ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE: DaddyTravelsNow is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as MileValue.com This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers.
For more deals, follow me on my travel page on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter
Dad, can we just get the iPad now, please?
- credit card/s
- warranty protection
- retailer (in-store or online)
- cash back portals
The 5 things to consider before making a purchase
1. Price

2. Online or in-store options
- Apple – it’s best to check Apple’s current offer on the product (check their website directly)
- Costco – we visited a local Costco and the iPad was selling at $439 ($10 less)
- Amazon – prices were also in the $449 range
- Sam’s Club – I checked their website, and Sam’s had them at $439
- Best Buy – My college kids did their homework and learned that Best Buy had a sale ending on March 5. It was $50 less ($399). We had an option to purchase this in-store by March 5th, or purchase this online by March 5th.

3. Shopping portal
-
Rakuten offers 1% cashback BUT does not give cashback on Apple products. I happen to like using Rakuten since I could turn my cashback into points with American Express Membership Rewards. If you don’t have Rakuten yet, you could get $30 after spending $30+.
-
Cashbackmonitor – don’t laugh but I tried to go to their website, and did not have any luck when I checked on the day of purchase. But a day later, it pointed me to Ibotta with 2% cash back (but it excludes tablet purchases)
-
TopCashBack – is another portal for shopping portals, and to be honest, when I checked Best Buy, it gives 2% cashback, and I did not see any restriction with Apple products. So if someone has an experience with this, let me know. I just went with using TopCashBank for the 2% “possible” cashback. To join TCB for FREE, here’s the link.
4. Which credit card to use
-
charging over $400 that will count towards the required minimum spend
-
getting solid purchase protection benefits from American Express
5. Credit card benefits
-
Purchase protection – Your Covered Purchases can be covered when they’re accidentally damaged, stolen, or lost for up to 90 days from the Covered Purchase date with your Eligible Card. Further, there is a maximum of $10,000 in reimbursements per occurrence, and you can claim up to $50,000 in reimbursements per cardmember account per calendar year.
-
Return protection – All purchases made with your Amex Business Platinum card are eligible for return protection within 90 days of purchase. If the merchant won’t accept your return within this 90-day window, American Express will cover up to $300 per item, up to $1,000 in reimbursements per calendar year.
-
Extended warranty protection – Can extend the Original Manufacturer’s Warranty for up to one extra year for Covered Purchases made on your Eligible Card.
So how long did this process take? I’d say we started our discussion on Saturday night, and by 2pm the following day, I pulled the trigger and made the purchase using Best Buy online. Once purchased, my daughter, Maddie picked up her new iPad within one hour.
For more deals, follow me on my travel page on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.