Everyone chases a bargain, but a hidden world of savings often goes unnoticed – the cashback offers quietly available through your bank.
Banks now routinely reward customers for their everyday spending, crediting statements for purchases made with debit or credit cards. The key, however, is activation; these benefits aren’t automatic.
During peak shopping seasons like Black Friday, taking a few minutes to explore your bank account could literally pay off. It’s a habit worth cultivating, and one I actively encourage friends and family to adopt.
Recently, a friend was planning a laptop purchase at Dell when they remembered to check their bank’s offers. They discovered a promotion for $100 off any purchase over $500 – a significant saving they almost missed.
These merchant offers are typically found on your bank account’s main dashboard or within the specific details of your card. They cover a wide range of categories, from retail and entertainment to travel and dining.
Offers vary, presenting either a percentage cashback or a fixed amount. Be mindful of minimum spending requirements to qualify. Activation is crucial; these rewards aren’t applied retroactively.
If you’re unsure whether you’ve activated an offer, most banks allow you to filter the list to display only your enrolled promotions. And if you have multiple cards, even with the same bank, always check each one – offers can differ.
Don’t forget to note the expiration dates. These offers are time-sensitive, and a missed deadline means a lost opportunity.
One particularly appealing offer surfaced for another friend: a $12.99 monthly rebate on Paramount+, redeemable for up to three months. Essentially, three months of uninterrupted Star Trek binges, completely free.
It’s important to understand that these merchant offers are distinct from cashback or rewards portals like Rakuten or Capital One Shopping. This difference opens the door to powerful stacking opportunities.
Sometimes, you can combine a store’s direct discount with a bank-issued merchant offer and a cashback portal rebate for maximum savings. The potential is substantial.
Visible, a Verizon subsidiary, recently offered a 50% discount on its annual top-tier plan, reducing the price from $450 to $225. Adding a $30 American Express or $15 Chase merchant offer further lowered the cost.
Then, by utilizing Rakuten, an additional $40 cashback was unlocked. Alternatively, Capital One Shopping offered a remarkable $120 reward, redeemable as a gift card.
The ultimate savings reached $155, translating to an incredibly affordable $12.92 per month for unlimited talk, text, and data, plus a generous 100GB hotspot and smartwatch data.
While this particular plan wasn’t a personal need, the sheer elegance of combining these discounts and cashback opportunities is undeniably satisfying.
