iPod -- the most popular incentive

For customers who opened checking accounts and agreed to pay bills online, Bank One, Chase and Citibank have recently used free iPod Shuffles as a promotional item, reported The New York Times Thursday.

Century Tower, a residential high rise in Chicago used the iPod to lure new renters.

"It went over really big," said Sharon Campbell, the Century Tower's leasing director, who said 80 new renters received the free player.

Campbell said the apartment building had offered in the past would-be tenants incentives like one or two months of free rent, but the iPod was far more popular even though the rents range from $755 to about $3,000 a month.

IPods cost $299 to $399 for the 20-gigabyte and 60-gigabyte original models, while the iPod Mini costs $199 to $249 and the iPod Shuffle costs $99 to $129.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International