Quicken Picks, introduced in Quicken 2009, is a personalized online shopping savings tool.
What is Quicken Picks?
Screen shot by Shelley Elmblad
Quicken Picks is a feature in Quicken personal finance software that finds money-saving deals based on your personal shopping preferences, with cash back. The cash back component is a percentage of your total online purchase (less taxes, etc.) that are deposited into an account for you. When at least $10 is accumulated in a Quicken Picks cash account, Intuit mails you a check.
How Does Quicken Picks Work?
Your shopping preferences are gathered anonymously from Quicken account registers to tell Quicken Picks what offers would interest you. Shopping preferences are kept anonymous according to the Quicken Picks Privacy Policy, so no one can see your personal records or where you shop.Quicken Picks has a large number of online shopping offers, often with multiple deals for one retailer. As more people use Quicken Picks, the number of deals offered will likely increase.
How Do I Use Quicken Picks?
Access Quicken Picks by clicking on the Quicken Picks tab on the upper right.Two Shopping Options
- Click the box next to 'Show me personalized offers on the stuff I love.' to view deals that have been personalized for you.
- You can also opt to just sift through the deals and cash back offers directly at the Quicken Picks web site, which does not collect data from within Quicken. To use Quicken Picks like this, click on the Quicken Picks tab, then choose "I'll sift through it on my own", or just open your Internet browser and go to Quicken Picks without opening Quicken.
Can I Really Save Money with Quicken Picks?
Yes, you can find good deals on Quicken Picks, although you will find some of the same deals - or occasionally even better deals - elsewhere online.Putting Quicken Picks to the Test
I compared Quicken Picks to Shop Discover offers from DiscoverCard.com. Quicken Picks showcased more retailers, however, retailers with listings on both sites were giving higher cash back percentages to Discover Card customers. But, Quicken Picks had a wider variety of retailers to choose from and multiple savings offers from many retail shopping sites.Next I compared Quicken Picks to Upromise.com, which deposits a percentage of your purchase into a college savings account. The two sites list many of the same retailers. Quicken Picks cash back percentages were slightly lower than Upromise's, but Quicken Picks had some great money-saving offers that Upromise did not.
Turn Off Quicken Picks
Quicken Picks is definitely a useful tool for saving money while shopping online. and it is tucked out of the way until you want to use it in Quicken. But, if you do not want to use Quicken Picks from within you Quicken software, you can turn off Quicken Picks.Important Quicken Picks Information
Before you sign up for any online service, you need to read the terms of service, and especially the privacy policy.