Everyone has heard about Amazon Prime Day being on July 15 and 16 this year. So yes this post might be a bit late for you. However if you are still out for some deals make sure they are actually deals and sweeten them were possible.

We all know the rush when we think we are scoring an amazing deal. That’s what Amazon is banking on and wants you to make impulse buying decisions.

Check on historical prices

You might not be aware of a handy website that can help with this. Camel camel camel.com let’s you review the past prices of items. This can be very handy to ensure you are actually getting a good deal. As an example see the very famous Instant Pot below. The all time high was back in 2014 at over $200. Today it is for sale at $49.99. You also see that’s the lowest it has ever been available on Amazon. What a genius way to take the guesswork out of your shopping.

American Express can sweeten the deal

American Express is currently running two promotions when using at least one Membership Rewards point for your Amazon purchase.

Pro Tip: using your points for your whole purchase is always a horrible idea.

Deal one: Get 20% off your purchase up to a maximum of $50.

Deal two: Get $30 off your purchase of at least $60.

Step by step guide

Here is how you can check if you are eligible. First you need to link your American Express card to your account. This needs to be a Membership earning card like the Gold or Platinum card. Your Delta or Hilton Card won’t work.

Once linked check these two links if you are eligible. Deal One and Deal Two. I would start with deal two as you won’t be able to get both and stack them unfortunately. Now comes the shopping and applying part. To be able to apply it the item must be sold and shipped by Amazon. Third party vendors are not valid.

Use only one MR points

1. Add $60 or more of eligible products sold and shipped by Amazon.com to your shopping cart.
2. Your Membership Rewards points will be temporarily set as your payment method at checkout. To redeem this offer, you must pay for at least a portion of your order with Membership Rewards points. I would suggest to use only one MR point or $0.01.
3. Up to $30 of savings will be reflected on the final order checkout page if the items in your order are eligible for the promotion credit.

We were only eligible for Deal number two, but did take advantage of that to get an additional $30 of our purchase pre-tax. So overall savings are actually slightly higher.

Summary

We all love a deal. Make sure to really decide if I need the items and if so to maximize the savings. My big savings came on car seats today, with $200 worth of savings. Happy hunting and feel free to share your success stories.