PerkStreet Financial is an odd little newcomer that does one thing, and one thing only: checking accounts.

You can open an account with as little as $25 and pay no monthly fees as long as you use your account once a month.

There’s also no charge for using any of the 37,000 ATMs in the STAR network to make cash withdrawals.

A $50 bonus for opening an account is credited to your balance after you’ve kept it in good standing for three months.

You also earn a 1% rebate for all debit card purchases in which you sign your name (as you would for a credit card) rather than entering your personal identification number.

That rebate can be loaded onto a Visa gift card or gift cards from lots of merchants including Best Buy, Amazon.com, Ticketmaster, Gap and more.

The checking account is administered and insured by Bancorp Bank of Wilmington, Del., an on-line bank that specializes in providing FDIC-insured services to non-bank partners such as Boston-based PerkStreet.

Taco Bell is my usual stop for Saturday lunch.

But I may postpone today’s trip because Taco Bell’s offering everyone a free Black Jack taco from 6 p.m. to midnight.

These babies usually cost 89 cents and I can’t find anything on the Taco Bell Web site that says you have to buy anything to get your free taco. Although who can eat just one taco?

The Black Jack isn’t quite as tasty as the previous limited-time special, the Volcano Taco. But the Pepper Jack cheese sauce is still pretty good and the whole thing is a modest 210 calories for those of you who are counting.

We can only hope that Yum Brands is prepared to pull this off. Its last “free food” promotion — the one used to introduce Kentucky Grilled Chicken at KFC in May — was a disaster.

If you’re thinking of purchasing a home, don’t go with just any real estate agent: Get a full-time buyer’s agent.

One of the biggest advantages of working with a buyer’s agent is that you’re less likely to have any conflicts of interest.

Unlike agents who represent buyers and sellers, buyer’s agents won’t steer you towards a home that one of their clients has listed, or that’s being represented by an agent they’re working with on another deal.

You should never have to wonder: “Is my agent pushing me to buy this home because he wants to curry favor with the selling agent? Are they working on another deal together where their roles are reversed?”

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Chase has revived its $100 bonus for opening a checking account.

All you need to do is open a Chase checking account with as little as $100 in new money.

If you sign up for a basic “Chase Checking” account, all you have to do is establish one direct deposit, or make five debit card purchases, within 60 days.

The $100 bonus is posted to your account 10 days after the initial direct deposit or your fifth debit card purchase.

The bonus is available for all types of personal checking accounts (except Access, College and High School accounts) but the requirements may be a little different. Be sure to ask.

You can avoid a monthly service fee by continuing your direct deposit or making the required debit card purchases.

The only catch is that you have to keep your account open for six months or Chase will snatch the $100 from your account upon closing.

This offer is available nationwide through Dec. 31, 2009.

Long-term CD rates fell in October, undercutting hope that the sharp delcine in savings rates that began with last year’s financial crisis might be over for at least some certificates of deposit.

The average return on 5-year CD rates had risen slightly in August and September.

But this week’s retreat leaves the average just four-hundredths of a point above the record low of 2.15% reached in July.

Although the average return for 3-month, 6-month and 12-month CDs declined a little less than long-term rates during October, they’re ending the month at new record lows.

In discussing interest rates, economists refer to one-hundredth of a percentage point (0.01%) as a basis point, because it’s easier to discuss whole numbers. So we’ll use their terminology in reviewing the monthly results.

Bankrate’s weekly survey of large banks and thrifts taken Oct. 28 found the average annual yield for a:

3-month CD fell to 0.40% from 0.41% the previous week. It declined 3 basis points in October and has lost 82 basis points so far this year, an average of 8 basis points a month.

6-month CD fell to 0.58% from 0.59% the previous week. It declined 4 basis points in October and has lost 92 basis points so far this year, an average of 9 basis points a month.

1-year CD remained at 0.92% for the second week. It declined 3 basis points in October and has lost 96 basis points so far this year, an average of 10 basis points a month.

2-year CD fell to 1.40% from 1.41% the previous week. It declined 5 basis points in October and has lost 69 basis points so far this year, an average of 7 basis points a month.

5-year CD fell to 2.19% from 2.21% the previous week. It declined 6 basis points in October and has lost 56 basis points for the year, an average loss of 6 basis points a month.

Southern Commerce Bank has jumped to the top our rankings of the best, nationally available 12-month CD rates.

The bank, with 11 branches throughout Florida, is paying 2.30% APY on a 12-month CD with a minimum deposit of only $500.

That beats the 2.25% APY that MetLife Bank has been offering, with a hefty $25,000 minimum deposit.

(ING Direct matched that rate with a CD special, but it only lasted a week.)

CD rates on other Southern Commerce certificates of deposit are also worth a look.

It’s paying 2.40% on a 15-month CD, and 2.50% on 24-month terms — matching the best interest rates on 2-year CDs.

Why is Southern Commerce offering such high rates?

The usual reason.

Its owner, Dickinson Financial Corp., made lots of bad bets on commercial real estate in places like Florida and Arizona during the real estate boom.

Now the Kansas City, Mo., based holding company is losing money and needs deposits to bolster its balance sheet.

Of course your deposits are safe. Southern Commerce is FDIC insured and you can apply for these CDs online.

Click here to compare these deals with the best CD rates from dozens of other banks in our extensive database.

Here’s another way credit cards are abusing customers — reducing the value of their reward programs.

The ability to earn points or miles towards everything from cash rebates to airline tickets is often touted in credit card ads.

But the terms of how those points can be earned and redeemed can change at any time. With credit cards on a rate-raising, fee-charging rampage it’s no surprise that they’re devaluing their reward programs, too.

Just look at some of the changes Citi and its partners are making.

The Citi Hilton HHonors Visa, for example, allows holders to earn points toward free hotel rooms. But starting next year you’ll need at least 12,500 points, up from 10,000 points, to get one.

The Citi mtvU Visa card allows students to earn points that can be converted into payments toward student loans. But instead of earning $100 for every 10,000 points, you’ll now need 12,700

The Citi Home Depot Rewards MasterCard is being dropped altogether. The cards won’t be honored after Saturday, Oct. 31, and reward points not redeemed by Jan. 31, 2010 will be wiped out.

That’s the ultimate devaluation for those contractors and do-it-yourself types who were lured into this reward card, eh?

Let us know if you’re seeing any of favorite reward programs making it harder for you to earn and redeem points and miles.

TotalBank has led our rankings of the best 3-month CD rates for four months now, even though its returns have been steadily declining.

The bank, which has 16 branches in the Miami area, was paying 2.55% APY when it claimed the top spot in June and 1.85% APY as recently as last month.

Now it’s offering 1.65% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000, but that’s still good enough to lead our October rankings.

During that time, the national average for a 3-month certificate of deposit has fallen from 0.64% to 0.41%. That’s the lowest average since the survey we use began tracking 3-month CD rates in March 1989.

The other top nationally available CD rates are:

1.50% APY with a $25,000 minimum deposit from MetLife Bank, an online bank owned by the insurance giant featuring Snoopy in its ads.

1.50% APY from H&R Block Bank, the online bank owned by the income tax people, with a $5,000 minimum deposit. This offer expires on Nov. 9.

Click here to compare these rates with the best CD rates from dozens of other banks in our extensive database.

Atlantic Coast Bank, which has a dozen branches in Georgia and Florida, has moved into our rankings of the best 24-month CD rates.

It’s offer of 2.40% APR is a little shy of the top 2.50% APR being paid by Hudson City Savings Bank and Frontier Bank.

But those banks require significant minimum deposits while you only need $100 to buy one of Atlantic Coast’s certificates of deposit.

This deal is nationally available and the online application takes only a few minutes to fill out.

Click here to compare Atlantic Coast’s deal with the best CD rates from dozens of other banks in our extensive database.