Shopping for electronics feels surprisingly personal.
While browsing online can narrow down your options, when it’s time to commit to a laptop, TV, or smartphone, most people like to see and touch the device first.
Does it feel right?
That usually means it’s time to leave the couch and visit your closest Best Buy.
Whether you’re a fan or not, Best Buy remains one of the few physical retailers where you can browse a wide assortment of laptops, phones, tablets, and televisions in person.
But before you head out, learn how to get the best deals at the electronics megastore.
These strategies can help you keep more money in your pocket every time you shop at Best Buy.
1. Join the Loyalty Program
Best Buy’s rewards program, My Best Buy, is free and offers several perks.
You collect points for purchases, receive complimentary shipping on select items from BestBuy.com, and get access to exclusive offers and promotions via email.
2. Get Points Just for Entering the Store
Install the Shopkick app before you go to the store.
After registering, the app awards “kicks” for entering participating stores (including Target, Walmart, Macy’s and others). Those kicks can be redeemed for gift cards to retailers like Target, Walmart, Starbucks, Sephora and Best Buy.
The app also gives additional kicks for scanning in-store items and for qualifying Best Buy purchases. At checkout, ask the cashier to scan your Shopkick barcode from your phone so your kicks link to your receipt.
One caveat — you can only claim two Shopkick check-ins per week. If you plan multiple visits, use them on your biggest buys.
3. Keep Your Digital Receipts
If the price of something you bought drops within the return window, Best Buy will refund the difference if you present the receipt and request it. Want an easier route? Try this:
Use an app called Capital One Shopping Price Protection. It scans your email for receipts from more than 25 major retailers and monitors prices. If it spots a lower price on a purchase you made, it pursues a refund for the difference on your behalf.
Capital One Shopping Price Protection leverages retailers’ price-match rules to seek a refund automatically, so you only need to wait for a notification that you’ve earned cash back.
Capital One Shopping Price Protection pays us a commission when you sign up through the links we provide.
4. Get Cash Back on Electronics
You likely already use the Ibotta app for groceries, right?
Beyond groceries, Ibotta also rewards Best Buy purchases.
Instead of searching for particular items, you’ll receive a flat percentage of cash back on your total purchase. Easy money.
Just download the app and you’ll get a $10 welcome bonus after uploading your first receipt.
5. Earn Cash Back With a Card
For a low-effort way to earn rewards throughout the year, consider a cash-back credit card.
Be disciplined: don’t overspend and pay the balance in full each billing cycle.
One solid pick is the Chase Freedom Unlimited card. What stands out? It gives an unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases. Plus, spend $500 in the first three months after account opening and you’ll receive a $150 bonus.
There’s no annual fee, and rewards don’t expire. Using Credible’s annual rewards calculator, we estimated roughly $417 in yearly rewards based on our spending habits.* (You can input your own numbers to see potential earnings.)
Sign up and enjoy 0% intro APR for 15 months here.
6. Shop the Outlet Section
The Best Buy Outlet features clearance, refurbished, open-box, and pre-owned items at deep discounts.
Most of these products show little to no obvious wear and function like new, but without the brand-new price.
This is ideal if you want to try a product without paying full price.
For example, I spotted a refurbished Samsung Gear Fit2 fitness watch for $64.99 that normally retails at $179.99. That’s a major saving.
7. Clip Digital Coupons
Look at coupon aggregators such as RetailMeNot and Dealnews.
These sites often list Best Buy promo codes that can shave a few extra dollars from your purchase. Every discount helps.
8. Use Price Matching to Your Advantage
Best Buy will match prices from many competitors, including Amazon — see their low-price guarantee.
Do your homework: if you find the identical product cheaper elsewhere but prefer to buy at Best Buy, bring proof of the lower price — either a printed copy or a digital version on your phone.
9. Trade In Your Old Electronics
Upgrading? Don’t toss your current devices — they still hold value.
Best Buy’s trade-in program is worth checking, though online estimates can be modest. For example, an approximate $900 laptop might only net $54 in trade-in value.
Run your device through Best Buy’s trade-in tool, but also weigh selling it on apps like Decluttr. Decluttr purchases used CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, games and devices such as cell phones, tablets and consoles.
One seller, Marco Diaz, offloaded about 100 DVDs and 75 CDs and made $275 — roughly $1.57 apiece. Read our full Decluttr review for more details.
Download the app, scan barcodes to get instant offers, and ship for free. There are no listing or seller fees, and payments are fast.
10. Buy Discounted Gift Cards
Not everyone wants the gift card they received, so people often resell them on sites like Raise or Cardpool.
That means you can purchase those gift cards below face value.
Discounts are often small — maybe 2% or 3% — but on big purchases, those savings add up.
*Estimated annual rewards will vary based on the amounts you enter. Monthly spending category names and definitions differ among issuers, and categories may not map exactly.
The information about the Chase Freedom Unlimited card was gathered independently by Savinly. Views expressed here are the author’s and not those of the card issuer; they have not been reviewed or endorsed by the issuer. Savinly partners with Credible.
Alex Morgan is a senior contributor at Savinly who enjoys spending time outdoors and helping readers save. Find Alex on Twitter at @AlexMWrites.
