A popular retailer for new electronics is Best Buy. And why not? They not only have a huge selection of products, but great prices as well.
But how can you save even more when shopping at this retail giant? Here’s the full low down on shopping at Best Buy.
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Shopping at Best Buy Canada
There’s lots to think about when shopping at Best Buy.
Here are some of the things you’ll want to consider when making or planning that new laptop, tv, phone, simple USB drive, or other electronic purchase.
Finding your nearest Best Buy Canada location
Best Buy has plenty of locations from coast to coast in Canada, including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal.
You can find your closest Best Buy Canada store here, along with what hours they are open.
Best Buy Canada flyer
The Best Buy flyer is a great place to start. It’s full of great deals that change every week. And they’re available both online and in-store.
The Best Buy flyer covers almost every area of the store. Here’s an example of one desktop computer that was $400 off:
To see the latest Best Buy flyer, you can view it here. It’s a great start on your way to saving at Best Buy.
Best Buy online shopping
Shopping online at Best Buy is also a great way to see even more deals, on top of what the Best Buy flyer has to offer. Best Buy Canada offers deals on refurbished and open box items, saving more money than buying something brand new.
The open box items in particular are basically brand new items that someone returned.
You’ll get free shipping on orders of more than $35. And this includes larger items such as televisions. A few exclusions apply, including items that require scheduled delivery (such as appliances).
You can complete your purchase online and opt to pick up your item in-store if you want it faster (if it’s in stock).
But there’s more. Plenty of third-party retailers list a wide variety of products through the Best Buy Canada Marketplace.
You can tell which of these listings are from third-party retailers if the “Marketplace Seller” label is displayed when looking at product listings:
On the individual product page, you’ll be able to see who the seller is, and find out more info about them:
One thing to note if you buy from a marketplace seller – free shipping varies by retailer, so you’ll have to see the details on what they offer in this regard.
For this retailer, here’s their free shipping policies:
Best Buy Canada always shows their own products first, so in some cases you may have to scroll down quite a ways to see what these other retailers have to offer.
Best Buy Black Friday
Best Buy Canada is a great store for major sales, and Black Friday is one of their best. You’ll find some of the best prices of the year at Best Buy’s Black Friday sale.
You can find a preview of Black Friday 2020 at Best Buy Canada here.
Best Buy Cyber Monday
Best Buy also follows up Black Friday with Cyber Monday. There are even more unique offers to be found, on top of Black Friday deals.
And unlike other retailers, Cyber Monday sales at Best Buy Canada can also be found in-store. It’s not strictly online at Best Buy.
Here’s more about Best Buy’s upcoming Cyber Monday 2020 sale.
Best Buy Boxing Day
We can’t forget about Boxing Day either. The last major sale in the year, all sorts of deals can be had with Boxing Day sales.
However, once an item is sold out, that’s it, the deal is over.
You can get ready for Boxing Day sales on this page.
4 ways to save money at Best Buy Canada
How can you save money when shopping at Best Buy Canada, beyond the major sales they offer?
Here are 4 ways to make sure you’re getting the best price possible.
1. Get the lowest price with Best Buy’s price matching policy
Best Buy Canada has a great price matching policy, as part of their low price guarantee.
If an item is selling for a lower price at another retailer, Best Buy will match the price. There are qualifications to meet, and exclusions can apply, which you can learn more about here.
The best part? If you bought an item at Best Buy Canada, and see it sell for a lower price within 30 days of your purchase, Best Buy will give you a refund for the difference.
So even after you’ve completed your purchase, keep scanning flyers to see if it shows up at a cheaper price so you can get some of your money back.
2. Convert rewards into Best Buy gift cards
Got reward points hanging around? There’s a good chance you can turn them into a Best Buy Canada gift card.
Here are some major programs that allow you to turn your points or miles into a Best Buy gift card:
- Aeroplan,
- BMO Rewards,
- CIBC Rewards,
- Marriott Bonvoy,
- MBNA Rewards,
- National Bank Rewards,
- TD Rewards, and
- Wyndham Rewards.
It’s not the best value for your points, but if you have some extra points lying around it’s an easy way to make good use of them.
Just note – for most of these programs you’ll be receiving a physical gift card that gets sent in the mail. It can take several weeks to receive your gift card. If this is an avenue you want to use, you’ll have to plan ahead.
I recently used this strategy to purchase a new TV at Best Buy Canada. I converted 12,990 National Bank Reward points into a $100 Best Buy gift card, a value of 0.77 cents per point.
Not quite the best value for these points – you can get 1 cent per point on travel bookings made through NBC Rewards. But with no travel plans for the immediate future, it was one of the next best options for using them.
However, it did take 4 weeks for my gift card to arrive, but it came just in time for Best Buy’s Boxing Day in July sale.
3. Use the right credit card to earn rewards
Lots of purchases made at Best Buy Canada are going to have a decent purchase size. In this case, it helps to have a credit card to maximize your rewards on these bigger purchases.
We go over some of the best credits to use at Best Buy farther below.
4. Take advantage of Best Buy’s free shipping policy
As mentioned before, Best Buy has a great free shipping policy.
Any order over $35 will be shipped to you free of charge (some exclusions apply).
If you live far from a Best Buy store, or see something on sale that you want to get but don’t have time to get to a store, you’ll be able to get it delivered for free.
Just note that if you shop through a Best Buy Marketplace seller, their free shipping policy can be different than what Best Buy offers.
10 items that are best to buy at Best Buy
Best Buy offers a wide selection, but what items should be on your go-to list for shopping at Best Buy?
Here are 10 things you should definitely check Best Buy prices on when comparison shopping. There’s plenty of choice, and a wide range of products – from budget items all the way to high end items.
These include items sold as open box or refurbished, which can lead to even more savings.
For the number of choices and prices listed, we’ve excluded Marketplace sellers. These items are sold directly by Best Buy. There are even more options beyond this when shopping online at Best Buy.
| Item | Best Buy Advantage |
|---|---|
| Televisions | * 411 choices * Prices range from $89.99 to $99,999.99 |
| Home Audio | * 346 choices of soundbars, speakers, and home theatre sets * Prices range from $19.97 to $5,299.99 |
| Headphones & Airpods | * 596 choices of headphones, airpods, and ear bud headsets * Price range of $4.48 to $698.98 |
| Refrigerators | * 334 different fridges to choose from * Price range of $186.04 to $8,099.99 |
| Video Games & Game Consoles | * 3,114 consoles, games, and accessories available * Prices range from $3.97 to $999.99 |
| Laptops | * 566 different laptops to choose from * Price range of $169.99 to $4,699.99 |
| iPads and other tablets | * 255 choices for a new tablet * Price range of $49.97 to $3,069.99 |
| Desktop Computers | * 176 choices * $399.95 to $6,349.99 |
| Digital Cameras | * 254 choices * $49.99 to $5,999.99 |
| Printers | * 125 choices * $8.97 to $799.99 |
There’s a lot of products to look through, with a wide range of items available.
Best Buy credit card and alternatives
So what credit cards should you use at Best Buy Canada? First, let’s go over the
| Annual fee: | $0 ($35 for residents of Quebec) |
| Type of reward: | None |
| Reward details: | None |
| Average rate of return %: | None |
| Purchase interest rate: | 31.99% |
| Income requirement: | None |
This card doesn’t really offer much besides special financing rates on Best Buy purchases.
On purchases of at least $299.99, you can get interest free financing for 6 months. If your purchase is more than $399.99, you can get 12 months of interest free financing. And if you purchase a home theatre set or appliances for more than $999.99, you can get 24 months of interest free financing.
And while that seems ok, there are administration fees you have to pay upfront.
How much depends on the interest free term limit you’ve chosen:
- 6 months – $29.99
- 12 months – $69.99
- 24 months – $119.99
These are pretty hefty fees to pay. And if you don’t finish paying your purchase in time, you’ll be subjected to an interest rate of 31.99%. And, this cards calculates interest accrued as you go along, so these charges can be quite high.
These admin fees do not apply to residents of Quebec. However, you’ll have to pay an annual fee of $35 for this card.
It’s best to avoid this card. If you need to finance a purchase, there are better alternatives, such as low-interest credit cards.
3 Best Buy credit card alternatives
So what are the best credit cards for Best Buy Canada?
Here are 3 alternatives for you to consider.
| Category | Credit Card | Average Earn Rate % | Annual Fee | Apply for Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best credit card for online shopping | Brim World Elite Mastercard | 2.25% | $199 | Apply Now |
| Best cash back credit card | Amex SimplyCash Preferred | 2% | $99 | Apply Now |
| Best no fee credit card | Brim Mastercard | 1.3% | $0 | Apply Now |
1. Best credit card for online shopping
Our top credit card for online shopping is the
With this card, you’ll earn 2% cash back on your first $25,000 in annual purchases (1% afterwards).
But, it also has 2 other features that help it stand out from the crowd. First, it has no foreign exchange fees, saving you the typical 2.5% fee on any purchases made in foreign currency.
And secondly, you can earn bonus rewards when shopping at Brim’s 150+ retail partners, where you can earn between 3% to 30% back in rewards (unfortunately, Best Buy is not one of them).
It does have a high annual fee of $199. It also has income requirements of either $80,000 personal or $150,000 household.
2. Best cash back credit card
Another top option for earning cash back is the
You’ll earn unlimited 2% cash back on all of your purchases. No caps or categories to think about.
It also has a lower annual fee of $99 compared to other premium credit cards, and no income requirements to worry about.
Plus, it comes with the typical Amex benefits of Front Of The Line and Amex Offers.
Want to see how Brim Financial Mastercards stack up against the Amex SimplyCash lineup? Here’s how they compare side by side.
3. Best no fee credit card
For a card with no annual fee, the
You’ll earn unlimited 1% cash back on every purchase.
Like its World Elite counterpart, it has no foreign exchange fees, and you can earn bonus rewards at Brim’s 150+ retail partners.
4 credit cards head to head
How do all 4 of these credit cards compare? Here’s how they compare in 2 key categories.
Average rate of return
When it comes to earning rewards, the Best Buy Card can’t compete with any of these other options.
Here’s how all 4 cards stack up in terms of average rate of return.
Estimated insurance value
While all 4 alternative cards come with some level of insurance coverage, the Best Buy Card has no coverage to speak of.
In short, if you also want even basic coverage like extended warranty and purchase protection, the Best Buy Card won’t be of value to you.
Want to know whether flat rate or category cash back cards are better? Here’s when one type is better than the other.
In summary
Best Buy offers a lot of products, great prices, and great sales.
And using the right tips, you can save even more.
Do you have any tips for saving at Best Buy?
Let us know in the comments below.
FAQ
Does Best Buy have Black Friday and Boxing Day sales?
Yes, Best Buy has both Black Friday and Boxing Day sales, on top of regular sales flyers and other sales that happen throughout the year.
Can you convert points from rewards programs into Best Buy gift cards?
Many rewards programs allow members to convert points into Best Buy gift cards of various denominations, including popular programs such as Aeroplan.
What’s the best credit card for shopping at Best Buy?
Our recommended credit card is the Brim World Elite Mastercard, which offers up to 2% cash back on purchases, has no foreign exchange fees, and earns bonus rewards when shopping with Brim’s 150+ retail partners.
How can I find the best credit card for me?
Our creditcardGenius Quiz can help you find the best credit card. Take our 3 minute quiz, and we’ll find the best credit card for you.
creditcardGenius is the only tool that compares 126+ features of 229 Canadian credit cards using math-based ratings and rankings that respond to your needs, instantly. Take our quiz and see which of Canada's 229 cards is for you.
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