The Shops at Chase
 

So going through my new benefits for the CSR and I notice that I have a $250 credit at the "Shops at Chase". I never really paid much attention to this over the past few months as I have been reading about the new card offerings, so I thought it was a pleasant surprise. I need a new toaster oven, and thought maybe I could use this benefit on something pragmatically useful for me. I found the following on the "Shops at Chase" page:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c6fb6ecb73.png
$555 for a Cuisinart Toaster Oven? Seems kind of expensive, especially for a Cuisinart. I would rather buy a Brevel for that much. As I am now learning about anything bought through the Chase "benefits" website, I follow up with a quick Google search to see what the MSRP is:
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f9907333f2.png
MSRP of $369.95. Chase has literally no shame. They are charging $159.05 (43%) more for a toaster oven that can be bought at Williams ....ing Sonoma. I haven't checked all the options on their exclusive online shopping experience, but given the headline prices of just about everything I suspect its a similar situation.

Now don't get me wrong, I am going to buy something for $249.99, regardless of how ridiculously it is priced. However I am slowly starting to realize this is the "catch" for a lot of these advertised "benefits".

I spent quite a lot of time planning a recent vacation around the Edit hotels. I eventually found something that provided value at 2.0ccp redemption, and would not have added benefit with the credit. However it took a while, and was rather agitated by the experience. Similar to their little shopping portal here, a lot of the Edit hotels were just outright overpriced versus booking direct. A lot of Edit hotels did not offer cheaper class of rooms, even though their were available direct at the hotel. That is, they were pushing you to a more expensive "Superior" room rather than a "Deluxe" room. Many hotels weren't available at all during peak times, even though again they were available direct. I have not messed with the dining credit yet, but from my investigations into it shows a lot of opacity regarding what is and is not eligible for the credit,

Ultimately this is just another example of the new Chase rebrand being more of an agitating game I need to play, and not a supporting supplement to my travel or lifestyle.

I also noticed that for Tumi carry-on luggage, the Chase shop has everything at full MSRP, but Amazon has many of these at around $200 cheaper.

I think the best use of the $250 credit is for items that cost around $250. Also good for brands like Bang & Olufsen that don't allow retailers to discount from MSRP.

I was actually considering replacing my ipad
(stomped on by my son) and the price matches what Apple sells them for, which is $50 more expensive than Amazon. More than outweighed of course by a $250 credit. But do we know if the shops do sales around Black Friday like a “normal” store would?

It is truly annoying that they will only ship to the primary address on record. It makes it much harder to send a gift.

Sadly this has long been the reality with so many cards and their various portals or products. It is also why I almost never place value on these benefits at the level of the bloggers, websites et al.

In addition to their travel portals being ridiculously unfriendly to use, the prices are almost always inflated. The products they offer for miles or points are always at an inflated MSRP that is often never the true selling price at any merchant. Ultimately, the cards promote all of this to sound valuable, technically tell the truth, and count on enough people being too oblivious or too apathetic to care.

Airlline merchandise redemptions are even worse.

They usually have two Apple sales a year. One in May and the other in mid November. I am on the lookout for a November sale. I usually get accessories that are rarely on sale at Amazon. One year I got HomePad Minis and I got an Apple TV 4K. Also Apple Watch bands. I don't think I would get an iPad with points because I buy them with custom configurations.

See here for Apple-specific discussions:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chas...solidated.html

On the mobile app buying AirPods, I don’t see an option to change shopping address. Can someone help? Thanks

As I found out previously (see posts above), you can not change your shipping address. They will only send to your registered address. I'm sure they would say it's a "security measure".

So what are some of the good deal items at $250?

I doubt this would be a good deal if you're paying $248 in cash, but my daughter selected this item:


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...838fb47b13.png

It's a good deal when it's free. Came out to $248 after taxes and shipping.

That is very much the case with Shops at Chase. I think the trick is to buy something ~$250 so that even if the price is grossly inflated, it's still free or almost free for you. There might also be brands that strictly prohibit discounting from MSRP. I know Bose does that, but it's not currently on Shops at Chase. With those brands, it really would be $250 off (assuming Chase didn't up the MSRP).

Looking at the Dyson products, Chase directs me to the Dyson website, where I need to enter the shipping address. So, in theory, I could send to someone else as a gift. So, perhaps some sites/products will allow a non-registered address?

I ordered this item yesterday and got a Chase email that the order has been placed and will be shipped. However, I have not since received any follow-up emails about shipping status or a tracking number. Is that normal with The Shops at Chase? How long did it take for you to receive the product?