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Deal is back again through 11/30. Get a $15 Target GiftCard with $100 Apple Gift Card purchase. A simple deal if you plan to buy any Apple products/services in the future (and have a free Target Circle membership). While supplies last. May be able to get more in-store. Stack with the 5% back via Target REDCard or Discover card during 2024Q4. Expires 11/30/24.

Apple gift cards are now good for everything from iPhones to Apple Watches to music to iCloud storage subscriptions. The code just adds to the balance in your Apple account. I accumulate them over time like an old-fashioned layaway plan and I feel that getting 10% to 15% off a new iPhone or Apple Watch even when you buy on release day is pretty good. (Apple products and their iTunes/iCloud services used to have separate gift cards.)

Best Buy also has a similar deal: Free $15 Best Buy e-Gift Card when you buy a $100 Apple gift card.

You can sign up for Peacock TV Premium (ad-supported) at $19.99 for 12 months with promo code REALDEAL. Works for new and returning customers (but not current ones). Or get $1.99/month for 6 months with promo code REALDEALMONTHLY. If I am not mistaken, you can cancel at any time after purchase and you can watch the rest of the year without auto-renewal. Otherwise, remember to set a calendar reminder to cancel if you don’t want to auto-renew.

Limited time offer. Excludes current Peacock Premium and Premium Plus subscribers. Current retail rate applies after offer ends (currently $79.99/year or $7.99/mo). Cancel anytime. Eligibility restrictions and terms apply.

Honestly, this is about the right price for me. I just ended the same $20/year offer from last year, but will take another year for $20. The kids enjoyed Despicable Me 4.

Will be updated regularly. Amazon Black Friday 2024 is here. Is it Black Friday Week? Black Friday Month? Who knows anymore. Hopefully this curated post will help you find the good stuff. I also like to check this “Buy Again” tab for any steep discounts on the specific stuff that you already buy. There are also several refreshed promos for linking certain credit cards as payment methods and/or using their points. I recommend trying all the links again.

(Note: If you are reading this in an email/RSS reader, unfortunately I am not allowed to include any Amazon affiliate links in e-mails, so they have been removed. Please click here to view the links.)

Some deals require a Prime membership. New members can sign up for a 30-day free trial. Amazon Prime Student (age 18-24) has a 6-month free trial or 50% off the paid membership. If you’ve already done the trial, you can simply buy a month of Prime for $14.99 ($6.99 with SNAP, EBT or Medicaid card).

Deals and Offers

• List of all current Black Friday deals (updated constantly).
• Don’t have the Prime Visa? Get a $200 instant Amazon gift card (limited-time offer).
• Already have the Prime Visa? Get 10% back on these Prime Card Bonus items.
• Amazon Device Deals (Echo, Blink, Eero, Ring, Kindle, Fire, etc).
• Apple Deals (Apple Watch, Airpods, Macbook, AirTags, etc).
• Samsung Deals (Galaxy Phones, Galaxy Tab, Galaxy Watch, etc).
• YETI Deals (YETI tumblers, bottles, coolers, etc)
• Sony Deals (headphones, earbuds, cameras)
• Playstation Deals (headphones, earbuds, cameras)
• Dyson Deals
• Apple iPad (10th Gen, 64 GB) – $279 (20% off)

Amazon-related Services

• Kindle Unlimited – 3 months for $1 trial. Usually $11.99 a month. Targeted.
• Amazon Music – 3 months free. Usually $10.99 a month. Targeted.
• Audible Premium Plus – $0.99/month for 3 months + $20 Audible credit. Includes 1 free credit per month, so that could be 4 free audiobooks. Targeted.
• Amazon Photos – $15 credit with first-time use.

Credit card linking bonuses (check again if targeted). Offers for simply adding a specific credit card type as Amazon payment method.

• Get $15 off when adding your eligible American Express Card to Amazon. Promo code 24AMEX15OFF.
• Get $15 off when adding your Discover® Card to Amazon. Promo code 24DISCOQ4.

Set as default payment method bonus (check again if targeted). Offers for simply making a specific credit card type your default payment method.

• Get $15 off when you make Discover your default card.

Shop with points (check again if targeted). Offers for using your rewards points to offset your Amazon purchase. If you haven’t linked your card, you may enroll your card and check back in after 24 hours.

• Get $10 off with Discover® rewards. Minimum spend $75.
• Get 15% off with Membership Rewards points. Maximum discount $15.
• Get $ off with American Express Reward Dollars.
• Get $ off with Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
• Get $ off with Capitol One Rewards points.
• Get $ off with US Bank Rewards points.
• Get $ off with Citi ThankYou points.

Stuff I Like

• Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) [GPS + Cellular 40mm] . Now $219. See Apple Watch as Standalone Phone For Kids. Still working well with daily use, even with a $9 fun stretchy band.
• Dyson V11 Origin Cordless Vacuum. Expensive. Powerful. Useful. Daily driver.
• Amazon Eero mesh WiFi router system (3-pack). This is the older model now, but it’s also only $115 now and has the same coverage area size as the new model. Used reliably every day for years now.
• Amazon Eero 6+ mesh WiFi router system (3-pack) (newest model) . Supports WiFi 6 with faster speeds and bandwidth, $195.
• COSORI Air Fryer 5 Qt. Love this air fryer. We use it almost daily, just like a microwave, except it keeps things crispy instead of soggy. Easy to clean.
• Vitamix 5200 blender. Had it for many years. Kitchen staple, sometimes we use it a lot, sometimes rarely, but it’s always there ready and powerful.
• Takeya Patented Deluxe Cold Brew Coffee Maker. I like that I can store this thing sideways and it never leaks.
• KitchenAid Artisan Series 5 Quart Tilt Head Stand Mixer. 20 years of use on ours and counting.

Discover is offering a new $15 promotion simply for setting your Discover card as the *default* payment method. You should see the promo immediately after activating. I recommend to keep Discover as your default method for that next purchase using the $15 promo credit; you’ll get 5% back as well during this quarter.

If you don’t already have your Discover card linked, try this link for a different $15 bonus for adding your Discover Card to Amazon as a payment method.

This is separate from the Discover Shop with Points promo, where you actually redeem your Discover cash back rewards on an Amazon purchase.

Finally, try this link to see all your Discover + Amazon offers.

This is a recurring perk for existing Discover cardholders, which is why I never cancel a card with no annual fee. Check out my Discover it credit card review, one of my keeper 5% cash back cards. From now until December 31, 2024, Amazon is one of their 5% categories.

Check offer link again to see if eligible for this new round. If you have a Discover card with cash back rewards, you can redeem them to buy eligible items at Amazon.com. The redemption rate is $1 in Cash Back Bonus = $1 to spend at Amazon, which is the same rate as their statement credit redemptions. Check if you have a targeted promotion and activate for an additional discount for redeeming a single penny’s worth of points. (To see the link, you may need to visit this page on the internet if viewing this via e-mail or RSS.)

• Get $10 off $50/$75 or 30%/40% Off (max cap applies), valid on items shipped and sold by Amazon. Must redeem at least $0.01 in Discover cash back.

Here are some additional tips:

• If you haven’t linked your Discover yet, first check if you can get a bonus here. If not, you can link your Discover Cashback points balance to your Amazon account here. Check again, possibly waiting a day or two.
• If you have already linked your Discover card previously and aren’t targeted, consider removing your Discover card from your account completely, and then linking it again after a day. Try again in a day or two.
• Items must be marked as both sold AND shipped by Amazon.com.
• Be sure to select your Discover Card as your payment method and redeem at least 1 point or $0.01 in value of Discover points.
• You should see the promo credit on final order checkout page, right before final purchase.

This is a recurring perk for existing Discover cardholders, which is why I never cancel a card with no annual fee. Check out my Discover it credit card review, one of my keeper 5% cash back cards. From now until December 31, 2024, Amazon is one of their 5% categories.

(Updates 11/22: Pepper has an extended sale lasting through 11:59pm ET on 11/24. The rates aren’t as good as the flash sales (may they keep popping up), but they are more predictable and thus easier to catch. Amazon 8X, Sam’s 5X, Lowe’s 8X. Stack with referral offer and AmEx offer, if possible.

– Pepper points will now expire if 60 days pass without a purchase. If you made a purchase prior to 11/15/24, you’ll enjoy a grace period; this policy change will not take effect until February 1, 2025. Keep in mind you can buy a $1 Amazon gift card.

– Pepper has changed their referral offer to a fixed $20 bonus after spending $200 in your first 15 days. Stack with AmEx offer and a flash sale, if possible.)

I don’t know about you, but these days I check the Pepper app first thing every morning to see the limited-time Flash Sales and to redeem all my available points that arrived from past purchases. I literally bought a new Sam’s Club membership because I can’t give up 14% off + 2% credit card cash back + Cashback portal + 2% with Plus membership. Sorry Costco, but Sam’s Club even has free Drive Up. I am always looking to stock up on 14% off Amazon and 14% off Walmart/Sam’s Club gift cards. 🚚 Look to stack it with this $15 off $50 AmEx Offer. Search for “Pepper” in your AmEx app:

(10/29 Only Flash Sales (for reference): Sam’s Club 14X/142% Off (Works at Walmart too). Amazon Fresh 14X/14% Off (Works at Amazon too).

10/14 Only Flash Sales: Sam’s Club 12X/12% Off (Works at Walmart too!), Kohl’s 18X, Airbnb 14X, Stubhub 20X, IKEA 18X.). 2,000 points = $1.

10/13 Only Flash Sales: Amazon Fresh 10X/10% Off (Works at Amazon too!). Cabela’s 20X, Uber 10X, Columbia 18X, XBOX 20X. )

See new offers daily in-app with the Inbox 📩 envelope icon. Confirm the Boosts on screen before you click “Buy gift card”, as quantities may be limited. 2,000 points = $1.

Original post, updated:

Pepper continues to offer up “flash sales” that offer big discounts on gift cards from Amazon, REI, Sam’s Club, and so on. Plus you still get whatever credit card rewards from the Pepper purchase. Examples are Amazon at 12X/12% back (Amazon Fresh = Amazon), Sam’s Club (= Walmart) at 10% back, IKEA 18% back, Airbnb 14% back in the form of points. Stock up quickly when you see the sale in the app. Redeem instantly into your respective store accounts, if you wish. (Tip: The math will work out. Every 2,000 points is worth $1 in future gift cards. 10,000 points = $5, and so on. Must redeem in increments of $5.)

Here’s the current offer for new Pepper users:

• Download the Pepper Rewards app and be sure to enter a referral code 588494 on the first screen when joining. Thanks if you use it!
• Get $20 after spending $200 in your first 15 days. This bonus has changed from the previous offer, but still not bad astheir old double offer only applied on their standard 4X rates, while their daily flash rates are 12X to 14X.
• You’ll also earn rewards from using your credit card for purchase. Use a 2% or better cash back rewards card, or use it to satisfy a credit card bonus spending requirement that is even better than 2%.

Pepper is an iOS and Android app that sells discounted, new gift cards in exact amounts that are delivered instantly on your phone. This lets you to wait until the moment before purchase when you already have the final purchase price (in-person or online), and then go buy a discounted gift card via the app down to the penny. The main problem with gift cards is when you don’t use up the entire balance. This helps to avoid the waste. I load my Amazon/Amazon Fresh cards into my app the moment after purchase.

It’s late in the year, and you may have realized that you will owe more income tax than you thought. In order to avoid penalties, you’ll need to send some extra money to the IRS or your state tax collector. Here is the *general* rule to avoid a penalty for underpayment of estimated tax, according to the IRS:

Generally, most taxpayers will avoid this penalty if they owe less than $1,000 in tax after subtracting their withholdings and credits, or if they paid at least 90% of the tax for the current year, or 100% of the tax shown on the return for the prior year, whichever is smaller.

But again, that’s generally. Even if you send it by the end of the year, you may still be on the hook for some penalties because the IRS wants you to pay your taxes evenly throughout the year. For example, technically you’ll need to pay 25% of the tax shown on the return for the prior year for each of the four quarters, adding up to 100% over the entire year. They don’t allow you to pay everything on December 31st.

There are two ways to pay your taxes during the year:

• Withholding from your pay, your pension or certain government payments, such as Social Security.
• Making quarterly estimated tax payments during the year.

However, there is a small but potentially important different between the two options. No matter when your withholding is taken out from your paycheck during the year, it is viewed as being paid in evenly. In contrast, any 1040-ES estimated payments are assigned to a specific quarter.

So if you think you’ve underpaid your taxes by enough that penalties may apply, you should consider changing your paycheck withholding to increase your tax payments instead of making a direct payment to the IRS. Many payroll providers will let you adjust things online and you can specifically set the amount of extra withholding for them to take out. Or you may have to submit a W-4 directly to your HR department. This will be step 4(c) on the official W-4 form. Note that this will be the flat amount taken out of each paycheck until you change it back. See top image for reference (source).

Qatar Airways has new limited-time offers on their two US co-branded credit cards through a small issuer called Cardless. Even if you have no plans to fly on Qatar, these cards offer many perks useful to even domestic-only US travelers. For example, Qatar Airways Avios are easily transferrable to British Airways Avios and can be used to book award flights on American Airlines. These cards also include different levels of OneWorld Alliance status, which includes perks to American Airlines travelers like access to priority check-in lines and even business-class lounges with the premium version. Here are the highlights of the two card versions:

Qatar Airways Privilege Club Signature Credit Card

• Up to 60,000 bonus Avios. 30,000 bonus Avios after first transaction. Additional 30,000 bonus Avios after spending $3,000 in the first 90 days.
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club Silver tier benefits instantly after being accepted for this credit card. Importantly, this in turn gives you OneWorld Ruby status. Applies to the first year only.
• 4X Avios on Qatar Airways spend.
• 4X Avios on restaurant spends till Dec 31, 2024. Usually 2X.
• 2x Avios on other eligible spends till Dec 31, 2024. Usually 1X.
• $99 annual fee.

OneWorld Ruby status includes:

• Access to Business Class priority check-in (shorter lines)
• Access to preferred or pre-reserved seating
• Priority on waitlists and when on standby
• Alaska Airlines MVP status and perks
• American Airlines AAdvantage Gold status and perks
• British Airways Executive Club Bronze status and perks

Qatar Airways Privilege Club Infinite Credit Card

• Up to 80,000 bonus Avios. 40,000 bonus Avios after first transaction. Additional 40,000 bonus Avios + 150 Qpoints after spending $5,000 in the first 90 days.
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club Gold tier benefits instantly after being accepted for this credit card. Importantly, this in turn gives you OneWorld Sapphire status. Applies to the first year only.
• 5X Avios on Qatar Airways spend.
• 6X Avios on restaurant spends till Dec 31, 2024. Usually 3X.
• 2x Avios on other eligible spends till Dec 31, 2024. Usually 1X.
• $499 annual fee.

OneWorld Sapphire status includes:

• Access to Business class lounges (including American Airlines lounges)
• Priority boarding
• Extra baggage allowance
• Priority baggage handling
• Access to Business Class priority check-in (shorter lines)
• Access to preferred or pre-reserved seating
• Priority on waitlists and when on standby
• Alaska Airlines MVP Gold status and perks
• American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum status and perks
• British Airways Executive Club Silver status and perks

The application will check your Experian credit report, so be sure to unfreeze/unlock that first. You can only have one Cardless-issued credit card at a time.

This is one of those cards that you may not get as your first airline card, but once you’ve gotten most of the other ones you’ll start to look for other smaller issuers. This niche card still earns Avios which are very flexible.