Pulled straight from the retailer's own promotion, unedited. These have not been price-checked by me — the "was" price is the seller's claim, not a verified one. Everything here ships from a US warehouse, and everything here is being tracked: anything that turns out to be a real markdown moves up to Deals & Picks with a note explaining why.
Recurring commission on purchases — where to actually find markdowns at Amazon, Walmart and Costco, plus the habits that catch a real price drop.
One-time sign-up bonuses from card issuers, banks, brokerages and fintech apps. This section stays small and hand-picked for now — it'll grow once the deals side is established.
One-time bonuses only, sorted by category. Issuer terms change often — the "last verified" date on each program is when I last checked it against the issuer's own page.
Each pick is checked against the retailer's own product page — price, availability and the affiliate link are re-verified on a rolling basis, not scraped once and forgotten.
For a few core searches, I group what I'm tracking into three honest tiers instead of one pick, so you don't have to leave to compare.
Not tied to one product — these are the ongoing retailer programs and techniques worth checking before you buy anything full price.
I track credit card sign-up bonuses, bank and brokerage offers, and shopping deals myself — checking each one against the issuer or retailer's own terms before it goes on this page.
I run Real Deal Meter on the side, by myself. Everything listed here comes from accounts I've actually opened or purchases I've actually made — checked against the issuer or retailer's own terms, not copied from someone else's roundup. If I can't verify a number against an official source, it doesn't get listed.
Spot something out of date or wrong? Email me and I'll fix it — usually the same day.