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Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Black Friday and Cyber Monday have always been my go-to times of the year for purchasing holiday gifts. But, the older I get, the more I prefer to trade in the traffic and long checkout lines for a cozy seat on the couch. Here's how I manage to score some savings without ever having to step foot in stores. What do you need money for? Get matched with the right financial product. I use plugins to track pricing history Sometimes, Black Friday and Cyber Monday "sales" are illusions. The original price of an item actually increases right before the sale and then once the sale starts, prices are marked back down. So, you're not really getting that item for a deal. When shopping on Amazon, I use a browser extension called camelcamelcamel, which displays the pricing history of any item on the site. This lets me see what the pricing changes have been like over the last few weeks and even months, so I know if I'm actually purchasing something at a lower price. You can also receive email alerts when camelcamelcamel finds a price drop on an item you've been watching. The extension is free to use, so you don't have to pay anything to save some money. camelcamelcamel Cost Free How to save Get Amazon price drop alerts and monitor price history charts. How to use it Browse the website and download the Camelizer browser extensions. How to receive your savings Rewards aren't offered. Terms apply. I browse discount offers from my credit card I have the American Express® Gold Card and one of its less talked-about perks is its shopping offers. Some retailers will offer special discounts on certain products for Amex Gold cardholders, usually ranging from a $5 to $25 statement credit, to additional membership points, or even small discounts on beauty and lifestyle products. Enrollment required. American Express® Gold Card CNBC Select Rating 5.0 On the American Express site CNBC Select Rating 5.0 On the American Express site Spotlight The Amex Gold Card offers over $400 in statement credits every year. Credit score Good to Excellent Regular APR See Pay Over Time APR Annual fee $325 Welcome bonus You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points See rates and fees, terms apply. Read our American Express® Gold Card review. The American Express Gold® Card Welcome Offer: To view your personalized offer, you must first submit an application. If approved, you will: (1) receive your Welcome Offer details, (2) have the option to accept the Card with that offer, (3) be required to spend $6,000 on eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership, and (4) earn Membership Rewards® points. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. If you're approved and accept your offer, a credit check may be conducted, which could impact your credit score. Terms apply. The American Express Gold Card is great for earning valuable Membership Rewards® points at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets. You can earn $400+ in dining and rideshare credits every year (Enrollment required for select benefits mentioned) Exceptionally rewarding for eligible restaurant and U.S. supermarket purchases No foreign transaction fees Larger annual fee Credits are more complicated, you earn them monthly or semi-annually Highlights Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff. You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you're approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you're approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted. Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com. Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That's up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply. $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit. $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required. $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required. Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property. No Foreign Transaction Fees. Annual Fee is $325. Terms Apply. See Rates & Fees Foreign transaction fee None Discounts and statement credits can help you save on your purchases, so I try to peruse the Amex app to make sure I'm not missing out on an opportunity to save on something I was planning to buy. Sometimes, though, you have to enroll to opt in to receive the offer so make sure you double check the terms before making your purchase. I automatically apply coupon codes with Honey I've been a long-time user of the Honey browser extension because it automatically applies the available coupon codes to help me save on my purchases. Otherwise, I'd be stuck Googling discount codes for every retailer I'd like to buy from. Plus, Honey works across thousands of retailers, so odds are good that it can help you try out some coupon codes before you check out. PayPal Honey Information about Honey has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the company prior to publication. Cost Free Cash back Yes, in the form of PayPal Rewards Coupon codes Yes Price comparison Yes Mobile app Yes Works with in-store purchases No Welcome bonus None How to redeem your savings Redeem for e-gift cards, shopping credits, cash back or donations. Terms apply. Pros Offers at over 30,000 participating merchants In-depth Droplist for price tracking and notifications Has Honey Tips which provide insights like price changes, coupon success rates and other helpful info Cons Cash back redemption requires a valid PayPal account You can’t use the app to save in-store Rewards expire if you don't earn 10 points within each consecutive 365-day period I get cash back Rakuten is another browser extension I like to use to rack up savings, this time by getting cash back after making a purchase at one of the retailers in its partnership network. Rakuten has some very popular brands like Sephora, Chewy and Old Navy. Rakuten Information about Rakuten has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the company prior to publication. Cost Free Cash back Yes Coupon codes Yes Price comparison Yes Mobile app Yes Works with in-store purchases Yes Welcome bonus New users can earn 10% Cash Back on purchases made in your first 7 days, up to $50. How to redeem your savings Cash back is awarded every 3 months by check, PayPal payment or donation. Terms apply. Pros You can earn American Express Membership Rewards Points instead of cash back New users can earn a $10 welcome bonus Offers at over 3,500 online stores You can activate savings, then shop and save on in-store purchases Cons Cash back is awarded every 3 months Not valid with Amazon purchases The cash back can range from 1% to sometimes 28% and beyond, and during holiday events, the platform has offered double cash back in the past. If you're spending hundreds of dollars on holiday gifting during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you may actually get back a good chunk of cash. There are three ways you can receive your cash back with Rakuten: A check mailed out to you, sent digitally through PayPal or receive American Express Membership Rewards®. If you value the cold hard cash back in your pocket to spend or save how you wish, then opting for payment via PayPal or a check may be the way to go. Other ways to save on Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals Go in with a game plan Make a list of all the things you need or want to buy during the sales event, so you go in already knowing what you're looking for and won't be as distracted by all the shiny objects you see sales tags for. Also have a plan for how you'll pay. Create a budget ahead of time Some shoppers spend first and then assess the damage later — and sometimes that damage winds up being a heftier-than-expected credit card bill. Going into Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping with a preset budget helps you be a bit more discerning about your purchases and you can decide how much or how little you can reasonably afford. This way, you don't have to worry about doing damage control in your bank account after the fact. Review return policies These sales don't last forever and sometimes when you're feeling pinched for time, you can end up making spur-of-the-moment buying decisions that you regret later on. Make sure you're aware of the return policies for the retailers you're shopping with, so you know if they allow returns for a full refund or store credit for a future purchase (or just exchanges only). Subscribe to the CNBC Select Newsletter! Money matters — so make the most of it. Get expert tips, strategies, news and everything else you need to maximize your money, right to your inbox. Sign up here. Why trust CNBC Select? At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every personal finance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of personal finance products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. Catch up on CNBC Select's in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date. For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here. Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
