Black Friday Deals are LIVE Online!! & Slickdeals is Giving Away FREE SMART CARS! (Valued at $12k each)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

This is a quick message to let you all know (in case you haven’t been joining in on the fun over the past two hours), that many major vendors have already sent live their Black Friday sales online!

That means that instead of waiting in line all night in the cold for the external harddrive or Playstation 3 Bundle that you are looking for, you can just score great deals by just sitting next to your computer and buying these deals before they go out of stock!

I recommend refreshing Slickdeals.net (SD) constantly as your buying guide. Anything that makes the frontpage on that website is usually an excellent deal. SD is also giving away prizes HOURLY this weekend—including a number of smart cars valued at $12,000 each! Just sign up for an account and enter the giveaways every hour. It’s free.

So what is the deal about Black Friday and why should you care?

If you’ve never gotten into the hype or if you are planning on just avoiding Black Friday, here are a few reasons why it’s a GREAT time of the year for any deal hunter–especially miles enthusiasts:

• Great Deals without Leaving Your Computer. Last year, Black Friday weekend deals were almost all available online (with the exception of televisions) at the same prices as the brick & mortar stores. This year, we are already seeing stores like Best Buy release the vast majority of their Black Friday sales online their website. This goes to show that you can find great deals without even leaving the comfort of your room. Just keep checking the computer and have your miles-earning credit card(s) ready!
• FAR=Free Miles! Many items (especially software) are Free After Rebate (FAR). This means that if you buy the items using your favorite miles earning credit card (or a new credit card you need to hit a spend requirement to get a sign up bonus for), you can be doing this and be essentially earning the miles for free. (Only partake in this option if you are comfortable with not seeing the money you spend for 8-12 weeks, while the rebate is being processed.)
• Best Time for Buying Gifts. The price slashes for Black Friday weekend are INCREDIBLY competitive, with stores luring customers to line up for items that you cannot find at better prices anywhere. For example, one of Walmart’s 5 AM doorbuster items this year is a 50″ LCD HDTV for only $298! That’s over $600 LESS than what it normally retails for! This is a GREAT time to buy gifts for others or for yourself!
• Help Friends. You can score some good karma points by helping friends complete their shopping list by agreeing to stay up on the computer to purchase certain online deals for them when it goes live, or by waiting in line at the store to buy something. In exchange, you can put the purchase on your favorite miles-earning credit card, and have your friend pay you back. That way you’re earning the miles without having to actually pay for the item. And at the same time, hopefully you’ll be able to pick up a few things you want too!
• Resell Items. The deals during Black Friday are usually so good and limited in quantity that you can simply resell the items on Ebay and Craigslist a week or so after you purchase them for over 35% more than what you paid for, and they’ll usually all sell before Christmas time making you a few quick bucks. Now, this generally isn’t any sort of quit-your-dayjob kind of business scheme (unless you’re buying in bulk), but if you’re using your favorite miles earning credit card to make the purchases anyway, you’re coming on top in both miles & cash. (Which is a win win in my opinion.)

So many reasons to be actively online and checking out the deals right now! Here are a few of my favorite deals so far:

• 2TB Hitachi Touro USB 3.0 External Desktop Hard Drive for $64.99 (normally $129.99) at OfficeMax. (don’t forget to use your Chase Ink credit card for 5x points!)
• Seagate Backup Plus 3 TB USB 3.0 Desktop USB Harddrive for $99.00 at Amazon & Best Buy. (Normally sells for $149.99 to $199.99 at most stores.)
• 250GB Microsoft Xbox 360 Holiday Bundle w/ Forza Motorsport 4 & Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Download Token for $190.00 at Newegg via Ebay. (Normally sells for $299.99 at most stores.)
• 250GB Sony PlayStation 3 Bundle w/ Uncharted Dual Pack & InFamous Collectionfor $199.99 at Best Buy & Newegg. (Normally goes for $249.99 to $299.99 at most stores.)
• at Game Stop. (Use promo code “SAVER” for free shipping.) (New 32GB models normally sell for $499.99 at most stores!)

And remember that if you sync your American Express credit card with Twitter and tweet hashtag #AmexBestBuyOffer you will receive a $20 statement credit on any purchase at Best Buy of $200 or more! That means the Playstation 3 Bundle could be $20 off!

If you don’t have an American Express card or already used the sync offer, then don’t forget that the Chase Freedom Credit Card’s quarterly bonus for 5x this quarter is at Best Buy and Kohls!

And today has just barely started! I can tell it’s going to be a long..and very exciting day!