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Free money: Spend at least $20 at Best Buy, get $20 cash back

Cheapskate exclusive! This rebate offer can net you something for free or close to it. Plus: 3 months of SiriusXM streaming for a buck and a second-gen Amazon Echo for $50.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
4 min read
topcashback-best-buy-offer-2019

Newcomers to cash-back service TopCashback can get a $20 rebate after spending at least $20 at Best Buy.

TopCashback

Today's deal is a rerun, but last time out it was for Walmart. Now you have the chance to save $20 at Best Buy.

First, an explainer: If you don't use a cash-back service every time you shop online, you're leaving perfectly good money on the table. I'm a convert and an evangelist, because these services have produced real savings for me over the years.

Read more: Cash-back services 101

To be clear, these savings aren't instantaneous -- payouts often come weeks or months down the road -- and often your rebate amounts to just 1 or 2% of the total purchase price. But you know what? It adds up!

And today, it adds up to a lot in a hurry. For a limited time, newcomers to TopCashback can get a $20 rebate from TopCashback after spending at least $20 at Best Buy online. Once again, this is for new TopCashback members only. If you see a message saying you're not eligible for this deal, it's because you already have an account.

It works like this: Using the above link or button, sign up for a TopCashback account. It's free and requires little more than an email address. From there you'll be taken to the freebie-offer page, where you can click Get Offer. From there you'll be taken to the Best Buy home page.

Now just shop like you normally would. You could buy, for example, an Energizer Recharge Power Plus AA-battery eight-pack for $20.99. (Don't buy it via that link; you have to go through TopCashback, as described above. This is just to give you an example.) Once you collect your cash rebate, your net total is just 99 cents, not including tax. Again, all you have to do is spend at least $20 to get your $20 rebate.

Another example: The JLab Audio JBuds Air totally wireless earbuds. They're $49.99, but your price after cash back would be $29.99.

Here's the important thing to note, especially if you're new to cash-back services: When you get to the checkout page, you won't see any evidence whatsoever that TopCashback is doing anything. It records your purchase behind the scenes, much like your cash-back credit card (which, incidentally, you can still take advantage of here). Don't freak out: As long as you went to the Best Buy site by way of the TopCashback site, the latter will track your order and award your $20 accordingly.

Speaking of which, it may take up to seven days to see the Best Buy purchase reflected in your TopCashback account. But you won't be able to cash out, so to speak, for an additional 14 days. At that point, you can get your $20 in the form of a direct deposit, PayPal or even a gift card.

Unsurprisingly, there's some fine print:

"Exclusions -- Cash back is not available on Best Buy gift cards, warranties, Apple AirPods, Apple TV, all non-Apple desktops, all non-Apple laptops, all non-Apple tablets, all gaming hardware, third-party gift cards & POSA cards."

So, yeah, although many Apple products are excluded, some -- like iPads, MacBooks and Watches -- do qualify. In any case, be sure to read all the details on the offer page, just to avoid any surprises.

My advice to cash-back newbies: Buy something you need or want that's in the neighborhood of $20, then settle in and wait for your rebate. If you like the end result (and I suspect you will), keep using TopCashback for other online purchases.

You've got until May 5 to take advantage of this offer. After that, you can still get cash-back for stuff you buy at Best Buy -- just not the bonus $20. 

Watch this: Double-dip on your cashback credit card

Get three months of SiriusXM streaming for $1

There are times when I've wished my SiriusXM subscription wasn't limited to my car. (Where, by the way, I never pay more than $5 per month for it. If you call and threaten to cancel, they will absolutely give you that $5 rate -- usually for five or six months, at which time you have to call back and rehaggle.)

Alas, if I want it on my phone or in my house, it'll run me another $8 per month. For a limited time, however, you can get a three-month SiriusXM Essential Streaming subscription for just $1. After that, it's back to the regular rate (though see above -- maybe make that phone call?).

The service works not only via mobile apps, but also on smart speakers ( Amazon Echo , Google Home  and so on). So you can do things like, "Alexa, play the 70s-on-7 station on SiriusXM."

What do you think? Worth having? Or are your radio-streaming bases already covered by the likes of Amazon Prime Music, Pandora  and  Spotify ?

Amazon Echo (2nd-gen) deal: Just $50 (save $50)

amazon-echo-2ndgen-07
Ian Knighton/CNET

So many Echo deals these days are for the Dot, which normally runs $50 but can frequently be found for $15-$20 less. Of course, it's a pretty small speaker, so if music is your intention, you'd almost certainly be happier with the full-size Echo.

That model normally runs $100, but for a limited time, and while supplies last, QVC has the second-generation Amazon Echo for $49.96 shipped when you apply promo code TAKE10. It's available in your choice of three fabric-covered colors. Alas, that code is good only for first-time QVC customers.

The deal also nets you a voucher that's good for a three-month Pandora Premium subscription and various Alexa skills that normally cost money. See the accompanying PDF for all the details.

Why choose the Echo over the Echo Dot? Simple: The former is larger and sounds better. Read CNET's Echo review to learn more.


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