Black Friday 2016

Most major credit cards have a variety of cardmember benefits, including things like extended warranty protection and trip cancellation. But one of the best perks, in my opinion, is price protection — a program that reimburses you for items that go on sale after you buy them. In early November, I read on the Slickdeals forums that people were planning on buying designated Black Friday sale items early, and then filing price protection claims after the BF discounts became active. It’s an ingenious strategy because it guarantees the purchase of highly sought-after items, while avoiding unwieldy holiday shoppers. It sounds too good to be true, right? How come everyone isn’t doing this? Curious how difficult the entire process would be, I decided to put this money-saving plan into action on my Chase Sapphire credit card. Benefits Research After a couple of phone calls and some light reading, I learned the following about my particular card: Price protection (PP) will reimburse a price difference up to $500 for any eligible item, up to 90 days after the original purchase date.PP reimbursement is capped at $50 per item for limited quantity, cash only, close-out, liquidation and going-out-of-business sales.PP is secondary to store policies, meaning you should try to get a price adjustment from the store first. So far, so good.

It’s that time of year again, Slickdealers! We’re talking carbohydrates galore, home-cooked family dinners and those deceptive elastic waistbands. Everyone in your office will soon start bringing in homemade treats, chilly temperatures will force you into hibernation, and new coffee creamers will emerge to tempt you with the artificial flavors of holiday cheer. As we all know, however, this seasonal bliss eventually leads into January lifestyle changes and New Year’s resolutions.

While Black Friday may have lost some of its appeal in recent years as retailers insist on starting their sales earlier and earlier, there are still great deals to be had.