December 3, 2020|Founders Card

by Eric Lipkind

One of my favorite benefits of the AMEX Business Platinum cards is the semi-annual $100 credit to be used at Dell.com.   As you may recall, earlier this year I was able to get 75 inch 4K TV using this deal.    For 2020, AMEX increased the credit to $200.   

Additionally, AMEX has had some excellent AMEX Offers which could be added to cards including $100 Dell when spending $100, one Extra Membership Rewards point per dollar on Dell purchases, as well as 10% back on Dell purchases up to $1,500.   Each extra cardholder on a Platinum card gets their own set of offers.   Additional Gold cards are free on the Platinum card.  Dell also gives 3% Dell Rewards back for all purchases for future use.  As a Founders Card Member, there is also a 10% discount on Electronics. All of these offers could be stacked together.  All shipping is free.  In addition, Rakuten offered 8% back on Dell purchases or you can choose to get 8 Membership Rewards per dollar.  Given all of these offers, it was time to do my semi-annual Dell-o-rama.

Here is the summary of all the offers I had:

AMEX Business Platinum Card – me

$200 Semi-annual credit

10% back on purchases up to $1,500

1 extra Membership Rewards Point per dollar spent

AMEX Business Platinum Card –my wife

$200 Semi-annual credit

10% back on purchases up to $1,500

1 extra Membership Rewards Point per dollar spent

AMEX Platinum Card – me

$100 off $100 in spend

AMEX Platinum Card – my wife

$100 off $100 in spend

AMEX Gold Card (additional cardholder on my Platinum card) – my son

$100 off $100 in spend

1 extra Membership Rewards Point per dollar spent

AMEX Gold Card (additional cardholder on my Platinum card) – my other son

$100 off $100 in spend

AMEX Gold Card (additional cardholder on my Platinum card) – my daughter

$100 off $100 in spend

1 extra Membership Rewards Point per dollar spent

Dell allows you to split payment on up to 3 credit cards per purchase.  So, given that 7 cards were in play, I could use 3 cards on 1 purchase, 3 cards on another purchase, and then 1 card on its own.    

Here is how it went:

Samsung 32-inch 4K TV — $497.99 plus tax

Samsung Galaxy 5E 128GB Tablet — $479.99 plus tax

JBL earbuds — $99.95 plus tax

JBL Noise Cancelling Headphones — $99.95 plus tax

Logitech Headset – $129.00 plus tax

Samsung 32-inch 4K TV

I tried to buy the TV using the Founders Card discount online and it wasn’t working.  I called Dell and spoke to someone in Small Business Sales who said he could provide a quote for me and could even give almost 12% off.  For some reason, it all applied to the TV and the tablet wasn’t discounted.    I asked the agent if he could split the quote into two – one for each item.  I also saw that when I tried to pay for the TV online through the quote that I couldn’t split into three credit cards, but the agent said he could take payment over the phone with 3 cards, so I had to forego the 8% back from Rakuten on the TV purchase.

The price of the TV came down to $383.45 plus tax bringing the total to $408.85.   I paid as follows:

$208.00 on my AMEX Platinum Business

 — used $200 semi-annual credit

—  got back $20.80 due to the 10% back promotion 

—  earned 208 Membership Rewards for the purchase and 208 extra Membership

Rewards due to the 1 extra point promotion

$100.40 on my Platinum card

— received $100 credit for $100 spend

— earned 101 Membership Rewards

$100.45 on my son’s Gold card

— received $100 credit for $100 spend

— earned 101 Membership Rewards

The following week, I had seen that the price on the Dell website on the same TV dropped by $100.   Given the Dell 30 day price guarantee, I asked for a price adjustment.  I explained that I was also given a discount and could they please take that into account as well.   They agreed and processed a $100 refund (plus tax) to my AMEX Platinum Business card.    Not wanting the $100 AMEX credit to be taken back by AMEX, I then purchased a Logitech Headset.  So on this purchase, 208 Membership Rewards were taken back as well as assuming AMEX takes back the 10% cash back on the refund plus tax.  Will also assume $100 of the $200 will be taken back by AMEX (but re-used on headset below).

Net cash price — negative $7.92 (i,e, a profit). This assumes AMEX doesn’t claw back the 10% back given on the $200 credit

Net Membership Rewards earned — 402 (valued at $8.04 assuming they are worth 2 cents each).  

Dell Rewards Earned — $11.50 (assumes no clawback on the $100 refund)

Founders Card Discount — $122.13

Logitech Headset

The Retail price was $129 plus tax.

I contacted the Dell Small Business salesperson who helped me with the TV and he then sent me a quote honoring the Founders Card 10% discount.

$123.79 on my Platinum Business Card (Note – I was given a credit of $106.63 on my card due to the price drop of the TV).  

— used $100 of the $200 semi-annual credit

— got back $12.38 due to the 10% back promotion 

–$3.48 in Dell Rewards (assuming no claw-back on the $100 refund)

— 697 Membership Rewards from Rakuten (now at a reduced 6% rate and assuming no claw-back due to the $100 refund)

— 124 Membership Rewards Points plus another 124 points for the double points AMEX Offer

— The purchase also came with a $30 Dell gift card

Net cash price — $11.41

Net Membership Rewards Earned — 248 (valued at $4.96 assuming the 2 cent value per point)

Dell Rewards Earned — $3.48

Dell Gift card received — $30.00 

Rakuten — $6.97 or 697 Membership Rewards which are worth $13.94

Founders Card discount — $13.75

Samsung tablet

For the tablet, I went through Rakuten and paid $511.79 ($479.99 plus tax) as follows:

$100.50 on my wife’s Platinum card

— Received $100 for $100 in spend

— Earned 101 Membership Rewards

$310.79 on my wife’s Platinum Business card

–Used $200 semi-annual credit 

–Got back $31.08 due to the 10% back promotion

–Earned 311 Membership Rewards for the purchase and 311 extra Membership

Rewards due to the 1 extra point promotion

$100.50 on my son’s Gold card

— Received $100 for $100 in spend

— Earned 101 Membership Rewards for the purchase and 101 extra Membership Rewards due to the 1 extra point promotion

The day after, I saw the same tablet on sale on Samsung.com for $75 less.   I called Dell to get a price reduction based on their 30 day price guarantee.  I learned that they only price match competitors BEFORE you purchase.  After you purchase, they only price match reductions found on Dell.com.   This was not exactly clear on the website.   They agreed to give me a $30 coupon for a future purchase.

Net cash price — $80.71

Net Membership Rewards Earned — 925 (valued at $14.58 assuming the 2 cent value per point)

Dell Rewards Earned — $14.40

Dell Gift card received — $30.00 

Rakuten — $38.40, or 3,840 Membership Rewards which are worth $76.80

JBL Earbuds and JBL Headphones

I initially purchased the earbuds on the website for $99.95 plus tax.  The next day I saw they went on sale on the website for $49.95.  I canceled the order, went through Rakuten, and repurchased at $53.26 ($49.95 + tax).    I then also bought JBL Headphones that were also on sale from $99.95 to $49.95.

$106.52 on my daughter’s Gold card

— Received $100 for $100 in spend

— Earned 106 Membership Rewards for the purchase and 106 extra Membership Rewards due to the 1 extra point promotion

Net Cash price — $6.52

Net Membership Rewards Earned — 212 (valued at $4.24 assuming the 2 cent value per point)

Dell Rewards Earned — $3.00

Rakuten — $8.00, or 800 Membership Rewards which are worth $16.00

Sale discount –$106.63

Summary

Of course I had some buyer’s remorse when a few days later the Rakuten rate jumped to 15%, but oh well.

So, if you stayed with me through the math, I was able to buy the following:

Samsung 32-inch 4K TV — $497.99 plus tax

Samsung Galaxy 5E 128GB Tablet — $479.99 plus tax

JBL earbuds — $99.95 plus tax

JBL Noise Cancelling Headphones — $99.95 plus tax

Logitech Headset – $129.00 plus tax

Total retail price including tax — $1,393.46

Reductions from full retail:

Founders Card discount — $135.88

Sale savings from regular retail price — $106.63

Net Cash price paid — $90.72

Net Membership Rewards Earned — 1,787 valued at $35.74

Rakuten — $53.37 or 5,337 Membership Rewards worth $106.74

Dell Rewards Earned — $32.38

Dell coupons/gift cards — $60.00

Total Rewards Earned — $234.86

As you can see, I received $1,393.46 of merchandise and made a profit of $144.14!

There is still time to get The $200 Dell credit in 2020 by signing up for an AMEX Platinum Business Card.  There is a 95,000 point sign-up bonus.  Click here.

Make sure to add any AMEX offers for Dell that might be listed in your offers.

Sign-up for Dell Rewards on Dell.com

Sign-up for Founders Card.  Click here.

Also, remember to sign-up for Rakuten (and get a $40 or 4,000 Membership Rewards sign-up bonus).  Click here.

What successes have you had with Dell credits?