*This below offer is expired and is no longer valid.
Even though I try not to spend with reckless abandon, I’m still a sucker for smart home technology. When I was at FinCon last month, I managed to win an Amazon Echo Dot and have had that thing sitting on my shelf for the past month. It’s pretty cool.
The thing I really wanted, though, was a Google Home Mini. It fits better in my smart home ecosystem and I’m more of a fan of Google stuff anyway. Still, it’s not something that I’d be willing to spend $50 or even $25 on. I’m way too cheap for that.
The other day, however, I was browsing Doctor of Credit and saw that, with a little bit of scheming, it was possible to get a Google Home Mini for just $5.
Five bucks for a Google Home Mini? Now that’s something I can do!
Today, I wanted to share with you this deal that I found on Doctor of Credit (in case you missed it) and explain how you can get in on this too. If you follow the steps outlined in this post, you’ll be able to get a Google Home Mini for the effective price of only $5.
Even if you don’t care about smart tech stuff, getting a decent piece of smart home technology for $5 is well worth it to me. That’s not even the cost of a meal at a fast food joint.
You’ll need two things in order to get in on this deal:
- A Google Express account (you’ll have this automatically if you have a Gmail account);
- An American Express card with a targeted offer for $20 off a $50 purchase at Google Express.
I don’t know how long this offer will actually last, so my advice – get in on this early while you can.
How To Get A Google Home Mini For $5
In order to get in on this deal, you’ll first need to check your American Express account to see if you’ve received a targeted offer giving you a $20 statement credit after spending $50 or more at Google Express.
Log into your American Express account and then scroll down to the bottom of your dashboard. You’ll see a section called Amex Offers and Benefits.
If you’ve been targeted for this offer, you’ll see the below:
Click the “Redeem Now” button and it’ll apply this offer to your American Express card. I had the offer on my American Express SPG personal card, but I didn’t have it on my American Express SPG business card. My wife had the offer on both of her American Express cards (a Delta Skymiles Blue card and a Blue Cash Everyday card).
The offer itself is pretty straightforward and works automatically once applied – spend $50 or more at Google Express and you’ll get a $20 statement credit from AmEx.
A Google Home Mini costs $49 without tax. With tax, your Google Home Mini should cost slightly more than $50.
Make sure that your order costs at least $50 before tax. It seems like Google might waive your tax depending on where you live and the worst case scenario is that Google waives the tax after you put your purchase in, and then you find out that your total order is just barely under $50. You never want to risk anything with deals like this and it’s not a big deal to just add a small item to your order to take your total order over $50 before tax. I added a box of pasta to my offer that cost $1.38.
The American Express offer is good through December 28, 2017, so you’ve got plenty of time to decide whether you want to use it.
Stacking The Deal With A $25 Walmart Promo Code
In addition to the $20 statement credit from American Express, Walmart is currently offering a $25 promo code for future purchases you make from Walmart using Google Express.
You won’t be able to miss the promo (it’s plastered all over the main page of Google Express). You can also go directly to the promo page using this link.
To claim the promo, all you have to do is buy a Google Home Mini from Google Express through Walmart, then link your Google Express account to your Walmart account by January 15, 2018. The Google app will walk you through how to do this.
Once you do that, you’ll have $25 in credit that you can use to buy stuff from Walmart using Google Express.
If you’re wondering what Google Express is, it’s basically just Google’s version of Amazon. You can just buy stuff that you need from Google Express and then they’ll ship stuff to you. In this case, you’ll get $25 worth of credit that you can use on Google Express for stuff from Walmart.
To break it down again, here’s how you earn your $25 in Walmart credit using this promo:
- Buy a Google Home Mini from Walmart using Google Express
- Once you receive your Google Home Mini, set it up and link your Google account with Walmart
- Your $25 Walmart credit will be applied automatically.
The $25 Walmart credit is limited to two per household, so if you have multiple American Express cards that have the $20 statement credit offer, you can actually buy two Google Home Mini’s for an effective price of $5 each. Just make sure you do it in two separate transactions using your two different American Express cards that have the $20 statement credit offer.
I personally bought two Google Home Mini’s, linked them both to my Google Express account, and immediately had two $25 Walmart credits applied to my account. To use the $25 promo code, you just apply them at the checkout screen, under the section that says Promo Code.
You have to use the $25 promo credit by January 31, 2018, which shouldn’t be a problem for most people. I’m planning to use my credit to buy groceries or something like that.
I’m not sure when this offer will expire, and while the terms say that you can earn the $25 credit for any Google Home Mini that’s activated by January 15, 2018, I’d probably get it sooner than that just because you never know when a deal like this might go away.
The Effective Cost Of Your Google Home Mini = $5
So, a quick recap on how to get your Google Home Mini for $5:
- Check your American Express account to see if you have an offer for $20 in statement credit for a $50 or more purchase from Google Express. (make sure to activate the offer too).
- Buy your Google Home Mini from Walmart using Google Express.
- Link your Google Home Mini with your Walmart account (you might have to create a Walmart account).
- Your $25 Walmart credit will be applied to your account, which you can then use on future purchases.
If you stack both of these deals, the effective cost of your Google Home Mini will be $5. The Google Home Mini costs approximately $50. You get a $20 statement credit from American Express. And Walmart gives you $25 in credits for a future purchase.
That’s $50 you pay upfront, but $45 you get back in the form of statement credits or credits for future purchases that you’ll already make anyway.
If you’ve never used Google Express before, you can also get $10 off a $40 or more purchase from Walmart if you use code GET10OFF40. In other words, you can get yourself $10 more of free stuff from Walmart – you just have to make sure that your total cost, after including that promo code, is still over $50.
Personally, I think this deal is way too good to pass up. I’ve got two of them – one in my living room and the other one in my kitchen. It’s possible my house is TOO smart now.
Hope this helps out those of you looking to get some smart home technology for your home. Hit me up if you have any questions or leave a comment below.
What do you think? Are you going to take advantage of this deal?
*Quick update: For Black Friday, the Google Home Mini is on sale for $29. That means that you could buy two Google Home Mini’s for a total cost of $58. With the AmEx offer, you’ll get $20 back in statement credit and you’ll get $25 in Walmart credit for each Google Home Mini. In other words, you’ll literally make a net profit of $12 with this deal! ($58-$20-$25-$25 = $12 profit).
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:
- GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
- Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($10) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- Digital Federal Credit Union ($100) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $100 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
- Upgrade ($100) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $100 referral bonus if you open an account and complete three debit card transactions. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Importantly, this bonus says that it’s now scheduled to end on January 31, 2023. As long as you get your account opened before January 31st, you should be eligible. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $100 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- OnJuno ($60) – OnJuno is a fintech/neobank that is currently offering a $10 referral bonus if you open an account using a referral link and make a deposit of $50 or more. You will also get 1000 JCOIN. The 1000 of JCOIN is cryptocurrency. At the time I'm writing this, it'll be worth about $50. Check out my OnJuno referral bonus guide here.
- Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Albert ($150) – If you can manage to do a real direct deposit, Albert is an easy account you can use to earn a referral bonus. Here’s a review about Albert I wrote. And here’s a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Albert referral bonus.
- Netspend ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $20 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $20 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
- DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $100 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
- Novo Bank. Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. It’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Just saw on my wife’s amex for her card and my joint card having these Googel Express offers which I added to each card. After placing the orders on both got immediate notifications of both offers being used from American Express. On one of the orders it prompted if I wanted to link my walmart to google express. I clicked and it linked the account. Hopefully this is not a mistake linking the account early before receiving both devices. Guess I’ll find out, but in the little details states: *Device must be activated and accounts linked between October 4, 2017 and January 15, 2018 to qualify. So hopefully it doesn’t matter that linking before device arrives. If so I should see these offers when activating them. 😉
Hmm…I think as long as you’re linked that should be fine. I didn’t get any message asking me to link it beforehand. Let me know if it works out!
Doesn’t that mean that “the man” will be listening all the time! Great post how much tech do you have in your house?
I think Google’s listening to me all the time anyway – I swear that anytime I’m thinking of something, an ad for the thing I was thinking of pops up!
For tech, let’s see…I’ve got a Ring Video Doorbell, a Blink camera, and a Google OnHub Router, plus the Chromecast and Roku for my tv. So it’s not that “smart.”
I saw that the Google Home mini is now $29 on Google express and you still get the $25 Walmart gift card for purchasing it. Currently, it is sold out though lol
It sold out by yesterday afternoon. I tried to grab more but it sold out as I inputed my credit card details. Target and Best Buy also has this pricing with $10 e-gift cards included. I ordered from Best Buy two of these and both are going to send e-gift cards upon shipping.
I went ahead and bought mine from Best Buy , too!
Bummer folks! I snagged them back before the Black Friday sales, so it hadn’t sold out then. I guess just another reason to jump on deals like this when they’re good – you just never know what might happen the next day.
Hopefully, they come back in stock, which I expect they will after all the Black Friday/Cyber Monday madness. At that point, I think you should still be able to snag them for the effective price of $5 So keep an eye out to see if they get back in stock!