Why the Apple Store Black Friday Gift Card Offer Isn’t a Great Deal

This story is part of Christmas gift guide 2021, our list of ideas, by theme, by recipient and by price, to help you discover the perfect gift.

exist many discounts on Apple equipment is Black Friday weekend, but the Apple Store is probably not the best place to find them. On Wednesday, the company unveiled its offers for the “Apple Shopping Event” that runs from Black Friday through Cyber ​​monday. As always, the Apple Store doesn’t offer much in terms of discount sticker prices for iPhones, iPads, Mac and AirPods – but offers gift cards.

The exact gift card amount each product will receive will vary, but Apple preview site it’s a bit misleading. Instead of publishing the exact details, Apple has decided to hide the details of certain parts of its product line by grouping them into categories. AirPods, for example, can “get an Apple gift card of up to $ 75” if you buy a set of AirPods (2nd or 3rd generation), AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max. The key phrase is “until”.

Read more: Apple’s best deals so far

Flipping through the fine print Apple has a practical table which reveals the actual details of the offers. Buying regular 2nd or 3rd generation AirPods only gets you a $ 25 gift card, and AirPods Pro get a $ 50 gift card. Only $ 549 AirPods Max qualify for the full $ 75 gift card.

It’s even more complicated with accessories like the four-pack AirTags. Apple typically retails for $ 99 and places this product in the “up to $ 50” gift card category. A quick look at that fine print shows that you are actually getting a $ 25 gift card.

While this is really a good four-pack deal, not actually discounted anywhere else at the time of this writing, it’s not as good as Apple’s teaser looks.

Do you want a deal? Worth looking elsewhere

Apple rarely directly discounts its products. Instead, if you’re looking for a deal on Apple products, you’d better shop at Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, Walmart, or many other retailers.

the Apple Watch SE is $ 60 off at Best Buy while Apple only offers a $ 50 gift card. The AirPods Pro have been regularly lowered to $ 159 During the last days at Amazon and Walmart: Apple charges $ 249 and during the weekend it will only include a $ 50 gift card.

Even if you buy with an Apple Card, which gives you an additional 3% through a refund, you could still fall behind depending on the product you are purchasing.

Apple Store vs. Other Retail Savings

Product	Gift card offer	Current savings	Apple Store “Penalty”
512GB MacBook Air M1	$ 100	$ 150	– $ 50
Apple Watch SE	$ 50	$ 60	– $ 10
Beats Studio Buds	$ 25	$ 50	– $ 25
AirPods Pro	$ 50	$ 90	– $ 40

Where the Apple gift card deal could make sense

It’s worth noting that there is a potential scenario where you could make the most of Apple’s Christmas bounty: trades. While the company doesn’t always have the best trade-in deals, their process is among the easiest and easiest ways when it comes to turning in old equipment and getting credit for it.

If you’re looking for an iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, or Mac, you can trade in your device, get purchase credit, and still get the gift card. The latter will need to be used for a future purchase, but all of this could quickly add up to good savings.

If you use the company’s education store (particularly helpful for finding official discounts on Macs and iPads) and the Apple Card, you could end up with some solid savings by properly disposing of your old machine.