Issue Date: May 19, 2002
A dollar here, a dollar there. The savings add up.
These days, if you're not comparing prices, you're losing money. Our expert shares some of her favorite resources.
The Web is the best place to start shopping around for great deals.
|
Every six months or so, I get the itchy feeling I'm paying too much for some of the services I use: cellular service or credit cards, for example, or most recently, long distance. And typically I follow my own advice: I call my provider to make sure I'm on its best plan for my needs. Then I do a little shopping around by hitting a reliable Web site that provides rate comparisons to be sure I couldn't do better elsewhere.
Currently, I pay 7 cents a minute all the time for long distance with AT&T and 5 to 10 cents a minute for calls within my state, plus a $3.95 monthly fee. A call to AT&T revealed that was indeed its best plan for me -- I make long-distance calls during the day, so cheap nights and weekends do me little good -- although the AT&T rep did suggest I switch to a free calling-card plan, which took $1 off my monthly tab. Then I went to the LowerMyBills.com comparison engine. Its response: I could do better at buyersonline.com, a reputable service that has no monthly fee, a 4.5- cent long-distance rate and an 8.8-cent regional call rate. I'd get 100 free minutes, too.
But then I opened my mail and found a solicitation from KISSld (Keep It Simple ... and Save! long distance): a flat 3 cents for long distance, 5 cents at all times within my state. Some foreign calls were dirt cheap: 5 cents to Canada and Britain, 7 cents to Hong Kong.
I was baffled. In the past, I thought I could count on Web comparison engines such as LowerMyBills to have a grip on their markets and produce the lowest prices. Clearly, that wasn't the case. Chris Musto of Gomez.com, a site that rates financial service Web sites, attributes that to several factors. First, many long-distance services and other companies (especially those concerned with your credit quality, like banks and mortgage lenders) won't offer you the best rate until they know more about you. Firms that do enough background checking to solicit you by direct mail often have that information (as was the case with KISSld, whose online rates are higher than those it offered me in the mail). Second, companies may be willing to sell you their products at a lower price than they care to advertise publicly. That's especially true of airfares and hotel rooms. For example, Musto says, you often can get great package deals on Site59.com because it sells only airfare/lodging combos. And when it comes to things like long-distance service, there are so many providers that it's difficult even for quality sites like LowerMyBills to keep up.
Go to top
Does that mean you shouldn't rely on the Web as a research tool? Not at all. It's a terrific place to start and, in certain cases, finish. "Use it as a guide, but also check the newspaper ads and call around," suggests Ken McEldowney of the consumer education and advocacy group Consumer Action.
Here's a look at the pluses and minuses of some of my favorite comparison sites. I favor sites that aren't trying to sell you anything; in my opinion, it's easier to trust their message.
Cellular: MyRatePlan.com asks you questions about your total minutes, weekends vs. weekdays and whether you need free long distance or free roaming, then points you to the best plan for you. It's the most comprehensive site of its type.
Long distance: LowerMyBills.com obviously isn't able to provide a complete list of service providers, but it comes as close as any of the other sites out there and is easy to navigate.
Gasoline and heating oil: Gaspricewatch.com can help you find the lowest prices at the pump and for home heating oil in the United States and Canada. It currently tracks 127,000 gas stations with the help of thousands of spotters who regularly e-mail rate changes.
Credit cards: Cardweb.com is on its toes, whether you're looking for low-rate cards, no-fee cards, secured cards or cards with miles or other perks. You answer questions about your credit history, whether you carry a balance and pay your bills on time, and it will point you in the right direction.
Online banking: Gomez.com's survey of the online banking market is updated twice a year. You can tell the engine which aspect of banking -- e.g., cost, ease of use -- is most important to you, or whether you're a saver or a borrower, and it will customize its recommendation.
Mortgage rates: HSH.com won't give you every rate, but it's a fine place to start. It gets kudos for being organized by region, because mortgage lenders are a very segmented market.
Term life insurance: A Consumer Federation of America study rates 40% of term sites "not recommended." In other words: Watch out. One that does come highly recommended is Term4Sale.com, which sports a large list of issuers and is easy to use.
Jean Sherman Chatzky is the author of "Talking Money" (Warner Books, $24.95) and appears often on NBC's Today show.
|
