Cyber Monday 50X

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Some decent deals pop up on OpenSky.  Combine these deals with 50 MyPoints per dollar and you’ve got a sweet deal… 

A couple of months ago, an online store called OpenSky ran an incredible promotion through the MyPoints portal.  For a brief time, they offered 150 points per dollar for up to $500 in purchases.  At the time, there was a lot of confusion over whether the points earned were really MyPoints (which would be good) or OpenSky points (which would be bad).  The final conclusion was that the 150X deal was indeed for MyPoints.  Once we were convinced of that, many of us jumped in and bought up to $500 worth of overpriced stuff because the value of 150 points per dollar made the purchase basically free.  For more information about this prior deal, please see “MyPoints 150 points per dollar! Maybe. (Update 3).”

Since that time, OpenSky has continued to offer 50 points per dollar through the MyPoints portal:

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I never mentioned this deal in my blog because OpenSky items tend to be so overpriced that even 50X wasn’t enough to convince me to buy.

Cyber Monday Deals

Today, the 50X offer looks more appealing.  OpenSky is offering Cyber Monday deals for some items at prices that are actually competitive:

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I price checked several of these deals and found that quite a few really are good deals.  I looked up the current prices on Amazon.com and found that some were cheaper on OpenSky!

Even better, OpenSky is offering free shipping all day.

Step by step

Here’s how to get the deal and cut your costs even more:

  • Join MyPoints:  MyPoints is an online shopping portal in which you can earn points when shopping.  Those points can then be traded for gift cards, cash, or United Airline miles.  If you use my referral link to sign up I’ll earn extra points if you make purchases (and I’ll appreciate that!).
  • Join OpenSky:  If you’re new to OpenSky, you’ll get a $20 credit when you join.  If you use this link I will earn a credit too (and I’ll appreciate that too!).  Wait until you receive an email about the credit before making your OpenSky purchases.
  • Go to MyPoints and find OpenSky: To make sure you get 50 points per dollar, you need to start by logging into your MyPoints account.  If you’ve already browsed to OpenSky, I recommend closing all browser windows first, and starting over just to make sure you get credit.  To find OpenSky, look for the “Alphabetical Brand Index” near the top of the MyPoints screen, and click on the letter “O”.
  • Shop OpenSky: Hover over the top menu items and look for Cyber Monday deals.  In some cases, you can find them by selecting “see all collections”.
  • Post to Facebook: Some (all?) OpenSky items include the option to save an additional $5 by spamming your friends on Facebook.  Look for a little ad like this on the right of the screen:

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What are MyPoints worth?

The value of MyPoints vary greatly by how you redeem them.  Here are some examples:

  • Redeem for cash (via PayPal): 8900 MyPoints can be exchanged for $50 in cash.  In this case, each point is worth just over half a penny (.56 cents each).
  • Redeem for miles: 10,100 MyPoints can be exchanged for 5000 United MileagePlus miles.  In this case, each point is worth about half a mile (.495).  With the fair trading price of United miles at 1.31 cents each, this means that each MyPoint is worth .65 cents (65% of a penny).
  • Redeem for gift cards: Some gift cards cost less in MyPoints than others.  For example, 11,850 MyPoints can be exchanged for a $100 gift card at Macy’s, Express, Banana Republic, and several other retailers.  In this case, points are worth .84 cents each.  With other gift cards (LL Bean, Pottery Barn, Marriott, etc.), MyPoints are worth a bit less.

If you conservatively say that each MyPoint is worth .65 cents, then this 50X deal is equivalent to a 32.5% rebate on anything you purchase today at OpenSky.  Alternatively, if you like United miles (and who doesn’t?) you can think of it as earning 24.75 miles per dollar!

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