Archives for September 2016

$50 Store Credit with Sony Xperia X Compact purchase

Sony is trying to make a statement that you can still have a top-tier smartphone under 5-inches tall, and their brand new Xperia X Compact is available for pre-order for its starting price of $500 at amazon.com but for a limited time, they have a promotion that gets you a $50 Amazon store credit when you pre-order it. While this offer is running, you will see it mentioned on the product page. Here’s a screenshot of that below:

sony_xperia_x_compact_storecredit

This is an unlocked smartphone, with Sony USA warranty, and no contract requirements. Make sure the seller is Amazon.com actual, and not some iffy marketplace seller.

Back In-Stock: Unlocked 32GB Honor 8 for $400

The resurgence of the mid-range flagship continues to build up momentum, while some will argue that the Nexus line was the OG of this philosophy. Regardless, to cut a long story short, both the black and white color schemes of the new condition 32GB Honor 8 (unlocked with USA warranty, no contract) are back in-stock at Amazon by Amazon actual. Make sure you double-check that Amazon itself is the seller, as some of the other sellers may not be authorized dealers or they may be offering international versions.

[DEAD] Logitech M510 Wireless Mouse for $15

As of 9/21/16 re-check, the price increased to $20…
If you like mice with side buttons, and simple non-fancy design, the Logitech M510 Wireless Mouse is on sale for $15 each, in new condition, at Amazon.com in the blue color scheme (limit 3, Prime Only) and the black color scheme (limit 5, open to everyone).

The side buttons function are Back and Forward, which is handy if you are a web browsing power user or use that feature in spreadsheets and such. They have a pretty decent review profile, they average 4.4 out of 5 based on 8200+ customer reviews. This is an RF wireless with a nano receiver. Not bluetooth.

16oz 365 Almond Butter for $7 at Whole Foods

For a limited time only, Whole Foods stores have a sale on their house brand (365) almond butter (creamy or crunch). Their 16oz jars (not glass) are selling for $7 each, instead of the current regular price of $8. This is a limited time sale, but I forgot to check the in-store tag for an expiration date…

wf_almond_butter_sale

Also shown in the receipt above, Kind Bars are on sale (4 for $5) which brings it to $1.25 per bar, but that’s not all. In the store shelves they attach $0.50 off coupons next the “Strong and Kind” variety (the spicy ones). With the coupon, they go down to 75c. I am assuming you can only do one coupon per purchase (I haven’t tried more), so it probably won’t work for stocking up unless you go there very often 🙂

YMMV $2 Google Play eBook Credit

Google Play is more subdued in their offers than other online stores, but they have some offers flying the radar. Case in point, if you are subscribed to their emails (or wondering about within the Play Store), until September 30 (2016), you can opt-in for a $2 credit to be used towards your next e-book purchase until that date. If you are subscribed to their emails, look for this at the bottom of one of their recent emails (screenshot below):

google_play_ebook_credit

Or you can wonder about the Play Store, the offers are usually buried somewhere there within…

But that’s not all, you can verify that the offer has been added to your account by going to the “Account” part of the Google Play store and paging down to the “Rewards” section. There you will see all the active offers on your account. Here’s a screenshot of mine:

google_play_active_offers

Free Shipping at Teavana with Coupon (no minimum!)

This doesn’t happen often, so don’t miss this if you are a fan of the Teavana website! They have a rare coupon that gets you free shipping with no minimum purchase amount! That’s right, coupon code YAYFALL gets you free shipping on anything you buy, good until 9/26/16.

If you already have favorites there, you know what to do, but if you feel like exploring and/or bargain-hunting, be sure to check their Sales page that has a mix of brewing equipment and teas and containers on sale, including a $2.25 tea container (macaroon shaped), loose leaf tea as low as $4 for 2 oz and more.

teavana_freeship

Samsung Book Deals Options for September 2016

If you have an eligible Samsung device, you get a free e-book every month from a choice of four. Almost all of these are part of Kindle Unlimited and previously released, unlike Kindle First that has pre-release ebooks. Since all these have been out for a while, they have an established review profile…

samsung_book_deals_sept_2016

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Rite Aid with Plenti: 500 points back on $25 Google Play Gift Cards

The Google Play offer is back at Rite Aid using the Plenti rewards program and this is probably the best way to get a discount for Google Play store credit at the moment. The offer is the same as before, you buy a $25 Google Play gift card at Rite Aid stores, and you receive 500 Plenti points ($5 equivalent on future purchases). The points are ready to use in your Plenti account the next day. As usual, the offer is limit two per customer for the week of September 18-24 in 2016.

PS: if you are not familiar with Plenti rewards, check our explainer post.

App ONLY: Load $10+ onto a Starbucks Card using VISA checkout, Get $10 Bonus (YMMV)

UPDATE 9/17/16: the $10 bonus arrived by e-mail in just three days. Check the bottom of the post for more…

ORIGINAL POST
VISA Checkout is trying to buy its way into consumers hearts and minds by offering a variety of discounts across a variety of retailers big and small. Starbucks is one of their “friends” as they have launched another offer running until 9/30/16.

It is important to pay attention to the details of this offer. You must use the official Starbucks iOS or Android (Google Play) apps to get the bonus. The web browser will not get you a bonus. You have to load at least $10 on your Starbucks card, using either the iOS or Android app, and use VISA Checkout as the payment method. The bonus is a $10 Starbucks e-gift card delivered to you via e-mail in five business days after you do this according to the Terms and Conditions.

I just did this on Android, and it’s a bit confusing, there’s no option to pay with VISA checkout directly, but you can add a credit card using VISA checkout, and then pay using that credit card. If you already have that credit card on your Starbucks account, I don’t know if that matters or not. I just did this on 9/15/16, so I won’t know whether it works until five business days from today.

The way the promotion is worded makes it sound like you may or may not get the bonus, so treat this as a YMMV offer.

UPDATE: there is a promotion FAQ page with detailed step by step instructions on how to do this!

UPDATE #2 (9/17/16): the $10 bonus e-gift card has arrived via e-mail! I purchased this on 9/15/16, so it only took them three days, faster than the five business days their FAQ said. Here’s a screenshot:

sbux_visa_checkout_arrives

T-Mobile Tuesdays for September 20 headlines by Buffalo Wild Wings

The T-Mobile Tuesdays website is teasing the new round of freebies for September 20 in 2016, and we have a new headliner, spoiler in the picture below, it’s a new entry, Buffalo Wild Wings!

tmobile_tuesday_sept20

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New Prime Benefits: Audible Channels and 3-4 Dozen Audiobooks

Amazon continues to add more features to the Prime membership, in their attempt to make every person on earth sign up for it 😉 The latest new addition is a big boon for fans of “radio programs” and audiobooks. It’s an Audible two-pronged feature added to the Prime membership and it is accessible only using the Audible iOS and Android and Windows Store apps. The two new benefits under this are:

  • Audible Channels – radio programs, radio plays, podcasts, etc available through Amazon’s Audible Channels (previously only available to Audible members with an active/paying membership)
  • Streaming Audiobooks – about 3-4 dozen of them at a time, may be rotating over time

[Read more…]

Shop Lucky’s, Earn Points Towards Cuisinart Products [Big Spenders]

If you spend a lot of money at Lucky’s stores, there’s a new promotion running now that is separate and parallel to the Lucky Rewards. For every $10 you spend at Lucky’s stores, you get one E-Stamp. Once you collect enough e-stamps, you can redeem them towards ten different Cuisinart products. The redemption prices are 70 E-Stamps to 200 E-Stamps, but they start everyone out of the game with five E-Stamps.

So to have a chance of getting something out of this adventure, you need to spend a minimum of $650 for a Can Opener, $850 for a Coffee Grinder or Waffle Maker, $1050 for a Citrus Juicer, all the way up to $1950 for a Blender/Food Processor combo. You can see all the options at the promotional page.

Now that may sound like a LOT, however, this promotion is running for four months, from September 14 (2016) until January 17 (2017). So that makes it more attainable, but it’s still for big spenders 🙂

Also helping a little bit, they sometimes have special promotions where you earn bonus E-Stamp when you make select purchases.

These are separate from the Plenti Rewards points. You continue to earn those in parallel.

lucky_cuisnsart_points

Prime Only: NEW Mr Olympia Fitness Supplement Sample Box for $10

Rejoice Sample Box addicts. For Prime members only, Amazon has launched a brand new one, it is a Mr Olympia Sample Box for $10. For that, you get at least eight samples in the fitness and body building category (as the “Mr Olympia” name suggests). About a week after your order ships (not after you place it), you will receive a $10 ($9.99 to be exact) credit to your Amazon account. They will send an email informing you of this. The sample boxes have only one shipping option, and they are not eligible for 2-day Prime shipping or slow-shipping credits.

Once the credit is in your account, you can use it to purchase any combination of all these Fitness-releated products from brands including Vega, EAS, FitJoy, and Cytosport. If you want to be a totally super-thrifty shopper, look for items just over $10, such this Creatine powder.

If you haven’t done this before, here are some of the Terms and Conditions. If you like to get more or see the status of your order, check the Sample Boxes main page.

mrolympia_samplebox600

Sept 18-24: 100% Back in IN-PLACE Heavy Duty Binders

For the week of September 18-24 in 2016, at Office Depot and Office Max B&M stores, there is a new 100% Rewards promotion running in the stores, you get 100% back in Rewards points when you buy IN-PLACE Heavy Duty Binders. Limit up to eight binders per customer during the week.

odp_binders_100percent_rewards

More details on the promotion on Sunday 9/18/16 when the Weekly Ad comes out and the tiny fineprint at the bottom of the Weekly Ad becomes semi-readable.

Kenmore Digital Tea Kettle (model 223709) for $30

If you like to heat water in a dedicated device and have some control over the target temperature, Sears is offering the Kenmore Digital Tea Kettle (model 223709) for $30. Free store pick-up (if a local store has it), or with an order of $49+ if getting “online shipping”. Picture #2 shows the temperature custom adjustment feature.

This averages 4.5 out of 5 based on 54 customer reviews with 85% of reviewers recommending it. This is a tea kettle, not a tea pot. Its function is to heat water and nothing else. You do NOT brew inside this!