Get Price Drop Refunds with Credit Card Price Protection, Including Amazon
Tired of buying something only to see its price drop a few days later? Learn how to get cash back as well as which Bank has the best Credit Card Price Protection benefit.
For the past several years, we’ve all been enjoying an informal purchase protection policy at Amazon.com, which would refund you if the price dropped 7 – 30 days after the purchase date. This is especially important during the annual Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals week when prices can drop 10-50% in a matter of days. Recently, Amazon changed its policy, and despite an outcry from its customers across the internet, price change refunds from Amazon continue to be hit-and-miss.
Like many of you, I was extremely disappointed by this turn of events. That is until I discovered a solution that provides Purchase Price Protection for not just Amazon but everywhere I shop. Retail and online included!
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.
| WELLSFARGO | MASTERCARD* | |
| Covered Cards | Wells Fargo Visa Signature Card | Majority of all Mastercard Cards |
| Benefit expiration after purchase | 60 Days | 60 Days |
| Maximum Benefit | $250 per claim, $1000 per year | $250 per claim, four claims per cardholder account per 12 month period |
| Call 800-553-7520 or Visa Online Claim Form | Call 800-627-8372 or Mastercard Online Claim Form | |
| Internet Ads Covered? | No | Yes, excluding Internet Auction Sites |
| Source | Wellsfargo Benefits Page & WellsFargo Visa PDF | Benefits Site & Mastercard Guide to Benefits PDF |
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.
39 Comments
AlienTech
Great article. Although those not in the US wont benefit from this. Which was why amazon itself was great. We pay 25-50% on shipping because we know amazon service is great, it is a huge hassle to do much of anything via online between countries. So serice is a priority, I think amazon will find that they lost a lot of international customer due to this change. There are still local amazon stores but they do not carry the range of products and usually cost more. When my TV failed, I got a replacement in a few days and they picked up the old one as well. I paid more to get a TV from amazon and I did it that way because of the horror stories from others. I do order a lot of other things locally from other sites, one of them offering a cannon 3670 printer for just slightly more than the price of the carts, now if that breaks it is not a big concern.. But even there I got the product the next day, unheard of here.. Things like this are setup in the US in the last 15 years but others are just catching up. But service is still a decade or more like 50 years behind. The concept of customer service was developed even in the US very recently due to marketing. If you make it easy on people to buy and get them to buy it now by any means you generate a lot of cash flow. The service cost is not much compared to the turn over generated. Amazon will learn this too.. They became so big because they used this same service policies before.. Now they think they can create profits this way on the back of lower cash flow. Most likely to get stock price up. But when cash flow starts to hit the bottom line the board is going to question why even though profits are up. Although I dont think more than a small percentage actually go for this price adjustment. I know I did not do this before unless i was really bored. Who has the time? Most people I know did not have the time either and we were the majority of professional who ordered online or bought at the store.
Chinghiss Khan
I live in Mongolia and these banks here have nothing to protect me, no back-charges, no fraud protection, nothing at all.
Tammera
Hi Steve – I’ve had credit cards my entire life and never had any clue about this benefit. I personally have a Chase card and as it turns out, I do get price protection. I buy EVERYTHING with it so I’m currently going through some of my larger purchases now.
Thanks again! Love the site!
Steve Krause
Awesome feedback Tammera. Thanks you. The Chase card does appear to be one of the better ones regarding different benefits. Please do keep us updated as you file a claim. Would love to hear how that process goes for you.
Thanks again!
-S
cooper
Steve- That was a super article! Even more super was that you really enjoyed doing this for your readers. You are a great “Team Captain!”
Steve Krause
Thx Cooper! Glad you enjoyed the article. Keep us updated if you are able to use the feature.
Alex Leopold
Bought something on Amazon. Price dropped $38 so I just submitted my first claim. I’m using a Capital One MasterCard.
Will see how long it takes and post back the details.
Steve Krause
Awesome. Thanks for the feedback. Waiting to hear back ;)
Bill Bauman
If one uses their Costco Visa card to purchase an item and the price drops in 30 days, why is it necessary to provide proof submitting a copy of the receipt? Don’t they already have that? Doesn’t use of the card verify this? So one needs to set up a very intricate file system to list and cross index every item they purchase, except for food, in order to be able to retrieve the original receipt? Or is it easier to register every single item purchased? Seems like a really safe benefit for the banks to offer since a claim from a customer is going to be a rare event and only on large ticket items. I am not seeing any reason to jump for joy here. “Claim denied, original receipt not submitted.”
Steve Krause
Well, that’s another article I have in my queue. ;)
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.
Sarah C.
Thanks for the great article. I’m an Amazon Prime member and, maybe twice in the distant past, spoke to Amazon’s customer service about price difference refunds. No problems. However, I have heard of this new policy. If I make a purchase using my Amazon Prime Credit Card, do you know if the price protection policy is included? Since I’d use it on an Amazon purchase, I have doubts they’d include a price protection policy on their own card. Yes, I do intend to track down all the fine print, but just wondered if you already knew. Thanks so much for your time and for sharing the info:-)
Steve Krause
Hi Sarah
It really depends on which Amazon Credit Card it is. From what I can tell, There’s an Amazon Prime Card which is issued by some odd Gift card company and another Amazon Prime Visa which is issued from Chase.
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.
List of all Amazon Cards available
https://www.amazon.com/compare-credit-card-offers/b?ie=UTF8&node=3561432011
Amazon Visa (By Chase)
https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/amazon-rewards
Looking over the rewards for the Amazon Chase card, it doesn’t look like they offer Price Protection. They do however offer many of the other great benefits standard with other Credit Cards including:
* 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.
Sarah C.
Hi Steve,
Thanks so much for your reply! What I have is an Amazon Prime Store Card from Synchrony Credit (they offer 5% back or 0% financing for a given time, depending on how much you purchase). I tried to find info about price protection, but didn’t see anything. I figure I’ll just call customer service if I notice any price drops in the future. It’s only happened twice in the distant past when they still gave a refund on the price difference.
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
Steve Krause
You bet 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
JohnnyNight
Hi Steve, Yeah great article, thanks much…
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..
Bought a tv at Amazon about a year ago and darn if it didn’t drop $100 the next week, got the refund on that one no problem..
Doesn’t this give amazon a return problem if people want to do that..?
Thanks
Steve Krause
Heya Johnny, welcome to my blog! Thanks for the comments.
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.
JohnnyNight
Hi Steve, Back again..
So just doing a little search around found info saying Amazon started the new policy a couple days after two new start ups, Earny and Paribus starting offering auto updates on Amazon price drops..
So looks like Amazon was willing to give the refunds as long as it was to a limited number of people who kept checking back the site for price changes..
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
Lo S.
I request a return on item and buy it at new price, neglecting to refund the item within 30days of purchase just causes a burden on more people.
pricerewind
legally could you make a claim if you saw the lower price BEFORE ahead of time of the purchase date? for example I bought the item today for $20 but I searched and found an ad 2 days ago that shows $10. Can I still price rewind it?
Steve Krause
Yeah… good question. When you get the answer from the Bank, please update us here. ;)
Laura
Hi, how do you file a claim, can you give a step by step explanation?thank you!
Steve Krause
It varies by payment card and they change websites from time-to-time. The best way to proceed is to call I listed above in the article and ask them to walk you through the process.
-S
MISTY CLOUD
Amazon adjusted my price today on the Amazon Dot. Thank you so much for the advice.
Steven Doxas
I submitted a Price Protection claim to Mastercard on 1/10/17. I’m still waiting to hear back from them. We’ll see.
Anyone have success with Mastercard price protection?
Steven Doxas
It looks like it worked! I logged in to check the refund status and it says ‘Paid’. It took eight days from the time I submitted a claim. I had to send in screenshots of the following: Order Details/Receipt, Amazon Return Policy, Amazon Price Matching Policy, Current Low Price of Amazon Item, and a PDF of my Card/Bank Statement.
I was worried they were going to reject my claim because I didn’t have ‘an internet ad with the lower price and a date’. But I guess a screenshot of the Amazon listing with my computer’s date and time on the lower right was good enough. Amazon listings also display a banner, stating that you purchased that specific item on such and such a date.
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 Krause
Awesome feedback Steven! Thank you for sharing your story and all the details. Huge benefit to all the readers here!
-Steve
groovyPost.com
Steven Doxas
Was able to do this, again. The size of the coat I had purchased was not even in stock anymore, but they still gave me the price protection. It took a little over a week, this time.
Steve Krause
That’s fantastic! It’s a great benefit many don’t even realize they have. I’m glad the article put a few bucks in your pocket! I also did a recent submission with my Citi card (November 2018).
Chris
Does anyone know if this works with Synchrony (amazons credit card) or if they have? Its still under 60 days and its $150 in price drop.
Steve Krause
Hi Chris,
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.
NoOneYouKnow
Hello,
Under the details for Citi cards you have “Yes, excluding Internet Auction Sites” that isn’t entirely correct though.
While they all seem to have the obvious exclusion on auctions with Bids, Citi appears to be willing
to match BuyItNow sales through stores that also happen to be using the Ebay as a conduit.
In other words if Newegg.com has a TV listed on their Ebay storefront with a BIN price that was acceptable to Citi.
Steve Krause
Thanks for the update. Appreciate the comment.
Marco
Seems that this is more a bank offer, than Mastercard. Otherwise it would be universal. As here in Europe it doesn’t work. And in the Balkans none of the banks I called to get info never heard for these options (extended warranty and price protection). I had to explain them.
Steve Krause
Well, it is actually a Mastercard general rule (from my research). However in Europe…. you options will vary. I’ve not looked into those details sorry. From what I can tell, it will vary from country to country.
Stuart
May be a silly question, but if you buy an item on Amazon with Citi, will price rewind monitor the Amazon website for price drops as well as the hundreds of other websites it will also monitor?
Steve Krause
That’s a great question. I don’t know…. However, if I were you, I would monitor it manually and contact them if you see a price drop.
Nicole LMS
Thank you!! Tried getting a price reduction refund from Amazon, but based on your 11/24/17 update, I went direct to Chase for the refund. Hoping it works!
Jim
I love this tip on using my CC for price matching.
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.
Steve Krause
Wow, that’s an awesome tip Jim! And that’s exactly my point! These credit card companies have amazing benefits — if you read the terms. I had my $2k refrigerator repaired for free due to the doubling of the manufacturer warranty.
This new tip on Cell Phone Repairs is fantastic! Thnx!
-S