That would be incredible since we are talking about a decent chunk of change for a $2500-$3000 computer.
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How I saved 19% off the purchase of my brand new Late 2015 iMac!
- Thread starter Tymbo
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That would be incredible since we are talking about a decent chunk of change for a $2500-$3000 computer.
I bought the $2299 model in store. Should have paid $2471 w/ tax.
Showed my university id, got $200 education discount (the two lower end models only have $100 discount)
Used apple pay with discover, hopefully will get $230 cash back
That is $2030 total price with tax ($1889 if you live in Portland, OR etc.)
I'd say this is pretty nice deal! I wouldn't be able to build my own computer with this amount of money
Showed my university id, got $200 education discount (the two lower end models only have $100 discount)
Used apple pay with discover, hopefully will get $230 cash back
That is $2030 total price with tax ($1889 if you live in Portland, OR etc.)
I'd say this is pretty nice deal! I wouldn't be able to build my own computer with this amount of money
I thought I'd share with you guys!
What you need:
A device that supports Apple Pay
Discover Card
Specs chosen (for fact checking):
27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display
- 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz
- 16GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 8GB
- 2TB Fusion Drive
- AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB video memory
- Magic Mouse 2
- Magic Keyboard (English) & User’s Guide
- Accessory Kit
- AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac - Auto-enroll
Bag Subtotal $3,172.00
Free Shipping $0.00
Estimated Tax $253.44
Total $3,425.44
That's the regular price. Buy it through the Education store instead....
Bag Subtotal $2,852.00
Free Shipping $0.00
Estimated Tax $227.84
Total $3,079.84
Difference of...... $345.60
Discover Card users get 10% cash back if they use Apply Pay, right? Yep.
10% of 3079.84 is.... $307.98
Total savings: $653.58 (19.08% of $3425.44)
The Story...
Well, I thought I could make a BTO purchase by buying gift cards via Apple Pay... at least that's what the Apple girl told me. It wasn't until after the fact that I realized that Gift Cards tend to have stipulations, and with a paranoid call to Discover, they informed me that purchasing Gift Cards indeed do not reward cash back. So I got on the phone with Apple and explained the situation. We talked through how best to handle it, since it's such a weird case. It turns out that when I receive the computer, I can return it to get the money loaded back onto the gift cards. Then, I'll return the gift cards. Finally, I'll purchase the computer back outright directly via Apple Pay, now that the model has an order number that can be "scanned".
And that's the good news of how I saved 19% by switching to Apple Pay.
So is there any way to do this if your phone doesn't do apple pay? I have a Discover Card. My iPhone 5s doesn't have apple pay 
If that's the case, you should have gotten a top of the line Mac Pro (or two!). So essentially, you get 10% cash back on a $4,000 computer rather than a $2600 computer. Return it for the gift card, and then buy whatever iMac you want (after you get back home). With the remaining difference, either save it for another day or buy something else.
Don't do it!
None of this would be a problem if they allow online store purchase with Apple Pay. I definitely don't want a stock iMac, particularly because there's no stock SSD option, let alone the 512GB/1TB SSD option.
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So is there any way to do this if your phone doesn't do apple pay? I have a Discover Card. My iPhone 5s doesn't have apple pay
Buy an iPhone 6s, put your Discover card on Apple Pay on that iPhone 6s, use it to buy an iMac, then return the iPhone 6s, maybe the next day, or later in the day, so you don't look like a jerk.
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I went and bought a new Imac 5k and on my way to the Apple Store I called discover to confirm offer and the did. They said it was 10% cash back which will take 1 to 2 bill cycles but the promotion requires you to use Discover on Apple Pay in the store. I added my Discover card and purchased $2500 on Apple Pay to save $250.00 definately worth doing.
I ended up just buying from best buy. I'm active duty military and called my local best buy to see if they would price match apple's government employee discount and they did! I received my new discover card on Saturday, added it to apple pay and went to best buy and bought the i5 2TB using apple pay. Hopefully that means 22% off (11% in a month or 2 and then doubled after 12 months).
The only downside is that I really wanted to get 512 flash and magic trackpad, but this thing is really fast so I'm very happy. I also ordered the trackpad from amazon and I"m using it now, it's awesome!
The only downside is that I really wanted to get 512 flash and magic trackpad, but this thing is really fast so I'm very happy. I also ordered the trackpad from amazon and I"m using it now, it's awesome!
The company that I work for has that 6% discount, and I didn't knew that till today that I found out. I guess I'll be going to the Apple Store by Black Friday to get a retina iMac with the 6% discount plus ~20% with Apple Pay and Discover. Seems like pretty good savings.
The only downside is that I want a pure SSD model and the brick and mortar Apple Stores don't carry SSD-only models. I guess I'll be buying the higher end model with the 2 TB of fusion since it has the 128 gigs of SSD. May as well be better for me as I can get rid of the external hard drive that I use with my current iMac and have everything in one place.
I wish there is a way to manage fusion drive a bit more manually, like only the OS and apps on the SSD, and tell the rest of it to store on the hard drive. No swappin
I'm in that dilemma too. I want SSD but there's no stock SSD. I don't care if I get a lower end model, it must have SSD, no fusion. It's sad the store sells a Macbook 2015 with 256 GB and 512GB SSD stock, but not a single iMac that have 256GB SSD.
I really don't want to go through the hoops of buying it online, then sending it into an Apple Store and risk not being able to repurchase, and all the driving back and forth.
Just called Discover and was denied for asking them to change the transaction method from online/swipe to Apple Pay. Talked to two different supervisor both were very helpful but not able to do anything.
I am currently on hold with an Apple representative and his supervisor discussing purchase then return to gift card method, to see if by doing so anything would be flagged on the Discover's end.
I am currently on hold with an Apple representative and his supervisor discussing purchase then return to gift card method, to see if by doing so anything would be flagged on the Discover's end.
That's what's stopping me from buying the iMac. I could wait it out a few more years before I need to buy another machine. It's too bad I won't get any Discover Apple Pay online discount. I already got my 2015 Macbook so I'm happy. I'll just use that as my main computer and carry it around. Even with the education discount, it's not enough of an incentive.
Oh well.
So a quick update.
It worked! I left my computer in the car (in a cardboard box for camouflage) and headed inside. I was approached by a greeter and I told him my story. It sounded a bit complicated, so he handed me over to someone with more experience. I told him the entire story of my initial intentions, what happened, and what I was trying to do to solve it. The person was very helpful and even though it took him over half an hour to figure out how to possibly make it happen, and a couple manager overrides, he did it.
All he needed was the invoice that was sent to me via e-mail. I was able to pull this up via my phone. This invoice contained the model number (bto model) and serial number of my computer. It wasn't as simple as returning and repurchasing. It's hard to know what he did exactly, but he used the serial number to return my computer to the store, apply the PRICE of the computer to two gift cards ($2k limit makes it difficult), RETURN the gift cards to my CREDIT CARD (could have dodged out of the store at this point.), and finally have me PURCHASE the computer with Apple Pay.
It worked! I left my computer in the car (in a cardboard box for camouflage) and headed inside. I was approached by a greeter and I told him my story. It sounded a bit complicated, so he handed me over to someone with more experience. I told him the entire story of my initial intentions, what happened, and what I was trying to do to solve it. The person was very helpful and even though it took him over half an hour to figure out how to possibly make it happen, and a couple manager overrides, he did it.
All he needed was the invoice that was sent to me via e-mail. I was able to pull this up via my phone. This invoice contained the model number (bto model) and serial number of my computer. It wasn't as simple as returning and repurchasing. It's hard to know what he did exactly, but he used the serial number to return my computer to the store, apply the PRICE of the computer to two gift cards ($2k limit makes it difficult), RETURN the gift cards to my CREDIT CARD (could have dodged out of the store at this point.
), and finally have me PURCHASE the computer with Apple Pay.So a quick update.
It worked! I left my computer in the car (in a cardboard box for camouflage) and headed inside. I was approached by a greeter and I told him my story. It sounded a bit complicated, so he handed me over to someone with more experience. I told him the entire story of my initial intentions, what happened, and what I was trying to do to solve it. The person was very helpful and even though it took him over half an hour to figure out how to possibly make it happen, and a couple manager overrides, he did it.
All he needed was the invoice that was sent to me via e-mail. I was able to pull this up via my phone. This invoice contained the model number (bto model) and serial number of my computer. It wasn't as simple as returning and repurchasing. It's hard to know what he did exactly, but he used the serial number to return my computer to the store, apply the PRICE of the computer to two gift cards ($2k limit makes it difficult), RETURN the gift cards to my CREDIT CARD (could have dodged out of the store at this point.
Good. So you didn't need to bring the computer or the box, just the email receipt with the serial number?
Not a good time to dodge, they got your name, address, and credit card. You're not anonymous.
That's correct.Good. So you didn't need to bring the computer or the box, just the email receipt with the serial number?
Not a good time to dodge, they got your name, address, and credit card. You're not anonymous.
If you refer back to one of my prior posts, I went in there the day before it wa supposed to be delivered, wanting to return and repurchase. I was told I needed the physical computer... AFTER I was told, a couple days prior over the phone with the store, that I would not need it.
With that said, I would recommend you bring it with you just in case, or if you do confirm over the phone, be sure you catch their name and go in when he/she is there.
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This is excellent news!So a quick update.
It worked! I left my computer in the car (in a cardboard box for camouflage) and headed inside. I was approached by a greeter and I told him my story. It sounded a bit complicated, so he handed me over to someone with more experience. I told him the entire story of my initial intentions, what happened, and what I was trying to do to solve it. The person was very helpful and even though it took him over half an hour to figure out how to possibly make it happen, and a couple manager overrides, he did it.
All he needed was the invoice that was sent to me via e-mail. I was able to pull this up via my phone. This invoice contained the model number (bto model) and serial number of my computer. It wasn't as simple as returning and repurchasing. It's hard to know what he did exactly, but he used the serial number to return my computer to the store, apply the PRICE of the computer to two gift cards ($2k limit makes it difficult), RETURN the gift cards to my CREDIT CARD (could have dodged out of the store at this point.
Your original post mentioned educational discount. Did you end up using that in your final online order, and if so, was there any issue getting the same price when you re-bought in store? Did they even check?
I'm still waiting for mine to arrive next week. I converted an in-store purchase and return to gift cards, which I then used toward the online BTO purchase. Since the gift cards were about $800 short (so I didn't get full cash back on that remainder, paid online) I'm thinking about trying what you did. My order was for store pickup, so it'll be easy to do it right then anyway.
Super bonus if it all works:
- Return will go to the gift cards from last week (about $2600) and Discover ($800 paid online).
- Rather than having them return the gift cards to my Discover, I'll just keep them for later purchases over the next few years.
- So that plus the re-bought iMac ($3400) will total about $6000, all with 22% cash back coming.
They didn't even check. It was all about refunding a specific amount and then getting me to pay for that amount.This is excellent news!
Your original post mentioned educational discount. Did you end up using that in your final online order, and if so, was there any issue getting the same price when you re-bought in store? Did they even check?
I'm still waiting for mine to arrive next week. I converted an in-store purchase and return to gift cards, which I then used toward the online BTO purchase. Since the gift cards were about $800 short (so I didn't get full cash back on that remainder, paid online) I'm thinking about trying what you did. My order was for store pickup, so it'll be easy to do it right then anyway.
Super bonus if it all works:
- Return will go to the gift cards from last week (about $2600) and Discover ($800 paid online).
- Rather than having them return the gift cards to my Discover, I'll just keep them for later purchases over the next few years.
- So that plus the re-bought iMac ($3400) will total about $6000, all with 22% cash back coming.
Hey Tymbo, I tried to talk to the Apple Store Manager today, and the when through a long process of back and forth on the phone and determined that they are not able to return and repurchase my CTO iMac. The reason being that the don't carry such a computer in the store thus there is no way for them to scan it, on top of that they said all CTO computer must be returned to the warehouse. I understand this is different from your experience, unfortunately I wasn't able to get it to work.
Now, to follow up on what I did instead. As someone mentioned earlier, purchasing any product (with the obvious exclusion noted by Discover) inside Apple Store using Apple Pay, then return it on to a store credit card would absolutely work. As the Apple employee explained to me, think about it as you buying a gift for a family or friend, then that person decides to return the gift and either do an exchange or putting in on a gift card for store credit. Your bank would never be notify of such change.
I am currently in process with this method, I will keep everyone updated.
Also, the Apple specialist that has helped me through this "crisis" has offered his help to anyone with any questions you might have. If you like feel free to PM me and I will give you his extension number.
Now, to follow up on what I did instead. As someone mentioned earlier, purchasing any product (with the obvious exclusion noted by Discover) inside Apple Store using Apple Pay, then return it on to a store credit card would absolutely work. As the Apple employee explained to me, think about it as you buying a gift for a family or friend, then that person decides to return the gift and either do an exchange or putting in on a gift card for store credit. Your bank would never be notify of such change.
I am currently in process with this method, I will keep everyone updated.
Also, the Apple specialist that has helped me through this "crisis" has offered his help to anyone with any questions you might have. If you like feel free to PM me and I will give you his extension number.
I probably saved this same amount too, I bought mine online through the Navy Exchange store. $100 discount plus no taxes and free shipping.