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Best Buy is offering a bonus $15 savings code with the purchase of $150 in Best Buy e-gift cards through Cashstar. You can buy up to three $150 gift cards (or a single $450 gift card according to Doctor of Credit) through this promotion between now and 11/18/17. The $15 promotional codes have a limited shelf life — but if you can use them, this could be a good deal.
The Deal
- Buy $150 in e-gift cards, get a $15 savings code
- Direct link to promotion
Key Terms
- Offer valid 11/5/17-11/18/17
- $15 savings code valid 12/1/17-12/14/17
- Savings code valid in-store and online
- Terms state that the value of the savings code will not be refunded if merchandise is returned
- Maximum of three $150 e-gift card purchases (or Doctor of Credit reports a single order for a $450 code will trigger this)
Quick Thoughts
This is a pretty good deal. I saw it on Slickdeals over the weekend, but a post by Mark Ostermann at Miles to Memories about this deal caught my eye this morning and helped me realize that this is a better deal than it seems. I’ve known that Best Buy gift cards count towards Best Buy elite status, but hadn’t thought about it (thanks for the reminder!) and I’m a bit behind on hitting elite status for next year. I like maintaining Best Buy elite status for the extended returns period and a little extra return on spend. I then bank my Best Buy points and redeem them for certificates to buy myself something nice now and then.
With this deal, $450 in purchases will help me inch towards re-qualification for status with Best Buy. Furthermore, I’ll earn Best Buy Rewards on the purchases. And in the end, with the three savings codes, I’ll save an extra $45 on things I would have bought from Best Buy to resell anyway. I’ll get $495 worth of stuff to resell for $450. I should discount my savings a bit since I could buy $495 in Best Buy gift cards at a 3.2% discount from gift card resale sites — I’ll save north of forty bucks anyway.
Bottom line
This is a pretty decent deal if you think you’ll spend money at Best Buy between 12/1-12/14. If you don’t know you’ll do that, this deal probably isn’t worthwhile. You can’t resell the $15 promotional codes and there are reports of mixed success using them in-store to buy gift cards in the past. Still, this can be a good way to earn some easy rewards, get some spend towards Best Buy elite status (don’t forget to add your My Best Buy number during checkout), meet a minimum spend requirement, or grab a Big Spend Bonus. We still don’t know how Amex will view promotions like this now that the war on gaming has heated up. I suspect that their aim is not to discourage you from using your Amex card to buy a few hundred dollars in gift cards through a holiday promotion, but rather to discourage people from buying thousands of dollars in gift cards at locations that qualify for category bonuses. However, that’s purely a guess – we just don’t know. This spend might be better put towards a sign up bonus with another issuer, but that’s ultimately up to your risk tolerance.
H/T: Slickdeals, Doctor of Credit, and Miles to Memories (each added something different)