How Stacking Deals and Using the AMEX Business Platinum Card Saved Me $354 Off a Smart TV

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A few weeks ago my vacation rental was burglarized and along with taking a bunch of household items, they stole all the electronics from the house.

It absolutely sucks when things like this happen – I’ll never understand how people can be so brazen.  And luckily (of course) my homeowner’s insurance has me covered.

But on a positive note, I was able to save about 50% off a new flat screen smart TV to replace the one that was taken!  I did so by using a combination of deals, one being the annual Dell statement credit that’s offered through The Business Platinum® Card from American Express

Here’s more about how I stacked deals and how you can use the same process to save on any big purchases you might have coming up, too.

Win Big When You Stack Deals and Use the AMEX Business Platinum Card

Last month AMEX made a few changes to the AMEX Business Platinum card, including adding a perk of up to $200 in annual Dell statement credits.  With this new benefit, you get $100 in Dell statement credits from January to June and $100 for Dell purchases from July to December.

At the time I didn’t think much about this added benefit because honestly, I never even think to buy things from Dell.  I usually head straight to Amazon or Best Buy or even Costco because those are the retailers I’m most familiar with.

But after having a number of electronics stolen from my vacation rental and considering ways to save on purchasing replacements, the annual Dell credit on the AMEX Business Platinum card came to mind.  In addition to that, I remembered that there was an AMEX Offer for Dell and if I could find a good rate through an online shopping portal, I knew I could save a ton of money.

Here’s what I did.

I found the TV I wanted on Dell.com and did a quick search to compare prices, just to make sure Dell’s price was in line with other retailers (Dell price matches – FYI).  Then I logged in to my AMEX Business Platinum account to enroll in the annual Dell statement benefit and add the Dell AMEX Offer to my account.

I did the same with my mom’s AMEX Business Platinum card, knowing that Dell allows you to split payment between up to 3 different payment methods.  This way I could take advantage of the yearly Dell statement credit twice!

Lastly, I headed over to CashBackMonitor to see which online shopping portal was offering the best cash back rate.  As it turned out, TopCashBack was running a special rate of 12% back (the rate was 10% at time of writing).

So, on a TV that cost $697.99 I saved:

• 10% back with the Dell AMEX Offer = $69.80
• 12% back through TopCashback = $83.76
• 2X the $100 annual Dell statement credit for using two separate AMEX Business Platinum cards for payment = $200

That’s a total of $353.56!

If you’ve never used an online shopping portal before, be sure to check out our Guide to Online Shopping Portals.

It’s also worth noting, the terms of the Dell AMEX Offer say that you need to shop through the link dell.com/amex, but there are numerous reports of people getting the 10% statement credit for purchases made over the phone or through other portals.  And I received a confirmation email that I’d used my Dell AMEX Offer shortly after completing my order.  But as with many deals like this, there are no guarantees.

Details of the AMEX Business Platinum Card

When you apply for the AMEX Business Platinum card you’ll earn:

• 50,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.
• 25,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after you spend an additional $10,000 on qualifying purchases within the same timeframe

So between the intro bonus and points you earn from minimum spending, you’ll have at least 95,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points (75,000 point total intro bonus + at least 20,000 minimum spending points).

You’ll also get one year of Platinum Global Access from WeWork, which allows you to access 300+ premium workspaces in 75+ cities.  To get this exclusive offer, enroll before December 31, 2019.

With the Business Platinum card, you’ll also get:

• 1.5X AMEX Membership Rewards points on single purchases of $5,000+ (up to 1 million additional points per calendar year)
• 5X AMEX Membership Rewards points when you book airfare and hotels through the AMEX travel portal
• 35% of your points back for ALL First Class or Business Class flights booked through the AMEX travel portal using Pay With Points
• 35% of your points back for all flights, including coach tickets, booked with your selected airline through the AMEX travel portal using Pay With Points (up to 500,000 points per calendar year)
• Up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year for airline incidentals with your selected airline (luggage fees, in-flight food & drink, etc.)
• Up to $200 annual Dell statement credit ($100 from January to June, $100 from July to December)
• Ability to book hotel stays through AMEX Fine Hotels & Resorts
• AMEX Platinum Concierge
• AMEX Premium Roadside Assistance
• Access to airport lounges (Delta, Priority Pass, Airspace, and American Express Centurion Lounges)
• Bonus points or statement credits when taking advantage of an AMEX Offer
• Elite car rental status with Avis, Executive status with National Car Rental, and Gold Plus Rewards with Hertz
• Free Hilton Honors Gold elite status (free breakfast and upgrades when available)
• Free Marriott Bonvoy Gold elite status
• 10 free Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi passes each calendar year
• Statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• Terms & limitations apply

This card has a $595 annual fee, which is NOT waived the first year (See Rates & Fees).  But the statement credits, airport lounge access, and savings from AMEX Offers can easily offset the fee.

For more information, be sure to check out our full review of the AMEX Business Platinum card here.

For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum Card, click here.