So we're still waffling on the Macbook upgrade plan and want to better understand how the Bic Camera points work, and if there are ever any additional discounts available for Apple products - their usual coupons are excluded from Apple products and it seems everyone - Bic, Yodabashi, Costco, etc are all matching Apple Store pricing on the M4 Macbook Air and no one seems to discount this model at all.

When you buy at Bic Camera without a local Japan address, can you sign up for points, and is there any delay before you can use the points on your next purchase? I want to buy a Panasonic Doltz ultrasonic toothbrush, so my plan is to buy the Macbook, get the points, then go upstairs to personal appliances and redeem those points against the cost of the toothbrush and other misc items I buy there to bring back

But if there is a delay between earning the points and redeeming them, or you can't earn the points without a Japan address, then it changes things and tips the cost in favor of Amazon.

Here is the math:

Option 1 - buy from Amazon US, cost is $1,450 plus re-routing the shipping via Delaware to avoid almost $200 per Macbook in California sales tax. Cost of the re-route is guesstimated at $75 per Macbook, including the mailbox rental fee for a month, package handling and the UPS shipping cost. This is the absolute cheapest option unless the Yen totally collapses against the dollar in the next week. The downside is Amazon may refuse to ship to the mailbox location, or the shipping or handling costs may be more than estimated, but at first pass, this should be an all-in cost of about US$1,525

Option 2 - buy from Bic Camera. Cost is JPY258,800 minus 10% tax, and with a 5% rebate in points. This will run an estimated no tax net of US$1,605 for the Macbook. But now I need to consider the value of the 5% points rebate since I am buying other things - that runs about US$90 in value, so my net-net all in is closer to $1,515, slightly lower than the US Amazon estimate

Pro of Option 2 - we have a guaranteed cost, and walk out with the Macbook, no worries about shipping or variable costs.

Con of Option 2 - we will probably end up with at least one or both with Japanese keyboards - for me, likely not a big issue, for my other half, maybe more so. If we need to wait to redeem the points, or the points can't be redeemed at all, then there is no reason to buy at Bic Camera as Amazon will be cheaper all in