Capital One is no stranger to trying new things -- especially when it comes to technology. Its Eno texting chatbot, for example, is a quick and conversational way for its customers to check their balances and perform simple tasks, like checking on re...
It turns out that healthcare may not be the only new sector that Amazon is venturing into. According to The Wall Street Journal, the online retail giant is in talks with J.P. Morgan to building a product similar to a checking account for Amazon's cus...
If you're a PlayStation fan, you probably use your credit card for a lot: games, add-ons, the virtually obligatory Plus subscription and the occasional accessory. Wouldn't it be good if you could at least get some compensation for pouring so much mo...
Getting a free Uber ride isn't usually easy. Unless you get a referral from a friend, you typically have to get that gratis trip outside of the app. You'll have a much easier time after today, though -- Uber is launching a promotion with Capital On...
Too busy whipping up a soufflé to check your bank balance online? You can now ask Amazon's Echo devices to give you the info, thanks to a partnership with Capital One. You just need to say "Alexa, ask Capital One for my Quicksilver card balanc...
American law enforcement might have free rein to make you unlock a phone using your fingerprint, but personal passcodes? Nope. A Pennsylvania-based federal judge has ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission can't make two former Capital On...
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Capital One for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
Last time I brought up CapitalOne’s #WishForOthers campaign, I tried to make a case for why my lifelong friend JS was a good candidate for receiving my #WishForOthers this Holiday season. Wish For OthersThe truth of the matter is, CapitalOne wants to bring awareness to the simple fact that as much fun as it is to receive stuff during this time of year, nothing can replace the warm and fuzzies you get when you give something to some other deserving soul instead. That’s why they’ve launched the Wish For Others campaign; it’s an opportunity for readers to share their wish for someone else, and where they stand a chance of having these wishes fulfilled.
The fact is we all have someone in our lives that can either benefit from having you give them something, or even from just learning about the spirit of giving. Children look up to their parents for behavioral cues, and everything they learn in infancy they will carry with them into adulthood. One way to foster this spirit is to invite your kids to make lists of what they’d like their siblings to receive, rather than drawing up a Santa’s Letter asking for stuff for themselves. If you don’t have kids, you can still find worthy candidates in your life if you look hard enough: what about a member of the armed forces? A struggling small business owner who could use a little care and compassion? That neighbor who was nice enough to lend you his lawnmower when yours broke down?
Whatever it is, we encourage you to enter the campaign and share your wish for others, this Holiday season; they just might come true! You can do so by tagging @CapitalOne on Twitter, or by visiting their Facebook page or Wish For Others website.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Capital One for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
It’s that time of year again, when the shopping malls are decked out in full Christmas gear and ‘Jingle Bells’ blares from every available speaker. It’s a wonderful period that brings many people back to their childhood, where the only worries to be had was which Christmas classic to watch, and how to spend your snow day off. And even once you’ve grown up, it’s still really tempting to wonder just what you’ll get under the tree. Will it be a gaming console? A new set of tools for the garage? Socks?
Well, the one thing that’s even nicer than receiving a present is giving one; wishing for yourself is great, but wishing for others is even better. To encourage people to just that, Capital One is launching a campaign called Wish For Others, where you’re asked to share with the world what you’d like to see someone else receive, whether it’s a close friend, a family member, or anyone close to your heart. The best part of #WishForOthers is that they’ll actually grant some of them!
So when they asked me what I’d wish for someone else, I had no choice but to think of my lifelong friend JS. I’ve know the guy since I’m 6 years old and he’s the closest thing I have to a brother. However, him and I were dealt a very different set of cards at birth (not that my life was that great, incidentally). His parents were mostly absent and divorced at 8, when hey chose to send him to schools for kids with behavioural issues. This exacerbated his temperament and he never ended up graduating high school. Through many bad decisions he ended up using drugs and eventually started showing signs of mental illness. Throughout his 20’s he spent time in and out of mental institutions and it’s only recently, in his early 30s, that he’s started to stabilize. But he’s a broken man who lives barely above the poverty line, has few social skills and even less prospects for the future.
Despite this history, I know him to be a kindhearted person, caring endlessly for his grandmother and friends. He’s never harmed anyone and I know all he really wants is a normal life with a wife and kids. While those goals may be slightly unrealistic at the moment, I can say that the pillar of our friendship, the one thing we shared over the 28 years we’ve known one another, is gaming. From 1988 onwards, we played together on every console that came on the market. I’d buy them, and he’d come over for days to play. It was the one common ground we always shared, and it’s cemented our friendship, troubled as it might have been. Now of course he still plays, but he does so on a cathode ray television (the big ole’ boxes of old) and an Xbox 360. It’s all he can afford. So… that’s my wish for JS. I’d love to see him play on a proper HDTV and an Xbox One. It’s not much in relation to all the other things he’s missing, but it gives him a bit of joy in an otherwise pretty bleak life.
So what would you wish for others? You can enter Capital One’s contest in many different ways. You can share your wish for others in Twitter or Instagram, while using the hashtag #WishForOthers. You can also visit @CapitalOne’s Facebook page and enter there. If you’re curious about what’s going on with the campaign and want to get more details, simply go to their website, Wish For Others. It’s a wonderful opportunity to brighten up someone’s holiday season, whether or not they end up winning your wishes for them.
To say that the launch of Isis has felt drawn out would be a mild understatement. The alliance first signaled its intentions two years ago, detailed its first markets one year ago and faced a last-minute delay. All the ducks are finally in a row, however, and residents of both Austin as well as Salt Lake City can tap to pay (or score discounts) at the "hundreds" of locations that accept NFC-based purchases through American Express, Capital One, Chase and Isis' own cash card. Launch day brings app- and SIM-enabled access for nine devices spread rather unevenly across AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon: only the Droid Incredible 4G LTE is confirmed working for Verizon subscribers, while the rest are divided more equally between multiple Samsung Galaxies and HTC devices like the Amaze 4G and One X. Over 20 phones should be Isis-aware before the end of the year. It's a potentially strong start to one of the few truly cross-network mobile payment systems in the US, but we see a long road ahead before Isis gives Google Wallet some jitters -- there's legions of banks, cities and stores needed before Isis is widespread, and we're not counting on that ever-elusive universal hardware support.
Unofficial rumblings have pointed to Isis Mobile Wallet's trial gettingclose. If you've remained skeptical all the same, we're pretty sure that seeing Isis' Android app in Google Play will change your mind. The currently T-Mobile-only software confirms that pilot program members will tie their American Express, Capital One or Chase card (as well as a unique card) to Isis for paying through NFC at stores with a SmartTap terminal. We're also promised streamlined loyalty cards and coupons. Before anyone rushes to try the app at the local shop, remember that it's just one piece of the puzzle on top of the special SIM card, one of three NFC-equipped phones and that small matter of living in Austin or Salt Lake City when the service goes live. Having the official app at least lets those who qualify get a head start on what could soon be the only major alternative to Google Wallet in the US.
Capital One is no stranger to trying new things -- especially when it comes to technology. Its Eno texting chatbot, for example, is a quick and conversational way for its customers to check their balances and perform simple tasks, like checking on re...
It turns out that healthcare may not be the only new sector that Amazon is venturing into. According to The Wall Street Journal, the online retail giant is in talks with J.P. Morgan to building a product similar to a checking account for Amazon's cus...
If you're a PlayStation fan, you probably use your credit card for a lot: games, add-ons, the virtually obligatory Plus subscription and the occasional accessory. Wouldn't it be good if you could at least get some compensation for pouring so much mo...
Getting a free Uber ride isn't usually easy. Unless you get a referral from a friend, you typically have to get that gratis trip outside of the app. You'll have a much easier time after today, though -- Uber is launching a promotion with Capital On...
Too busy whipping up a soufflé to check your bank balance online? You can now ask Amazon's Echo devices to give you the info, thanks to a partnership with Capital One. You just need to say "Alexa, ask Capital One for my Quicksilver card balanc...
American law enforcement might have free rein to make you unlock a phone using your fingerprint, but personal passcodes? Nope. A Pennsylvania-based federal judge has ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission can't make two former Capital On...
