Deal Secrets #20 - Free Sam's Club membership | $90 AirPods | Great gifts under $15
Rick 'The Cheapskate' Broida
Also in this issue: A parental sanity-saver for $50 and my second-favorite kitchen appliance for $69.
Welcome to Deal Secrets! I’m Rick Broida; you might remember me from such CNET newsletters as The Cheapskate, or, if you’re a fellow Michigander, from the escape room Trapped in a Room with a Zombie. Either way, I’m glad you’re here. Deal Secrets is all about great deals, saving money, and learning new things.
🆓 For example, did you know you can join Sam’s Club more or less for free right now? Just pay the $45 membership fee and within four weeks you’ll receive a $45 gift card.
🎧 Speaking of price clubs, did you know that if you have a Costco membership, you can score Apple AirPods for just $90? That’s the lowest price I’ve ever seen. (For the moment; they’ll be on sale for $89 at Walmart starting today at 7 p.m. ET.)
🎬 Did you know that if you’re a T-Mobile customer (including T-Mobile Home Internet), you can now get a full year of the streaming service Paramount Plus for free?
So, yeah, stuff like that. Read on for more!
DISCLAIMER: Some of the links included herein are affiliate links, meaning if you make a purchase via one of them, I may get a small commission. I promise you, now and forever, that I won’t choose deals based on whether there’s an affiliate option available.
The must-have Cuisinart indoor grill is on sale for $69 (save $31)
I own one of these. I use it constantly. It's fantastic.
The only good sandwich is a grilled sandwich. There, I said it. And I’ll die on this hill, because once you’ve experienced the joys of warm, crispy, melty paninis, you can’t go back to cold turkey.
That’s why the Cuisinart Griddler ranks among my top three kitchen appliances. It normally sells for $100 (which is the price pretty much everywhere right now), but for a limited time, and while supplies last, SideDeal has the Cuisinart Griddler for $69. Shipping adds $9, though you can sign up for SideDeal’s membership program and pay $6 instead, then cancel the membership. Either way, a solid savings.
The Griddler comes with a set of removable, reversible non-stick plates – one side for grilling, one for pressing. Although the photo on the listing page shows waffle plates as well, I don’t believe they’re included. (Everywhere else I’ve looked, they’re an optional extra.)
Take note that SideDeal isn’t Amazon; delivery might take 1-2 weeks.
5 fantastic gifts for under $15
Each item here: $15 or less. Sure, it'll seem like you spent more, but that'll be our secret, mm-kay?
Is there a Secret Santa exchange in your future? A white-elephant party? Are you planning ahead for stockings that need stuffing or the latter nights of Hanukkah? I’ve got you. Everything below is priced $15 or less.
🎁 Cross 10 people off your gift list for just $9 with this 10-pack of folding phone stands. They’re insanely useful for reading books while you eat breakfast, watching movies on the plane, jumping on a hands-free Zoom call wherever, and so on.
🎁 These solar-powered LED wind chimes ($10) don’t actually chime; they glow and change colors at night. And they’re genuinely lovely. Great gift for any homeowner (or apartment-with-sun-facing-balcony owner).
🎁 This may seem an odd gift, but it’s a super-practical one: The GHome Smart Outlet Extender / Surge Protector for $14.39 when you clip the on-page 10%-off coupon and then apply promo code 30Z688PC at checkout. It turns two AC outlets into six (three of them “smart”) and provides three powered USB ports. Trust me when I say all your devices need surge protection; the smart features are icing on the safety cake.
🎁 I’m a huge fan of LED light strips, which you can use for TV bias lighting or just around-the-house lighting coolness. Here’s a 50-foot LED light strip for just $15 when you clip the on-page $4-off coupon. You can operate it using the included remote or pair it with your phone for app control.
🎁 Ditch the Keurig (and those heinous pods). Pour-over coffee tastes way better, costs less in the long run, and generates less waste. Often selling for $17, the Oxo Brew Pour Over Coffee Maker is down to $14.95 right now. I use this almost daily for my morning cuppa joe. Awesome gift for any coffee lover.
Parents: Entertain and educate the little ones with the Fire 7 Kids tablet for $50 (lowest price ever)
This kid-friendly tablet for $50 is the steal to end all steals.
Got little kids? Amazon’s Fire 7 Kids tablet is a must-have, whether you need a few minutes’ peace on a long car ride or you want an easy way to transport piles and piles of children’s books.
Amazon proper charges $100 for it, with sales occasionally bringing it as low as $60. For a limited time, however, Daily Steals has the new, retail Fire 7 Kids tablet for $50 with promo code SBDSFTBL.
It comes in a colorful, kid-proof case with built-in stand. It includes a year of Amazon Kids+, which affords unlimited access to a huge library of age-appropriate books, games, educational apps, and so on. And it’s covered by a 2-year, no-questions-asked warranty. (Do your worst, toddlers!)
If anyone has access to a time machine, could you grab one of these for me and jump it back to circa 2003? I have a lot of lost sanity that could have been saved.
Thanks for reading Deal Secrets! Questions? Comments? Hit me up on Twitter or Facebook, or shoot me an e-mail. I’ll do my best to respond to all inquiries!