As Black Friday promises big bargains right in time for holiday shopping, how can you be sure you’re getting the best deals? Price protection benefits offered by some credit cards may help you do just that. However, if you plan to use credit card price protection for holiday shopping, you must know the rules.
What Is Price Protection?
Credit card price protection is a cardholder benefit that reimburses the difference if you make a purchase using your card and find a lower price for it later, usually within 30 to 120 days. You can use price protection to essentially price match using your credit card, buying something today without worrying about whether the price drops tomorrow.
Credit card price protection isn’t common, though a handful of cards still offer it. Capital One World Elite Mastercards, Wells Fargo Visa Signature Cards, select Chase cards and Capital One Visa Signature Business cards provide price protection.
“In recent years, most issuers have dropped price protection as a feature, so you can’t assume your credit card will automatically have it,” says Points Path founder and CEO Julian Kheel.
[Read: Best Rewards Credit Cards.]
How Can Price Protection Help You Save on Black Friday?
Credit card price protection can help you save money during the holiday season by allowing you to get the best price without running from store to store or worrying about shopping on a specific day to get the best deals. Look for sales ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday and buy them before Thanksgiving. Once the holiday sales go live, you can submit your claim and receive the lower price without the frenzy of Black Friday shopping.
Don’t buy something too early, though. Your purchase date must fall within the coverage period.
If you plan to make a claim, you will need a hard copy of the Black Friday ad because not all price protection policies will let you use internet ads. The ad must include item information and price. You’ll also need your receipt. Once Black Friday has passed, you can file a claim for a refund of the price difference.
Kheel says, “Price protection claims have strict time frames, so make sure you file your claim by the deadline, or it’s likely to be denied.”
[Read: Best Cash Back Credit Cards.]
Which Price Protection Rules Matter for Black Friday?
Pay attention to the fine print if you’re counting on credit card price protection for holiday savings. Read your credit card’s guide to benefits to learn what’s excluded and how long you have to make a claim.
Price protection typically excludes limited-quantity deals, auction items and doorbusters. You’ll also have to work within claim limits and deadlines. Typically, the advertisement with a lower price must be within a certain window of days from your purchase, and you have to submit your claim within a deadline, too. For example, you may have up to 120 days to find a lower advertised price and submit your claim.
“If you’re planning to use credit card price protection, check your card’s specific terms before hitting the stores,” says April Lewis-Parks, director of financial education for debt counseling service Consolidated Credit.
Look for language in your card’s guide that may disqualify your Black Friday purchase from a refund if the price drops, such as a limited-quantity sale. For example, an ad that states at least six items are available per location likely counts as a limited-quantity sale.
Another price protection technicality that can trip up users is failing to match an item’s model number with the model number in the Black Friday sales ad. Some manufacturers create items with unique model numbers specific to certain retailers.
Other companies make holiday sale variants of popular items. For instance, televisions sold on Black Friday may be similar to standard models but have one fewer HDMI port and a different model number. If you’re unsure whether a product qualifies for price protection, ask before you buy it to avoid a claim denial later. Contact your benefits administrator at the number in your guide to benefits.
[Read: Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards.]
What Other Credit Card Benefits Are Useful Around Black Friday?
Price protection isn’t the only credit card benefit worth using on Black Friday. Here are a few others your card may provide:
— Extended warranty coverage. You may still be covered if the item you purchase with your credit card breaks after your manufacturer’s warranty expires. This credit card coverage is usually free as long as your item qualifies, unlike the extended warranties you may be offered at the cash register. This benefit is most useful if you’re buying something pricey you plan to keep for yourself.
— Purchase protection. You can file a claim for a refund or to repair or replace an item you buy with your card after theft or damage within a certain time frame. The time frame may vary by card issuer, but this benefit is still helpful when you otherwise lack insurance coverage, such as renters insurance.
— Return protection. You’re covered if a vendor doesn’t accept returns, which can be useful during the holidays. You can purchase a gift for a hard-to-buy-for person at a store that doesn’t accept returns without the risk of losing money, as long as the item qualifies.
As with price protection, read how these credit card benefits work in your guide to benefits. Time, dollar and other limitations may disqualify a purchase. Know which benefits you can use to spend wisely on and before Black Friday.
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How Credit Card Price Protection Can Help You Win Black Friday originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 11/26/24: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
