How I Got a Brand New iPad for a Deep Discount – Not a Scam Either!
Although I have regaled you all with many tales of my shopaholic ways, I don’t exactly indulge myself if I feel something is too high priced, or if I feel I can’t get a discount and have to pay full (this next word is a dirty word) RETAIL. I have often coveted an object but resisted due to the lack of a discount price. See I DO have some self-control. The. iPhone 4 S for example – but I did wait until they came down from the original price and signed a two year contract to get the best deal.
Recently I was coveting an iPad. (Curse you Apple for making me like tech gadgets!) My daughter got one for her recent graduation and I got to play with it and fell in love. I wanted one and I wanted it badly. It’s like wanting one of those toys we used to see advertised on commercials on TV as a kid. I never did get an easy bake oven or a Chatty Cathy and it still hurts. (Is it any wonder I have a shopping disease?)
I didn’t really need another computer urgently, but an iPad is like a large iPhone and I just love what my phone can do. I was planning to replace my netbook laptop (on it’s last legs) for the iPad and buy one of those detachable keyboards. Then they announced the iPad 3 – which meant that the iPad 2 would come down in price. A measly $100 when the iPad 3 is so superior according to reports.
Note that Apple products are NEVER on sale, NEVER discounted unless they are used or knock-offs, (BEWARE ON EBAY!) or “re-built.” It’s like when you go to a car dealer and they make you think you are getting a steal, only to find out later that you paid full retail. Apple doesn’t even make that pretense. SNOBS!
So in the meantime, I tried to scheme how I was going to get an iPad at a bargain. And I finally figured it out.
I have a few credit cards that give lame “thank you” points. Now these are not the credit cards you pay for so the points seldom lead to something valuable like an airline ticket. But I have gotten lots of FREE new towels (Organic Egyptian cotton, oversized) and books and vitamins from Amazon by using my Amex points which never amounted to anything until I discovered I could use them to purchase stuff on Amazon.
A new Citi card I have offered double thank you points for no fee so I signed up, but when I looked at the amount I needed for airline tickets or an iPad, it was the same old, same old. I would have had to pay for a wedding on the card to get those items. Ridiculous number of points needed!
We went on vacation, spending a pile of money of course, and put everything on this new card. When I paid the balance they sent me an email about having thank you points to redeem. So I searched and searched. An iPad was available if I went on 50 more vacations first.
Then I noticed that you can redeem for gift cards to major retailers and you didn’t need a lot of points to get a $100 gift card.
I searched to see WHERE they sell iPads and it was so easy. They have Best Buy gift cards, so I simply used my points to get a number of $100 Best Buy Gift cards. I then marched over to my local Best Buy and got my brand new iPad 3 for practically nothing after saving up those gift cards.
SUCH A DEAL. You heard it from me first. Don’t thank me, just enjoy – there are lots of stores available for these gift cards. Now excuse me, I have to do some shopping on Amazon using my Amex points!
great idea Arlene!! Enjoy your iPAd! We bought our kids really nice snow tubes with some of our awards points from Amex this past December. The fact that we only had two inches of snow this entire winter stung but at least we didn’t punk down over $200 in cash for the tubes.
Good to hear about shopping coups. I love them!
Good job, Arlene! Have fun with your iPad!