Think you know everything there is to know about saving money on Black Friday ? Think again. I’ve got a couple tips you might have missed. (While you’re at it, be sure to learn the secret of scoring Amazon deals all year long.)
Get up to 8% cash back on Amazon devices
TopCashback will give you an 8% rebate on just about any Amazon device you buy, including those on sale.
TopCashback
I’m a longtime fan of cash-back services like Dosh, Rakuten and TopCashback, which I use all year long to get rebates on nearly everything I buy.
Right now, TopCashback has a good offer going: 8% cash back on Amazon devices and 7% back on Amazon home-security and smart-home gear. That means products ranging from Echo smart speakers and displays to Fire tablets and TV sticks, plus Kindle e-readers, Ring doorbells and Blink cameras.
Here’s the thing: Not many of these items are on sale right now, but they will be (again) starting this Friday, Nov. 20. The cash-back option applies to sale prices, so you’ll have the chance to double-dip on savings. (You may be able to triple-dip as well; see below.)
Also notable: If you don’t already have an Amazon Prime subscription, you’ll get $15 back when you sign up for one via TopCashback. That’s just about the only discount on Prime I’m aware of, anywhere.
It’s free to sign up for a TopCashback account, and it requires little more than your name and email address. Once you’re signed up, visit that TopCashback page for Amazon and click Get Cashback. That’ll take you through to Amazon, where you shop normally. Soon after you make your purchase, you should get an email confirming that TopCashback has logged it. (Important: Don’t use an ad-blocker during this process, otherwise your purchase might not get logged.)
Remember: This isn’t an up-front discount; it’s cash back after the fact, just like with your credit card. And speaking of that, using TopCashback (or any other cash-back service) doesn’t interfere with the cash back you get from whatever credit card you use to make your purchases. Like, say, this one:
Save an extra 10% or more with the Amazon Visa card
Score more cash back than usual on select items when you pay with your Amazon Prime Rewards Visa card.
Amazon
If you have the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa card, you know that it pays you a 5% cash rebate on nearly all Amazon purchases. However, Amazon often raises that rate on select products. Right now, for example, you can get 10% back on a variety of toys, kitchen items and electronics.
Don’t already have a Prime Rewards Visa? This is the time to sign up: If you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, you’ll receive a $100 gift card upon getting approved for that no-annual-fee Visa.
One notable example of how this can benefit you: Right now, the rarely discounted Sonos Move speaker is $399 at Amazon, same price as always. But if you pay with your Prime Rewards card, you’ll get 10% back, which is about $40.
Needless to say, if any of your holiday shopping plans involve Amazon, it’s worth investigating these two options.
Your thoughts?
Watch this:
The Cheapskate’s Black Friday shopping tips
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CNET’s Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on tech products and much more. For the latest deals and updates, follow him on Facebook and Twitter. You can also sign up for deal texts delivered right to your phone. Find more great buys on the CNET Deals page and check out our CNET Coupons page for the latest Walmart discount codes, eBay coupons, Samsung promo codes and even more from hundreds of other online stores. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Answers live on our FAQ page.
