Use price protection to benefit from Amazon Prime Day deals

Amazon Prime Day typically brings a variety of deals, and this year is no exception. There are many ways to use your credit card to benefit from this sale, which falls on July 16-17 in 2024. Prime Big Deal Days, which is similar to Prime Day, fell on October 10-11 last year.

Although inflation appears to be slowing, you might still be feeling the pinch of higher prices. That could mean you’re less likely to spend money, even during this big sale. However, it doesn’t mean you can’t still benefit from the sale’s lower prices. One way to save that is often overlooked is to use your card’s price protection feature to take advantage of the lower prices and merchant discounts accompanying the sale.

Credit card price protection benefit

Given that the smartphone era has spawned a variety of price-tracking capabilities, card issuers have cut back on their price protection offerings to a significant extent. For instance, American Express and Discover no longer offer price protection on any of their cards. Although credit card price protection is becoming less common, there are still a sizable number of cards that offer this feature.

Price protection means that if you buy an item and then see it advertised at a lower price within a specified period, you can put in a claim with your card issuer to reimburse you for the difference between the higher price you paid and the lower advertised price.

Considering that a variety of retailers typically run their own sales around Amazon Prime Day, you could keep an eye out for lower prices on any items you bought — both on Amazon and from other retailers — so you can put in a claim for price protection if you qualify.

Restrictions on price protection benefits

Although the basic benefit is simple enough, you might find it’s not easy to qualify for credit card price protection. For example, card network Visa specifies that price protection only applies to a print advertisement citing a lower price.

Mastercard, another major card network, does apply price protection to internet advertisements. It does, however, rule out internet advertisements from auction sites. For instance, you cannot put in for a price protection claim based on an advertisement from a site such as eBay, AuctionNinja or any other public or private auctions.

There are other restrictions that typically apply, as well. For instance, Mastercard specifies:

• Price protection applies if you see an advertisement for the same product (with the advertisement specifying the same manufacturer and model number) at a lower price up to 120 days (or less) from the date of purchase shown on your product receipt.
• This protection only applies after insurance or coverage provided by a retailer kicks in. For instance, if the seller offers you a refund or store credit for the price differential, price protection will not apply.
• There is a limit to the number of times per year you can put in for this protection.
• In case you purchase an item from an internet site that is not mainly involved in the sale of that particular product, or similar products, coverage for that product will not apply.
• Coverage won’t apply to products bought for resale, rent or other professional or commercial purposes.
• Purchases of jewelry, art, recycled or refurbished items, collectibles and previously owned items aren’t covered.
• If an advertisement specifies a “going-out-of-business” sale or a “discontinued” sale, that is also a disqualifier.
• Professional services and technical support services are not covered.
• Price protection doesn’t apply to purchases of pets or plants and anything that you consume or is perishable.
• Another exception applies to purchases of motorized vehicles, such as cars and boats.

Putting in for price protection

Remember, there are a variety of retailers offering various deals around Amazon Prime Day. If you find that you qualify for price protection on an item you recently purchased, even with all the exemptions, you should take advantage of this benefit.

To do so, contact your card issuer to find out what its procedure is for putting in a price protection claim. Typically, you will have to send in a copy of the advertisement with the lower price (or a link to an online advertisement) and a receipt for your original purchase. Your issuer might need other documentation, too.

The bottom line

With inflation and higher prices still weighing on consumers’ finances, you may be less inclined to open your wallet this year for Amazon Prime Day. But if you do, using the best credit cards for shopping on Amazon can help you save money.

Using your card’s price protection feature to take advantage of deals surrounding Prime Day can also help you save. Although fewer card issuers offer this feature nowadays, it is by no means extinct — with a number of cards still offering price protection.