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Whenever you’re about to make a purchase, a big ticket item purchase, what are top things to consider before making a purchase? I do this whenever I purchase things such as appliances, TV, computers, cell phones, anything I know we’d be using for awhile.
My daughter, Maddie, told me that she wanted to get a new iPad 64 GB (10th generation). My goodness, I still remember waiting in line for the 1st Gen iPad some 10+ years ago.
Dad, can we just get the iPad now, please?
My kids know better that purchasing big ticket items take some scrutiny. Yes, I consider this a big ticket item. “The Apple Limited Warranty covers your iPad and the Apple-branded accessories that come in the box with your product against manufacturing issues for one year from the date you bought them.” There was a time in my life when I probably would’ve just told my kids, “let’s find the cheapest iPad, and purchase it from that store!” Well, that has changed.
She’s a working college student and offered to pay for the purchase, but she knew darn well not to simply go out and buy whichever iPad. She knew there would be a discussion with me which would involve:
- credit card/s
- warranty protection
- retailer (in-store or online)
- cash back portals
The 5 things to consider before making a purchase
1. Price
Price is a huge factor, and it’s good to check different resources. If this was dining, I’d check Yelp. If it was a hotel, I’d check Tripadvisor. When shopping for appliances or gadgets, many would also turn to Consumer Reports. For Apple products, I checked, AppleInsiders. I use this website or app as my guide and I checked the price guides. The iPad we had in mind was selling for $449 across many different retailers (including Apple).
2. Online or in-store options
When it comes to Apple products, I usually check with:
- 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.
But, we didn’t rush to buy the iPad at Best Buy. Why not? I wanted to see if there were other options for me to save and stack the purchase with other offers.
3. Shopping portal
This matters because there are potential additional cash back opportunities when you go through a shopping portal.
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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+.
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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)
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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
I do not only look at the price of the item I plan on purchasing, but method of payment matters. I will not pay for this in cash, check, gift card, or debit card. Why? There is no purchase protection or points earned by doing so. Solution, pay with a credit card. but NOT JUST ANY credit card.
As you could imagine, I have access to many different credit cards. How do I decide which one to use? At the time of my purchase, I had a new credit card minimum spend that I was working on – The Business Platinum Card from American Express. I chose to use this card. Why? I killed two birds with one stone:
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charging over $400 that will count towards the required minimum spend
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getting solid purchase protection benefits from American Express
5. Credit card benefits
Not all credit cards offer benefits and protection. Choose wisely. Fortunately, The Business Platinum Card from American Express offers the following coverage for my purchase:
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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.
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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.
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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.
My thought process may not always the best, but this is what I went through with this recent purchase. What about you? Share yours!
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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.