Best Buy has its own rewards program called My Best Buy. It’s free to join. You can earn 1 point on every dollar you spend both online and in-store. The value of point is $0.02. You can redeem them in 250 pt (=$5) increments. So, it’s 2% back.
Earn reward on gift card purchases, but not on redemption
It is very easy to collect the points because you can earn the points on purchases of not only regular merchandises but also Gift Cards, Phone Cards, Prepaid Cards, etc. You can even earn the points on the purchase of Best Buy Gift Cards. However, you won’t get the points when you redeem Best Buy gift cards. If you buy $299 digital camera and pay with $100 gift card and credit card, you will earn 199 pt.
VIP Status
There are two levels of VIP status, Elite and Elite Plus. You will reach Elite status by spending $1500 in a calendar year, Elite Plus by spending $3500. Same here, the purchase of gift cards is a qualified spending for VIP Status, but the redemption of gift cards is not. Here is a comparison of VIPs and Basic status.
Basic
- Get 1 point for every $1 spent
- Free Standard Shipping on purchases $35 or more at BestBuy.com
- 15-Day Return & Exchange Promise
Elite
- Get a 10% point bonus (1.1 point for every dollar spent)
- Free Shipping and Free Scheduled Delivery on all online purchases
- 30-Day Extended Return & Exchange Promise
Elite Plus
- Get a 25% point bonus (1.25 point for every dollar spent)
- Free Expedited Shipping and Free Scheduled Delivery all online purchases
- 45-Day Extended Return & Exchange Promise
All gift cards and prepaid cards are excluded from all bonus point promotions unless otherwise noted. Bonus points will not be multiplied
How to Earn VIP Status Quickly and Easily
The benefits of VIP Status is valuable. Base reward and 25% bonus account for 2.5% back in Best Buy reward certificate. Free shipping on all order is helpful because most of the popular items are not always available for a pickup in your area. 45 days is enough time to test and evaluate products. Whether you are a frequent buyer or shopping several times a year, you should get highest Elite Plus status because you can get very quickly and easily by purchasing Visa gift card at Best Buy Stores.
Again, you can earn reward points on the purchase of gift cards. Currently, Best Buy sells three different designs of Visa GCs in stores. They all charge $5.95 purchase fee. And you can choose an amount to load between $20 and $200. If you buy one $200 Visa GC, you will earn 205 pt, which is worth $4.10. If you use a reward credit card, you will earn at least 1% cash back = $2.00. The points and cash back totally cover a purchase fee.
Best Buy is a very MS-friendly store. I’ve purchased at five different stores, and none of them refused me to use a credit card. Probably, there is a limit you can buy at a time. I have once bought three Visa GCs in a single transaction without any problem.
Visa GCs from Best Buy is issued by MetaBank, which is the same issuer of ones from Staples. So, you can load BlueBird and Serve with them at Walmart.
Best Credit Card for Best Buy Purchase
As long as I know, there are two credit cards that have bonus on the purchases at Best Buy. One is US Bank Cash+ Visa. If you choose Electronics Store for 5% cash back bonus, you can earn 5% cash back on up to $2000 spent every quarter. The other is Citi Dividend. Its 4th quarter of cash back bonus usually has Best Buy in category. You can earn 5% cash back on up to $6000 spent.
How Long Does the Status Last?
Once you get VIP status, it lasts a full of the same year and the next year. It will expire on the end of February of the following year. For example, if you become Elite Plus in July, 2014, the status will expire on February 28th, 2016. If you spend $3500 in 2015, the status continues until February, 2017.
Summery
While most loyalty reward programs exclude gift card purchases from earning their reward, My Best Buy allows to earn a reward by purchasing gift cards. This makes it easy to get VIP status by purchasing Visa GCs in store. If you have credit cards that have bonus on Best Buy purchases, you will get several-hundreds-dollar worth of product for free every year!