One of my predictions for 2022 is sadly coming true in 2023. I’d predicted that Best Buy would stop offering rewards and/or elite status when buying gift cards, with the following reasoning behind it:
This is a prediction, not what I hope will happen! Best Buy currently offers rewards when buying gift cards from them – both their own gift cards and those for third parties. Gift card spend also counts towards elite status.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Best Buy decided that this was becoming too costly, so this second prediction is that they’ll stop offering rewards when buying gift cards and/or those purchases won’t count towards elite status.
Best Buy did make some negative changes in 2022, axing the ability to earn points when buying Apple gift cards, while also reducing the number of points you earned when buying all other gift cards.
Unfortunately Best Buy wasn’t done there. They’ve sadly confirmed today that from next month you won’t earn any rewards on gift card purchases unless you pay with a Best Buy gift card.
On February 14, 2023, earning points on eligible Best Buy purchases will become an exclusive benefit of the My Best Buy Credit Card. To continue earning rewards on your Best Buy purchases, you can apply for the My Best Buy Credit Card and earn 10% back in rewards on your first day of purchases. Plus, for a limited time you can earn a $100 reward certificate when you apply, are approved for, and spend $100 on your new My Best Buy Credit Card at Best Buy. Activation required. Offer ends February 13, 2023.
While I never counted Best Buy Rewards as cash when taking advantage of gift card deals, they were a nice bonus and I earned hundreds of dollars worth of rewards last year. It was therefore nice being able to buy items with those that I might not otherwise have spent real money on. I’m sure many did count on rewards as good as cash due to buying items for personal use that they needed or for sending to buying groups, so this’ll have a bigger impact on their bottom line.
Is It Worth Getting A Best Buy Credit Card?
This change might make the Best Buy credit card worth looking at for some due to its earning categories and its position as the only way to earn rewards on gift card purchases from February 14.
There are in fact two Best Buy credit cards. There’s the My Best Buy Credit Card which offers 5% back in rewards on purchases at Best Buy only. There’s then the My Best Buy Visa Card issued by Citi which, in addition to 5% back in rewards at Best Buy, earns at the following rates elsewhere:
- 3% back in rewards – Gas
- 2% back in rewards – Dining & takeout purchases
- 2% back in rewards – Grocery purchases
- 1% back in rewards – Everywhere else
- Limited time bonus reward categories
As noted in the quoted section earlier, you can also earn a $100 reward certificate when applying for the credit card and spending $100 at Best Buy. If you’re trying to stay under 5/24 with Chase then this likely isn’t going to be a high priority card to get, but if you’re well over 5/24 and make significant gift card purchases at Best Buy, this card seems like it’d be worth considering.
Can’t you just get the card so you’re opted in but then still charge purchases to a 2x card while still earning Best Buy rewards because you got the credit card? Or do you have to go ahead and charge the purchases to the Best Buy card? 5% as Best Buy credit is not really that compelling relative to other choices
It seems like you have to actually charge it to the card rather than simply owning the card unfortunately.
The 5% in BB rewards on the card sounds good but what could you earn with another credit card, especially when you factor in meeting minimum credit card spends (looking at you Amex Biz Plat)? Plus the BB Rewards, to get value out of them, you’d to buy merchandise and resell, the easiest route being the handful of bulk buyers that have deals on Best Buy.
Yep, if you’re working on minimum spends then it definitely makes sense to pay with those cards rather than a Best Buy credit card. If you’re someone who can make use of the 5% rewards as though it’s as good as cash though, this is similar to the 5% Amazon cards with the added bonus of other spending categories including the limited time bonus categories.
I won’t be getting the card for myself as I don’t have much use for Best Buy Rewards, but if I did buying group deals I imagine I’d be a lot more interested.
Cash+ is better at best buy. The only reason I ever use the best buy card is their targeted offers. eg spend $x outside best buy and get $y certificate. Not quite Sears level but maybe $200 of offers a year