What is Price Protection, and How do I use it?
If you buy something online or in a store and the price drops within the covered period (60-90 days), your Credit Cards Price Protection benefit will refund you the difference. The benefit varies between banks; however, overall, the rules for reimbursement are relatively standard across the different brands. For example, although most will allow refunds on items bought online, none protect auction items. In other words, it’s important to read the fine print. Using the benefit is pretty simple. As long as the purchase is covered (sorry, farm animals not included), keep an eye on whatever you bought, and if you see a price drop, anywhere… submit a claim to your bank and get paid. The requirements vary from bank to bank; however, most require original receipts and proof that the exact item did, in fact, drop in price.
Credit Card Price Protection Comparison Chart
Below I’ve created a quick comparison between the larger Credit Card Banks/Brands along with a high-level review of the benefit details. This list is fairly fluid so keep an eye on it. We will try to keep it updated at least annually. Update – October 2018, both Chase bank and Discover card canceled their Price Protection programs. They have been removed from the chart below. Update – 2019 – Citi has discontinued its Price-Rewind service so they have been removed from the list.
Conclusion
If you don’t see your particular card listed in the table above, give your bank a call or do a few searches on the net. There are just too many out there for me to list. For example, I quickly searched on my Capital One Mastercard and found my Guide to Benefits agreement. Sure enough, Price Protection is included for all my purchases. The Price Protection benefit is an excellent example of why it’s so important to read the fine print regarding your financials. Did you know, Price Protection is just one of many amazing benefits you receive when using your credit card? Benefits like Extended Warranty coverage, Identify Fraud Expense Reimbursement, Rental Insurance, and Roadside Assistance, to name a few. Granted, each Credit Card is different, but I think you get my point. Spending just a few minutes reviewing your existing coverage could save you thousands. I really enjoyed writing up this article and would love to hear from everyone on their price protection refund adventures! Positive or negative, if you’ve had any luck getting cash from your Credit Card company, please leave a comment below and tell us how it went. Also, if you end up doing a little research on your specific Credit Card, drop the details and links in the comments, I’ll add them to the article. Thanks again! Love the site! Thanks again! -S Will see how long it takes and post back the details. Costco, as well as many other retailers, will just give you a refund if the price drops X Days after purchase. For Costco, it’s 30 days, no questions asked. Just call Customer Service and they can pull up your purchase. The time-frame will vary depending on the retailer however 30 days is what I’ve been able to find online. Planning to call them today to get solid confirmation from them. Now, after 30 days….. your best bet is the credit card Price Protection. Is it a hassle? Sure. But then again, these companies are in the money lending business, not helping you get the lowest price at all times. I think that’s reasonable. I don’t have either card so I can’t get the nitty-gritty specifics on the cards but here’s what I’ve dug up.
- Purchase Protection — Covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account. *Extended Warranty Protection — Extends the time period of the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.
- Travel Accident Insurance and Lost Luggage Reimbursement — Just what it sounds like. ;) Hope this helps. Looks like you also get a “Cash Back” reward on this stuff. Personally, I think a Citi Card would be better. You get Cash Back PLUS price drop protection. I want to thank you so much for your time in looking into this, for gathering info and supplying links – that’s truly awesome of you!! Peace and Best Regards, Sarah WOw,5% back, that’s pretty good. I guess you’re ahead of the game as long as the drop isn’t over 5%. ;) Glad you enjoy the site. Hope to see you around more! -Steve Wondering as a prime member or anyone I guess, if there is a big drop in an item can’t you just return it for a legitimate reason, like the product doesn’t live up to the performance level you expected, which is subjective or any other reason for that matter.. Doesn’t this give amazon a return problem if people want to do that..? Thanks To answer your question — yes. If you take a read here: https://www.groovypost.com/howto/request-amazon-price-change-refund/, many in the comments are talking about the REP actually mentioning, “although I can’t give you a refund, you can return the item and re-buy it…”. So, I guess if you’re OK with the hassle, yes. That’s a viable option. Then again, before you go down that long path of boxing something up and shipping it off…. I would first escalate up through customer service and try to get a price drop refund first. Also though it appears the refund policy still is in effect for tvs… The credit card deal though you told us about is nice.. Thanks -S Anyone have success with Mastercard price protection? This was for a Nespresso machine btw. I only saved $26, but now I feel a lot more confident about buying a phone I’m certain will drop in the next couple of months. : D -Steve groovyPost.com I’ve not done the research for all credit cards out there. My advice, just give your card company a phone call and ask them to review all the benefits and ask them directly about price protection. In other words if Newegg.com has a TV listed on their Ebay storefront with a BIN price that was acceptable to Citi. Here is a tip, I recently got a Wells Fargo Signature CC, while I generally do not read all the fine print, As I scrolled down saw that cell phone repairs are covered so long as you pay your cell phone bill with the CC. Poor timing, 2 weeks ago, my daughter broke the screen on her iPhone and cost her $200 to fix. I will be ready next time to use the benefit. This new tip on Cell Phone Repairs is fantastic! Thnx! -S
