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October Prime Day: How to Get the Most Out of Your Shopping Experience
Take full advantage of Amazon's Prime Big Deals Day sale with these tips and tricks for huge savings.
Amazon is rolling out its second Prime Day this year to double down on massive savings for consumers. Prime Big Deals Day is happening this week -- Oct. 10 and 11. In order to help you take full advantage of the deals, free money and more, we've created a guide with the best tips and tricks for getting the most out of Amazon Prime Big Deals Day.
Whether you're a pro at shopping Amazon deals or new to them, here's what you need to know before going into the 48-hours deals extravaganza.
Don't miss out on how to make the most of these sales to improve your Prime Day experience.
Once you're all set for Prime Big Deals Day, why not take the time to find some hidden Amazon promotions before the event kicks off, or check out the many Prime perks that come with a subscription?
You can't get in on these October Prime Day deals without a Prime subscription, but you don't have to be a paying subscriber to shop the sale. One of the best parts about Prime Day events is that even those on a Prime free trial are eligible for Prime discounts and other benefits. That means you can sign up for Amazon's free 30-day trial of the service and participate without having to pay anything, as long as you remember to cancel before the trial ends and the paid subscription starts.
Since we know that the October Prime Day falls on the 10th and 11th this year, you can start your trial now to make the most of any early Prime Day deals and the main event in just a couple of weeks.
Step 2
Update your payment methods now
There's nothing worse than missing out on a great lightning deal because your payment method on file expired and you forgot to add your new one. Amazon makes it easy to see all the payment methods you have registered on your account, along with when each one expires. We'd recommend removing any that have already expired and ensuring that the remaining ones won't be expiring in the next couple of weeks so that your purchases can go through without delay.
If you plan to make any large purchases like TVs, gaming PCs and the like, we recommend advising your credit card company or bank ahead of the sale to prevent your purchase from being held up or denied.
Read More: Don't forget about Amazon Layaway during October Prime Day
Step 3
Consider the Prime Visa
If you're a frequent Amazon shopper, this is a no-brainer. The Prime Visa offers Prime members 5% cash back on purchases made at Amazon's website, Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods. It also earns 5% for travel booked through Chase, as well as 2% cash back on restaurants, gas stations, and local transit (like rideshares). There's no annual fee, but it does require a Prime membership. The card could put money back in your pocket with little effort if you shop at these places often. And when you sign up right now, you'll get an Amazon gift card upon approval.
CNET has an overview of the Prime Visa, too.
Step 4
Score free Amazon credit to spend
As is customary, Amazon is running a few early promotions where Prime members can score some extra Amazon credit to spend during the big event. Some of the below offers take a few days to add the credit your account, so the sooner you can complete them the better.
Read More: How to get free $30 ahead of Amazon's October Prime Day
- Download the Amazon Photos app and upload your first photo, get $15 credit (now through Oct. 7)
- Reload an Amazon gift card with $100, get $12 credit
- Spend $10 at Amazon Go, get $3 in credit (now through Oct. 11)
You don't have to wait until Oct. 10 to shop Prime Day deals, and you don't even have to shop directly at Amazon to make the most of Prime-exclusive savings. New for 2023, Amazon is offering Prime Day discounts at third-party retailers when you check out using your Amazon Prime account.
Read more: Buy With Prime: How to Get Amazon Prime Day Deals From Other Retailers
One feature that was new for the summer event this year is Amazon's invite-only deals system - - and it's returning for Prime Big Deal Days. Amazon has announced several invite-only deals on items it expects to sell out quickly. These include top tech picks as well as beauty and fashion deals. Invites for the October event are now open at the below link.
Step 7
Set up deal alerts in the app
Since Amazon knows your recent searches and the types of purchases you make there, it's also very well placed to offer deal alerts you'll be interested in. Prime members can opt in to receive deal notifications related to their recent searches and viewed items in the Amazon app. You'll be able to hit up the October Prime Day sale page before the event to create these alerts and, once the event rolls around, you'll get push notifications on any available deals.
Step 8
Let Alexa keep you up to date
Unsurprisingly, Amazon's smart digital assistant comes in pretty handy around events like Prime Day. You can have your Alexa devices inform you when the October Prime Day sale is about to begin by asking for a reminder about the event. Better yet, Prime members can ask Alexa to notify them about deals on products in their Wish List, Cart or Save for Later lists -- and even place an order on their behalf so they can shop the sale hands-free.
Step 9
Keep an eye on other retailers
Amazon won't be the only one running deals during the fall shopping period. Other major retailers like Best Buy, Walmart and Target have already confirmed that they'll be offering their own competing anti-Prime Day sales this fall, with some deals starting earlier than Amazon's or lasting longer. Be sure to peruse those sales too.
Is that October Prime Day "deal" really a deal? Instead of looking up prices on Amazon's retail competitors one by one, do it instantaneously with a price comparison extension for your web browser. There are several on the market, including CNET's own in-house extension, CNET Shopping (formerly known as PriceBlink). It works across a bunch of retailers and can show you the best current deal, price history for select items, retailer coupons that can help you add to your savings, and more. The best part? Our extension is completely free. Give it a try right now on Google Chrome.
Step 11
Sign up for CNET text alerts
You probably don't remember to check out CNET Deals every day, because sometimes life happens and you've got other things to do. Instead of letting you miss out on a good deal, we've created a daily text service to deliver a special message every day with something you might like -- usually something under $50 that is worth knowing about. During major shopping events like Black Friday and Prime Day you can opt in to a greater volume of deals texts regarding any retailer offering something unique or interesting. We'll send out a notice ahead of these events so you always have control over how many texts you get from us.
Step 12
Follow us on Twitter
The CNET Deals team will be covering the event from the minute it starts, right up until the last minute when the deals end. You can follow the main CNET Twitter account for the best of the best deals, along with the CNET Deals Twitter account for a bigger stream of deals.
Don't miss our other shopping tips, including easy ways to save on shipping at various retailers, how to get like-new electronics at a fraction of the price and how to send gifts directly via Amazon.