Archives for August 2015

Free shipping with $25+ order at Peets with coupon

Good until the end of day on September 1st in 2015, the following coupon codes (see screenshot below) can get you free shipping at the Peet’s Coffee website. This is a great opportunity to score some of their house brand teas as they are replacing them with the Mighty Leaf branded teas (they purchased Mighty Leaf earlier in the year).

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Ovente KP72BR Cordless Electric Kettle for $13

Don’t waste energy and wear out your lovely stove to heat water. Instead you can use a dedicated device that uses up a lot less energy. Like a tea kettle. One such, Ovente KP72BR Cordless Electric Kettle is now on sale for $13 in nice brown color scheme and slightly more (up to $15) in four other colors. These are sold by Amazon.com and other sellers over there. Check to make sure Amazon is the seller. Free 2-day Prime shipping if you are a member! You can buy as many as you like, so if you are not a Prime member, three of these get you free shipping.

As usual with these type of electric kettles, the minimum you can heat is 500ml of water, which is about 17oz. Since most people will pour slightly more to be on the safe side, let’s just say 18oz, which is slightly more than two standard cups (two by 8oz = 16oz). If you are fond of “washing” tea leaves (a good idea for puerhs and some oolongs) or heating/rinsing the teapot or your cup, you can use the extra water for that.

With over 1000 customer reviews, these average 4.3 out of 5 with a solid 7-to-1 review intensity ratio (five-stars vs one-stars). The heating element is not visible, is at the bottom. Which is a good thing. The maximum capacity of 1.7 Liters is roughly around 57.5 fluid ounces. Since most people won’t totally max out, let’s just call it seven standard 8oz cups.

Nokia Lumia 530 (T-Mobile) for $20 [WP]

If you are Windows Phone curious or you are looking for a no-contract prepaid phone on the T-Mobile network, the Nokia Lumia 530 phone, locked to T-Mobile but without a contract requirement, is currently on clearance, in new condition for $20 at the Best Buy website. Free shipping with a $35+ order. One way to reach that is to get two of these.

They have basic specs, but hey, it’s just $20. You get a Snapdragon 200 processor, microSD slot that can take up to 128GB (fill it up with music and audiobooks and podcasts!), and runs Windows Phone 8.1.

Aug 30 – Sept 5: earn 20% Plenti points on $25 Google Play Gift Card

iTunes gift cards are discounted left and right (which is interesting considering Apple’s crazy profit margins), while Google Play gift cards rarely get discounts. But it appears Google is slowly but steadily “discovering” the magic of discounting. So for the week of August 30 to September 5 in 2015, at Rite Aid stores, if you purchase a $25 Google Play Gift Card, you will receive 500 Plenti points. These have a redemption value towards a future purchase of $5. So it is essentially a 20% off. This is a limit two offer for the week.

If you are not part of the Plenti program, it is free to sign-up in-store or online. I have a write-up of my sign-up experience (I was part of the RiteAid Wellness Rewards before).

TIP #1: if you are not a frequent Rite Aid shopper, there’s another easy way to redeem all your Plenti points: you can use them to pay for gas at Exxon-Mobil gas stations. Just slide your Plenti cards before you slide your credit card and follow the prompts at the pump’s display.

TIP #2: if you are a cordcutter, the Google Play gift cards are a good way to buy Season Passes of TV shows with this extra discount factored in. You can use these cards on anything digital at Google Play. However, Google Play gift cards cannot be used to purchase physical goods (hardware, phones, tablets, etc) or subscriptions.

Unlocked Motorola Moto E (2nd gen) for $90 (3G) or $100 (4G LTE)

Motorola’s rollout of affordable bang for the buck Android phones continues with the second generation of the Moto E, which is currently on sale, GSM unlocked, at Amazon.com, with a limit of three per kind per customer. It is available for $100 4G LTE or $90 in either Global GSM or US GSM. No contract, you own it when your payment clears. You can use it as a Wifi-only device, you don’t have to sign up for a cellphone plan.

The difference however is not just the cellular radios. The 4G LTE model is powered by the Snapdragon 410, while the 3G by the Snapdragon 200. Both come with Android 5.0 (out of the box), with a 4.5-inch 960 x 540 qHD (not to be confused with quad HD), IPS, Gorilla Glass 3, 1GB RAM, 8GB on-board storage, but thankfully it has a microSD card. It takes micro SIM cards.

NOTE: if you are planning to use this with T-Mobile, the update to Android 5.1 removes Band 12 which is necessary for some T-Mobile locations. This was verified by a Motorola representative in the comments of this Amazon review.

DVD set: Space, Above and Beyond for $21.55

Some TV shows for whatever reasons are not making the rounds on the popular streaming networks. One of those is the short-lived (one season only) space-based scifi series “Space: Above and Beyond”. It is currently on sale, Season 1 (the only season) in DVD format for around $21.50~ by a marketplace seller fulfilled by Amazon.com. Firefly was not the only show killed prematurely by Fox TV at the end of the last century…

Aug 30 – Sept 5: Extra $50 off on Computers for College Students at Staples

At Staples brick and mortar stores, college students with valid college ID or a qualifying .edu email address are able to get an extra $50 off discount on the current prices of laptops and desktops offered by Staples. This offer is mentioned in their weekly ad, it runs from August 30 until the close of business on Saturday the 5th in 2015. Select computers are excluded from this offer (ASUS X305TA, and select HP PCs and Chromebooks). Check stores or website for details after it goes live…

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Aug 30 – Sept 5: $20 Staples Gift Card via Easy Rebate with purchase of $300+ in AMEX Gift Cards

In an era of bubbles and bears, it’s hard to find a guaranteed 2% return on investment with a 30 day vesting period. But you can. For the week of August 30 until the close of business on Saturday September 5 in 2015, at Staples brick and mortar stores, if you purchase $300 or more in American Express gift cards, you qualify for a $20 Staples Gift Card to be delivered to you via Easy Rebate in about 4-6 weeks after your purchase. The Easy Rebate is submitted online, you don’t mail anything. Just enter information from your cash register receipt into the Staples rebate website.

You can get to $300 with two AMEX gift cards, with activation fees of $7 ($200 gift card) and $6 ($100 gift card). With the $20 Staples gift card factored in, you are making a $7 profit, a 2.33% return on investment.

If you haven’t done this before, here’s how it goes. You pay $300 + $13 in service fees at the register. You go home, submit the Easy Rebate (online; not mail-in rebate), and 4-6 weeks later you receive a $20 Staples Gift Card. Assuming you can spend or use or gift the gift card, you are coming ahead. You paid $313 at checkout and have $320 of buying power.

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Staples Stores only: $100 off Clearance PCs with $200+ regular price

Good until the close of business on Saturday August 29, 2015, at Staples brick and mortar stores only (not their website), you can get (via coupon) $100 off on clearance computers regularly priced $200 or more. The “regularly priced” is crucial here, it means something can have a current price under $200 but still be eligible for the coupon. This means you can get some really good deals, but the big IF here is whether they have any computers available in-store that fit the bill.

Since this is a brick and mortar only promotion, it is a big YMMV, and I obviously cannot magically check the clearance inventory of every single Staples store 🙂 You can find the coupon at the Staples coupons website. You don’t have to print it, just load the page on your smartphone or take a screenshot with the coupon number visible so the cashiers can enter it.

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Aug 27-31 at Peets: FREE small Mayan Mocha or Pumpkin Latte with Food Purchase

Starbucks is not the only one running special promotions. At Peet’s Coffee stores, between August 27 and 31st in 2015, you can get a small Mayan Mocha or Pumpkin Latte for FREE if you purchase it together with a pastry or oatmeal or fresh food item. You can show the email or simply mention the offer to the cashier. That’s right friends, Fall Season is officially here 🙂 The new flavors can be used on any drink, just ask the barista. But this particular promotion is for these two drinks. You can use it as many times as you like during this promotion.

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Lucky Rewards: double points until 9/1/15

In a new e-mail sent earlier today to participating of the Lucky Rewards program, we learn that until 9/1/15, we earn double rewards points automatically. You don’t have to use your points on Toscana glassware. They are just using the double points as an opportunity to remind people about that promotion. Or if someone is close to getting them as rewards, the double points will get them there faster.

August 25-31 (Starbucks Rewards): Get 8 bonus stars with 3 specific purchases

If you are a Starbucks Rewards member, check your e-mails for a new offer, running August 25-31 in 2015. If you buy three specific products during this time period, you will earn 8 bonus stars (in addition to the regularly earned stars). The three items you must purchase one of each of the items below (purchase during the promotion, not necessary purchased together at the same time):

  • shaken iced tea (includes the new mango flavored ones)
  • breakfast sandwich – not to be confused with the lunch sandwiches
  • frappucino blended drink

The size of the drinks does not matter. You can only earn 8 bonus stars during this promotion. Make sure you received the email for the offer, since I don’t know if these are sent to everyone or targeted or regional. The usual terms apply (pay with the app or a registered Starbucks gift card, etc, etc, etc).

Certified PreOwned Samsung Galaxy S5 for $350 with 12 months warranty [no contract; choice of AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile]

It’s a good year to be buying smartphones. So many options out there pushing prices down. Case in point, if you like the Samsung Galaxy S, and value the microSD and removable battery a lot, you can get the Galaxy S5 in certified pre-owned condition for $350 at amazon.com in your choice of AT&T or Verizon or T-Mobile. No contract – you own these the moment the payment clears!

The description says it comes with all original accessories and it is “like new”. There is also notes that it comes with a 12 month warranty! The only downside is that they are probably locked to their respective carriers, which partially leads to the lower prices you see. But if you are planning to use these as Wifi-only, not an issue.

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Buy Amazon’s Fire Phone, extend your AmazonFresh subscription by an extra four months

It is well-known among bargain hunters that the new condition Amazon Fire Phone includes one year of Prime Membership with it. With a current price of $160 for the phone (no contract by the way), you are essentially getting the phone for $60, because a Prime membership is well worth the $100/year (2-day shipping, Video streaming, Music streaming, e-book library, and so forth). If you are a current Prime member, each Fire Phone extends your membership by another year (as in an extra 365 days).

What is not as well known but explained in its own paragraph in the Terms and Conditions page is that if you are already an AmazonFresh Prime member (the $300/year plan), buying and activating a Fire Phone on your account gets you an additional FOUR months added to your Prime Fresh membership.

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Not only that, but the Prime memberships that come with each new Fire Phone are stackable. Meaning if you buy four new condition Fire Phones and activate them all on the same Amazon.com Prime account, your Prime membership gets extended by four more years. If your expiration was May 10, 2016 it will get bumped to May 10 in 2020.

Likewise with AmazonFresh, but instead of 12-month increments, your subscriptions are extended in four month increments.

Reward Redemption Sale: 10% off select merchant Gift Cards (AMEX Membership Rewards)

If you are part of the American Express Membership Rewards program, and you have accumulated enough rewards points to be able to participate in this promotion, good until 8/31/15, you get 10% off in points needed to redeem rewards from select merchants, including the Staples, Pottery Barn and the GAP group of companies. Check your emails from AMEX or their Rewards website for more details.

Remember this offer is if you already have enough rewards in your account. This is not a general sale on the gift cards…

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