the Face" app is up and running as of 2pm today which allows people to win one of 2,500 free snacks from KFC. If you are wondering why the drive thru for KFC is suddenly so busy, it could be a problem until the 19th May when the app no longer gives out free snacks.

Android users - here
Iphone users - here

How to Reduce Your Private Health Insurance Premium

You only have five more days before most health insurance providers increase their premiums by around 7% but there is a way you can lock in your current premium and save yourself 7%. If you prepay your health insurance before the 1st of April for a year, you will avoid the increases for the next 12 months.

For us, we also looked at changing our extras cover as we have not used it much, neither have we found having a $250 excess for hospital necessary. Changing from one level to another can save you a significant amount. For example, if your family is on Medibank's Top Excess 85% cover with a $250 excess for hospital, and moved to 55% extras cover with $500 excess for hospital, you will save $70.75 / month (if you don't need to claim). If you can go four months without going to a private hospital (our family has made two public hospital visits but no private hospitals in the last three years), you have your money back. I called up Medibank and this is how much each level of cover is for a family and how much it will change.


Extras cover	before 1 April 2014		after 1 April 2014
	$250 excess	$500 excess	$250 excess	$500 excess
85%	$227.35	$213.35	$245.30	$229.80
70%	$199.35	$185.35	$215.05	$199.60
55%	$170.4	$156.50	$181.70	$166.25

Back to the prepaying, the above plans are all going up by 6.2% - 7.9% on the 1st April. If you prepay on the top level of hospital and extras cover, you will save $215.40.

So which Health Insurance company should you go with? Not sure, but if you have done some research, feel free to leave a comment. But if you switch, always insist on them waiving their no-claim extras periods (hospital cover cannot be waived moving from one provider to another).

Monday, March 24, 2014

Thunderstorm Monitor for Perth and WA

With a thunder storm brewing to the west of Perth, an interesting website has emerged. It shows the frequency of lightning strikes occurring in WA. Apparently it is still being calibrated but it's definitely worth watching tonight.

The following images are updated all the time as you can see the time and date stamps in the images below.

Updated lightning strike radar here

Updated Perth rain radar here

Monday, March 3, 2014

All the Coles Stores in WA

Coles Albany

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For those in Perth always looking for a better, faster, cheaper way