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Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Support Small Business; Get $10 to Spend on Prime Day

Amazon Prime Day, happening June 21 and 22, is fast approaching and if past Prime Days are any indication, there will definitely be good deals to be had. Even better, you can earn $10 to spend while at the same time supporting a small business. That’s a win-win! You’ll need a Prime account to access this offer, so if you are not yet a member, sign up for a 30-day free trial.

How to Get the $10 Credit

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Through 6/20, anything you buy from select small businesses for $10 or more will be awarded with a $10 credit that will be sent to you in an email after your purchase. Simply click the Redeem button in the email and you will see the credit show up on 6/21. Keep in mind, this promotional credit can only be spent on 6/21 and 6/22. If you don’t use it on those days, you will lose it.

The small businesses are all retailers who maintain storefronts on Amazon, and there is a wide variety of sellers. You can shop by product category or by selecting a region of the country, in case you want to support retailers closer to home. To maximize your shopping power and really make the best of your credit, we recommend shopping for things that you need or that you already buy on a regular basis. Grocery items are always a good bet. That really makes the $10 credit feel as much like free money as possible.

Also if you have an Amazon Prime Store Card or an Amazon Prime Secured Card, you can get 10% back on select small-business brands through 6/20.

What do you hope to buy on Prime Day? Tell us in the comments!

The post Support Small Business; Get $10 to Spend on Prime Day appeared first on The Brad's Deals Blog.

We bet you didn’t know all 19 of these Amazon Prime Perks Existed

If you’ve been on the fence about whether or not you should sign up for Amazon Prime, this deep dive into all of the benefits is for you. With Amazon Prime Day rumored to be coming up in June, you may be on the fence as to whether or not you should get an Amazon Prime membership. Here are 19 Amazon Prime perks you may not have known about.

The best thing about Amazon Prime is that there’s something for everyone, and probably one or two things you never knew existed. Before I began researching this list, I didn’t know about Prime Reading – and I’m a book lover who covers Amazon for a living! And while I vaguely knew that Prime Now offered food delivery, I didn’t know that they could deliver goods from Eataly, a gourmet Italian grocery-slash-restaurant with locations in Chicago, New York, Boston, and L.A. I mean, wow. I’ll raise a glass of wine to that. The wine was delivered by Prime Now, of course.

And therein lies the value – in the sheer scope of this almost audaciously ambitious service that began 14 years ago with just two-day free shipping. Today, you can get everything from discounted diapers to free legendary Overwatch skins, and have your groceries delivered while streaming a Game of Thrones marathon. All with one service. Crazy.

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The Amazon Prime Account: Choose Your Prime Membership

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There are six ways to gain Amazon Prime Membership:

Amazon Prime Yearly Membership: $119/year

This is the Amazon Prime that’s been around seemingly forever, and if you’re a heavy Amazon user, this is the Amazon Prime membership you want. Not only do you get access to all of the perks we mention below, but it also costs 25% less than the month-to-month plan, making it the best value of the two all-inclusive options. It kicks you off with a 30-day free trial, so you can cancel after Prime Day if you don’t want to keep it.

Amazon Prime with a monthly fee: $12.99

If you’re not quite sure about Amazon Prime but need more than a 30-day trial to decide, or need it for only part of the year, then the monthly payment option is what you’re looking for. But if you need it for more than 8 months, the annual plan is a better value.

Amazon Prime Video: $8.99/month

Some people just want access to the Prime Video library, without all of the extras. Amazon has positioned itself as a direct competitor to Netflix, so this makes perfect sense. A video-only Amazon Prime membership will run you $8.99/month, and the month-to-month nature of it means you can cancel and restart as you please. Keep in mind, though, that a full-blown annual Amazon Prime membership costs less over the course of a year than a Prime Video on its own – $8.88 less, to be precise. You might as well spring for the whole enchilada.

Amazon Prime Student with an annual fee: $59/year

After a 6-month free trial, students can get all of the benefits of Amazon Prime at a 50% discount.

Amazon Prime Student with a monthly fee: $6.49/month

Students also opt for a monthly subscription – handy if you go home for the summer where your parents already have Prime.

Amazon Prime for EBT card holders: $5.99/month

Qualifying customers with EBT cards can sign up for Amazon Prime at a reduced rate that works out to $71.88 over the course of a year. All of the usual Prime benefits are included.

Amazon Prime Shopping

Free Two-Day, Same Day, and One-Day Shipping

Amazon Prime’s oldest and possibly most famous benefit is free 2-day shipping for Prime items. Depending on where you live and object availability, that can sometimes be reduced to one day.

But my favorite Prime shipping perk is the ability to opt for No-Rush Shipping in exchange for credits, usually for digital downloads. I like to collect digital credits to use towards movie rentals. You can even game this a little by placing separate no-rush orders for individual items. The best part is that your orders often will arrive within the 2-day window anyway.

Note that due to Covid-19, we are seeing this offered less, and shipping can take longer than 2 days currently. We expect this perk to come back, though!

Here’s a screenshot of what the No-Rush Shipping credit looks like.

Amazon no rush shipping credit example

Prime Now

Prime Now offers 2-hour delivery times on certain items in select markets. Certain city-dwellers (I tested a Chicago zip code) can enjoy 2-hour delivery on things like cleaning products, batteries, baby wipes, and more. Those in Chicago can also shop local grocery or Whole Foods using Prime Now.

When I tried using a zip code from just outside Pittsburgh, PA, Whole Foods was the only option for 2-hour delivery through Prime Now.

Overall, this is an excellent perk for those wanting grocery delivery in all markets Prime Now services, but if you want household essentials within a 2-hour window, it may be best to try another same-day shipping service.

Prime Rx

Amazon Prime’s Pharmacy, Prime Rx, gets you fast, FREE 2-day delivery on prescriptions. Plus, get exclusive savings when paying without insurance.

Early Access to Lightning Deals

Lightning Deals can sell out quickly, but Prime members get a 30-minute head start.

Alexa Deals

Some Amazon deals are only available when you order via voice search with Alexa. You can ask, “Alexa, what are your deals?” or you can go to the Alexa Deals page at Amazon to see what they are.

You’ll need an Alexa-enabled device like an Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, Echo Show, or Fire TV to access these exclusive deals.

Access to Amazon Prime Day Deals

Let’s be honest, your fear of missing out is a big part of why you’re considering a Prime membership this week. Amazon’s Prime Day sales are only open to subscribers. The party that promises some of the best deals this side of Black Friday is members only.

Prime Rewards

A question we hear frequently from our fans is whether or not the Amazon Prime credit card is worth it. With 5% back on Amazon purchases and no annual fee, our credit card expert Mark Jackson certainly thinks so. You can read more about his take on the Amazon credit card in our article about the best credit cards for everyday spending.

Prime Wardrobe

With your Amazon Prime membership, Prime Wardrobe lets you can try on clothes, shoes, jewelry, and accessories from the comfort of your home, and pay only for what you keep. Returns are free, so it’s like an at-home dressing room with thousands of apparel options.

Amazon Prime Video: Tons of entertainment and digital media options

prime video

Prime Video

As a Prime member, I probably use Amazon Prime Video more than any other Amazon Prime benefit. For starters, there’s the top-notch original programming that’s been winning Emmy Awards the past few years. Then there’s an entire library of movies and television series that subscribers can stream for free. And if it’s a new release, you can rent it in HD – sometimes for free if you’ve racked up enough of the digital media credits you can get for opting out of two-day shipping.

Prime Video Channels

Prime Video Channels brings the most popular standalone streaming services from cable stalwarts like HBO, STARZ, and Showtime under the Prime Video umbrella, allowing cord-cutters to use their payment info already on file with Amazon. These channels do cost extra ($4.99-$14.99/month for Prime members), but you’d be paying for them outside of Amazon’s ecosystem, too. It’s just convenient to have it all in one place under one payment system.

Prime Music

Amazon Prime subscribers have free access to more than 2 million songs and counting through Amazon Prime Music. It integrates nicely with Echo (though the sound quality of music on an Echo Dot is reportedly questionable.)

You can also upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited for access to a much larger music database of 60 million songs. Prime members can get Music Unlimited for $7.99 per month, or $79 per year. Non-Prime members will pay $9.99 per month.

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Prime Reading

Hey book lovers, did you know that Amazon has an entire library of books, magazines, and audiobooks that you can read for free with a Kindle or Kindle app? There’s no limit on how many you can read. Titles we found include Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Water for Elephants, Woman’s Day and Time magazines, and lots of Lonely Planet travel guides.

Kindle First

Every month, Prime members can buy a not-yet-released Kindle book from one of six Editors’ Picks for just $1.99.

Prime Gaming

Gamers rejoice, Prime members can get free games and in-game content every month, a monthly Twitch channel subscription, and exclusive promotions on select pre-order video games.

Amazon Kids+

Formerly FreeTime Unlimited, Prime members can get up to 40% off Amazon Kids+, a full suite of parental controls that includes unlimited access to kid-friendly media. This includes more than 13,000 books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, and games from brands like Disney, Nickelodeon, and Sesame Street, just to name a few. Pricing starts at $2.99/month for a single child, or $6.99/month for up to four children. There’s also a 1-month free trial you can check out.

Amazon Prime Photos

Back up your photos with Amazon’s unlimited photo storage, free with your Prime subscription. You can add up to five family members so you can pool your photos into one giant family collection. You can also then avail yourself of Amazon Prints to order custom cards, wall decor, photo books, gifts, calendars, and, yes, good old-fashioned photo prints.

Household Goods and Groceries with Amazon Prime

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Extra Discounts with Amazon Prime at Whole Foods

Amazon Prime will get you exclusive discounts and offers on qualifying Whole Foods items for members in-store and online. Shop using Prime Now or Amazon Fresh depending on your location. Download the app for even quicker shopping options.

Amazon Fresh

As mentioned above, Amazon Fresh steps in to deliver fresh produce, frozen foods, and more perishable goods in certain locations. To place an order, you reserve a time slot and either receive it personally from the delivery person or give your blessing to be left at your door.

Amazon Family

How much are you spending on diapers? Would you like them to magically appear on your doorstep at a 20% discount? Behold, Amazon Family, free with your Amazon Prime account. Create a profile for your child and you’ll get access to exclusive deals and discounts, plus 15% off select items from your baby registry.

Which Amazon Prime perk is your favorite? Tell us in the comments!

The post We bet you didn’t know all 19 of these Amazon Prime Perks Existed appeared first on The Brad's Deals Blog.

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

What is the Best Credit Card to Use on Amazon?

Amazon is dominating the online shopping world, with bankruptcies for companies like Toys R Us a direct result of their cutthroat business. As such, you’re probably already a regular user of Amazon. But, what is the best credit card to use for the website, to save even more money on your purchases?

For this post, I’m assuming that you’re at least a moderate user of Amazon and have Amazon Prime. If you don’t you can sign up for a trial here. We love Prime here at Brad’s Deals, as it saves you money in surprising ways.

Amazon Prime Reward Visa Signature credit card

The Best: Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature

An obvious choice for the “best card” on Amazon is the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card, issued by Chase. It offers Prime members 5% back (3% if you’re non-prime) on every purchase on Amazon.com that’s fulfilled and shipped by Amazon (so no resellers) up to $5,000 in purchases. You’ll also earn 5% back at Whole Foods (3% for non-Prime members). You’ll also get 2% cash back on gas and non-Whole Foods groceries (see our favorite grocery store cards post for the best options), and 1% on everything else. It also offers a $50 bonus gift card upon approval (this amount can change, depending on how you’re targeted), and has no annual fee.

The percentage back is given to you in the form of a discount at checkout at Amazon. So, if you spent $100 at Amazon, you’ll have $5 in rewards in your Amazon account to use on your next purchase.

Overall, that’s a solid offer for earning, if you’re a regular Amazon shopper. There’s a whole argument to be made whether or not Amazon has the best pricing, but for ease of use and free two-day shipping, it’s sometimes hard to beat.

Discover It credit card

Runner Up: Discover It

With the Discover It card, you’ll receive 5% cash back in a rotating list of categories, which three months of the year is usually Amazon. I like cash better than a credit, but it’s tough to recommend this card as the “best” card for Amazon if you’re only able to get a big discount during only a quarter of the year. We’ve also seen Discover offer a $75 Amazon credit after your first Amazon.com purchase in the past.

Overall

Amazon offers compelling pricing and a solid customer experience. You’ll want to further your savings with some credit card that earns you cash back or credits. The Amazon Prime Visa Signature card is my vote for the best card to use on Amazon at writing. Let us know if you have any other cards worth mentioning in the comments below!

Cover image: Stephen Woods / Flickr

The post What is the Best Credit Card to Use on Amazon? appeared first on The Brad's Deals Blog.

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

What Is Chalk Paint?

Most people have heard of chalk paint in passing yet do not fully understand what this unique type of paint really is all about.

Chalk paint is decorative paint with a chalk-like and matte aesthetic. This type of paint has a distinct visual appeal and is widely revered for its timeless aesthetic. Below, we provide an inside look at what chalk paint is all about.

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What Is Chalk Paint Used For

Chalk paint is applied to furniture with regularity, providing it with an aged aesthetic. Those attempting to improve the look of intricately designed furniture will find chalk paint quite useful as it does not require a sanding or priming of the surface to which it is applied. Add in the fact that chalk paint is quite forgiving and there is even more reason to use it on furniture.

Aside from furniture, chalk paint is also used on a wide array of other surfaces ranging from floors to walls, metal, and beyond. In fact, some people even use chalk paint on their cabinetry, creating a look that is quite chic. Others choose to use chalk paint to make multi-color distress. The base color is used and topped with a second shade. The top layer of paint is carefully sanded down after drying so the first color appears. The result is a unique distressed and idiosyncratic furniture aesthetic.

You can use this type of paint outdoors or indoors on nearly every type of surface. Whether you need to paint something made of wood, metal, melamine, or beyond, chalk paint will suffice. In fact, chalk paint can even be used on flooring and also to dye fabric. To the surprise of many, chalk paint is even applicable to glass.

How Is Chalk Paint Used?

Chalk paint on furniture creates a distinct matte appearance. Chalk paint can also be applied to full walls if desired.

Others choose to add chalk paint to standalone storage pieces such as dressers in bedrooms, ultimately making them stand out that much more from everything else in the room.

Chalk paint can be directly applied to furniture and other items without having to remove the initial layer of paint. The only caveat is those looking for a smooth aesthetic are encouraged to lightly sand the piece then wipe it with a moist cloth before applying the chalk paint.

A single coat of chalk paint for a chair, dresser, or other items should suffice as this unique type of paint is revered for its thickness.

Chalk paint requires comparably minimal preparation in terms of priming or sanding. Adjust the paint as necessary and you will find it works to perfection on the surface you have in mind. If you want to thicken up the paint, leave the lid off for a bit before its application. You can also smoothen out this paint by adding some water.

Chalk Paint Brands – Where to Buy Chalk Paint

Head on out to your local home improvement store and there is a good chance you will find chalk paint. However, it’s a mistake to buy an imitation product such as chalked paint or chalky paint that attempts to replicate the distinct chalk paint finish yet ultimately fails.

Some of the top chalk paint brands include Behr chalk paint collection and Rust-Oleum’s chalked paint line. Magnolia Home also sells chalk paint. Head on over to Lowe’s and you will find Valspar chalk paint. Lowe’s even carries a tintable variety of chalk paint in 40 unique colors.

Have you done any home DIY projects with chalk paint? Let us know your tips in the comments!

Additional Home & Garden ideas you may be interested in:

The post What Is Chalk Paint? appeared first on The Brad's Deals Blog.

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