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Spend at least $20 at Best Buy, get $20 cash back

Cheapskate exclusive! This rebate offer can net you something for free or close to it. Plus: Enter for your chance to win a $100 Jiffy Lube gift card!

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
3 min read
topcashback-best-buy-offer-20

Sign up for a free TopCashback account and get $20 back on a qualifying Best Buy purchase.

TopCashback

I've been preaching the gospel of cash-back services for as long as I can remember. To me it's a no-brainer: With a few extra clicks, you can save money you wouldn't otherwise save.

True, the return isn't instantaneous -- this is all about delayed gratification -- and often your rebate amounts to just 1 or 2 percent of the total purchase price. But you know what? It adds up!

Read more: Cash-back services: Do they really work?

And today, it adds up to a lot in a hurry. For a limited time, you can get a $20 rebate from TopCashback when you spend at least $20 at Best Buy online. As you might expect, this is for new TopCashback members only.

It works like this: Using the above link or button, sign up for a TopCashback account. It's free and requires little more than an email address. From there you'll be taken to the Best Buy freebie-offer page, where you can click Get Offer. From there you'll be taken to the Best Buy home page.

Now just shop like you normally would. For example, you could buy Solo: A Star Wars Story on Blu-ray for $22.99.  Once you collect your cash rebate, your net total is just $3 (not including tax and, if you opt for it, shipping).

Watch this: Double-dip on your cashback credit card

Here's the important thing to note: When you get to the checkout page, you won't see any evidence whatsoever that TopCashback is present. Remember, you're not getting any kind of discount up front. It happens after the purchase, much like the cash back you get from your credit card. Don't freak out: As long as you went to the Best Buy site by way of the TopCashback site, the latter will track your purchase and award your $20 accordingly.

Speaking of that, you can expect to see that $20 in your TopCashback account within seven days of your purchase. But you won't be able to cash out, so to speak, for an additional 14 days. At that point, you can get your $20 in the form of direct deposit, PayPal or even a gift card.

Unsurprisingly, there's some fine print:

Exclusions Apply -- Best Buy Gift Cards, Warranties, Apple Desktops , Apple iPhone Hardware, Apple Watches , All Desktops, All Laptops , All Tablets , All Gaming Hardware & POSA Cards. Transactions must contain at least $20.00 worth of purchases to ensure the $20.00 cash back is credited to TopCashback accounts. Transactions may initially track lower, but within the 14 days after purchase it will be uplifted and turn payable at the amount of $20.00. Transactions may take up to 7 days to appear in your TopCashback account. The deal is open until 11:59 p.m. PT on 10/18/2018 or until supplies run out; whichever happens first; applicable for purchases made directly after clicking through TopCashback. Only one TopCashback account is permitted per member.  Do not combine with coupons or other offers.

My advice, especially if you're new to cash-back services: Buy something you need or want that's in the neighborhood of $20, then settle in and wait for your rebate. If you like the end result (and I suspect you will), keep using TopCashback for other online purchases.

As noted above, I'm a cash-back fan from way back. Every 90 days I get a nice little check -- money back that I wouldn't have received otherwise. A little here, a little there... it adds up!

Giveaway! Man, do I hate paying for car-maintenance stuff like oil changes. Feel the same? Then enter the latest Roadshow giveaway for your shot at one of 10 $100 Jiffy Lube gift cards. You've got until Sunday, Oct. 14, to get your entry in.

Originally published on Aug. 1.
Update, Oct. 11: New deal with different terms and dates.


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