Top Elite Status That Will Help You With Your Tech Shopping

There is just something about elite status that makes us excited to get it. I’m not sure if it is that it is something that sets us slightly apart from everyone else at a particular place or the fact that we get some benefits to reward us for our spending/creativity/etc. While we normally talk about airline and hotel loyalty, there is another elite status that would be a big help to you for this tech shopping season.

Top Elite Status That Will Help You With Your Tech Shopping

Link: My Best Buy Rewards Elite Status

Elite Status for Tech Shopping???

First of all, you may wonder – “who cares about tech shopping?” Actually, if you clicked this post, then you must care a little since it is in the title! 🙂

But, even if you don’t normally buy tech gear, this status can be a huge help in allowing you to get some good deals to resell and to help you hit those thresholds on your credit card for rewards. I have utilized this elite status for years and it has been a big help to me in my spending thresholds through reselling.

Not only is it a help with reselling but it is also great for tech gear I need as I can price match to get the best price and then still have an awesome return period.

My Best Buy Elite Plus Status

So, what elite status is this? It is called the My Best Buy rewards program and their Elite Plus status. I know, original, right? 🙂

Best Buy shuffled up their rewards program a couple of years ago and one of the things they did was the elevate the spending needed to get the top benefits from the program. That level is now Elite Plus, to differentiate it from Elite or just a regular shopper. 😉

Here are the details about the My Best Buy rewards program and what their top tier Elite Plus status gives you:

• Must spend $3,500 in a calendar year to qualify
• Receive 1.25 points per dollar towards reward certificates
• Free 2-day delivery and scheduled delivery service
• Returns and exchanges is 45 days
• Elite Plus access to sales and events
• Point banking towards reward certificates
• Dedicated 24/7 customer service line

Ok, let’s break down some of the highlights of Best Buy Elite Plus status.

Rewards

For every 250 points earned, you can get a $5 reward certificate. For My Best Buy Elite Plus members, they are earning those rewards at a rate of 1.25 points per dollar spent (as opposed to 1 point per dollar for Elite members and .5 point per dollar for general members).

This adds up to a nice return of 2.5% in rewards. That is pretty good, especially since you are still able to earn points/miles through a shopping portal and on your credit card (but you don’t earn portal points/miles when you redeem those rewards so do not redeem even a $5 reward on a huge purchase)!

Those points can really add up! If you were to qualify for Elite Plus again for the following year, you would have earned $87.50 in reward certificates (they are actually earned in $5 increments, but just to give an idea) on your $3,500 in spending.

Returns and Exchanges

There are very few things that are restricted to 14 day returns, even for elite members.Those items are cell phones, devices that can be activated, AppleCare monthly plans, and Vivint products. For everything else, you get 45 days to return or exchange as an Elite Plus member!

That is huge! If you are trying to sell something you got at an incredible deal (and they have some great, open box deals on things!), this gives you plenty of time to sell and deliver. It even gives enough time in case there was some issue with the item and it needs to be returned.

It is also huge since technology can change so fast! I have bought computers and cameras before only to have a new model rolled out. Since I was within my 45 days, I was able to easily return the old one and pick up the new one.

If you are buying something as a gift, this means you can grab a great sale item when it comes up – even if it is over a month away from the celebration. This way, you don’t need to worry about that special someone not liking it or wanting something different – easy return and exchange up to 45 days!

For the holiday season, My Best Buy Elite Plus members have until February 13, 2018 for items purchased between October 29 – December 30, 2017. Very nice!

Price Match to Amazon and Others!

One more thing to note is that Best Buy will price match if the item drops in price during your 45 day period – but they will only match it once. So, make sure it is going to be the best and lowest price before you make a move! I have gotten stuck with this one before. 🙂

Special Access for Sales and Events

With Black Friday coming up, this is huge! Every year for the last several years, I have done all of my Black Friday shopping at Best Buy – the Monday before Thanksgiving! This is thanks to the special access for My Best Buy Elite Plus members. Elite members get access as well but I am pretty sure it starts first for Elite Plus members.

This is a great way to grab some deals and have them ready to list – before Black Friday even rolls around! In fact, I have before purchased some great deals on Monday, listed them Monday, and shipped them as soon as I received them on Wednesday (for free, thanks to the Elite Plus status). This let some people stay at home on Black Friday, or at least not standing in the cold outside of Best Buy!

Yes, there are some doorbusters that are not available the Monday before but I am rarely interested in those since it is normally people that lined up 12 hours before the store opened that would have gotten those anyway.

These special sales and events also take place throughout the year for elite members. I have seen some really great deals that come up that the general public does not have access to, including for things like Apple products.

Takeaway

Elite status can be found in many places outside of the travel realm – and it can be very useful to help generate miles and points that we use for travel! Having Best Buy Elite Plus status (and the status before the program change) has been a big help for me in giving me a bit more profit in my reselling for miles and points. If you can swing the spending, it is valuable to have if you do anything in the tech shopping space – and definitely if a large amount of gift giving involves items found at Best Buy!

Getting a 2.5% return for more Best Buy shopping on top of whatever you earn through portals and credit cards never hurts either! 🙂