The best early Prime Day deal gives $10 Amazon credit with a $40 gift card – Ars Technica

The best early Prime Day deal gives $10 Amazon credit with a $40 gift card

Ars Technica

Today’s Dealmaster is headlined by a handful of special offers Amazon has set live ahead of its upcoming Prime Day sales event, which the company recently announced for June 21-22. The best early deal of the bunch is one we also saw during last year’s event: Prime members who buy select Amazon gift cards worth $40 or more will get a bonus $10 Amazon promotional credit applied to their account at no extra cost.

To get the deal, you’ll have to use the code “GIFTFORPD21” at checkout or tap the “Apply code to your account” button 
located on the offer’s landing page. You should then see a notice at checkout that confirms your eligibility for the credit, which Amazon will then email to you and apply to your account within two days. The company says you’ll have to use the credit before August 8, and the credit itself can’t be applied to items sold by third-party vendors on Amazon’s store. You can only utilize the offer once per account, and again, the deal is only for Prime members, since Amazon’s aim here is to generate more users and sales activity ahead of Prime Day. All that said, if you buy a card for yourself, the deal effectively gives $50 in Amazon money for the price of $40. Amazon says the offer will run through June 20 or while supplies last.

If you don’t feel like taking advantage, though, our weekend deals roundup also has early Prime Day deals on Audible and Amazon Music Unlimited subscriptions, plus good price drops on PlayStation Plus, the recently-released Resident Evil Village, wireless Logitech mice, noise-canceling headphones we like, and much more. You can check out the full curated roundup below.

Note: Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

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Top 10 deals of the day

The 2020, M1-equipped Mac mini.
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/ The 2020, M1-equipped Mac mini.

Samuel Axon

Laptop and desktop PC deals

  • Apple Mac Mini (2020) mini desktop PC—Apple M1, 8GB RAM, 256GB for $599.99 at Amazon (discount seen at checkout—normally $670).
  • HP Spectre x360 (13t-aw200) 2-in-1 laptop—Intel Core i7-1165G7, 13.3-inch 1080p, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD for $1,079.99 at HP (select Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD at config and use code: HP21MD10—normally $1,300).
  • HP Spectre x360 (15t-eb100) 2-in-1 laptop—Intel Core i7-1165G7, 15.6-inch 3840×2160, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD for $1,232.99 at HP (select 512GB SSD at config and use code: HP21MD10—normally $1,550).
  • Lenovo ThinkBook 13s (Gen 2) laptop—Intel Core i5-1135G7, 13.3-inch 2560×1600, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD for $724.99 at Lenovo (use code: THINKMEM21—normally $850).
  • Dell G5 15 (5510) gaming laptop—Intel Core i7-10870H, 15.6-inch 1080p 120 Hz, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 6GB for $1,099.99 at Dell (use code: STUDENT100—normally $1,400).
  • 27-inch Gigabyte G27Q gaming monitor—2560×1440, IPS, 144 Hz, FreeSync for $249.99 at Amazon (normally $300).
  • 27-inch LG 27GL850-B gaming monitor—2560×1440, IPS, 144 Hz, FreeSync for $386.99 at Amazon and Walmart (normally $450).
  • 32-inch LG 32GK650F-B gaming monitor—2560×1440, VA, 144 Hz, FreeSync for $296.99 at Amazon, B&H, and BuyDig (normally $350).
  • Samsung 870 Evo (500GB) 2.5-inch SATA internal SSD for $59.99 at Samsung, Amazon, and Adorama (normally $67).
  • Samsung SSD 980 (500GB) M.2 NVMe internal SSD for $65.99 at Newegg (use code: EMCXEXEU2—normally $71).
The voice acting in this argument is top-tier diva material.
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/ The voice acting in this argument is top-tier diva material.

Capcom

Video game deals

In <em>Assassin's Creed Valhalla</em>, Eivor reps the Raven Clan while storming 9th-century England the only way a Viking knows how: By swinging axes, making pals, and drinking mead.
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/ In
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Eivor reps the Raven Clan while storming 9th-century England the only way a Viking knows how: By swinging axes, making pals, and drinking mead.

Ubisoft

The <em>Demon's Souls </em>remake for PS5.
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/ The
Demon’s Souls remake for PS5.
<em>Disco Elysium</em> is one of the most well-written RPG in recent memory.
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/
Disco Elysium is one of the most well-written RPG in recent memory.
The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.
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/ The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.

Gaming deals

Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gets you access to a lot of games for a monthly fee.
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/ Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gets you access to a lot of games for a monthly fee.

Microsoft

Sony's DualShock 4 Back Button Attachment. It adds two programmable buttons to the back of your PS4 controller.
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/ Sony’s DualShock 4 Back Button Attachment. It adds two programmable buttons to the back of your PS4 controller.

Jeff Dunn

TV and home entertainment deals

Anker's Soundcore Life Q30 is an impressive wireless noise-canceling headphone that costs less than $100.
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/ Anker’s Soundcore Life Q30 is an impressive wireless noise-canceling headphone that costs less than $100.

Jeff Dunn

Electronics deals

The Beats Solo Pro are a solid pair of on-ear noise-canceling headphones
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/ The Beats Solo Pro are a solid pair of on-ear noise-canceling headphones

Jeff Dunn

Smart home device deals

Ecobee's SmartThermostat with Voice Control.
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/ Ecobee’s SmartThermostat with Voice Control.

Ecobee

Accessories and miscellaneous deals

  • Prime members only: Get $10 promotional credit when you spend $40 or more on select Amazon gift cards at Amazon (use code: GIFTFORPD21 or hit “Apply code to your account” button).
  • Prime members only: Audible Premium Plus 4-month membership for $27.80 ($6.95/month) at Amazon (auto-renews at $14.95/month after first four months—normally $60).
  • New subscribers + Prime members only: Amazon Music Unlimited 4-month membership for free at Amazon (auto-renews at $8/month after first four months, three months free for non-Prime members—normally $24).
  • Instant Pot Duo Nova (6qt) 7-in-1 electric pressure cooker for $69 at BuyDig (normally $90).
  • Anker PowerPort PD 1 18W USB-C PD wall charger + Anker PowerLine II (3ft) USB-C to Lightning cable for $15.99 at Amazon (clip $9 coupon—normally $25).
  • Anker PowerPort Cube (5ft) USB power strip—18W, 3x USB-A, 3x AC for $14.99 at Amazon (clip 15% coupon and use code: ANKERA1499—normally $18).
  • Anker USB-C to HDMI Cable (6ft) for $11.99 at Amazon (use code: ANKERHDMI—normally $18).
  • SanDisk Extreme Pro (128GB) SDXC card—UHS-I, V30, U3, Class 10 for $29.99 at Amazon, Adorama, and B&H (normally $34).
Amazon has set a handful of deals live for Prime members ahead of its Prime Day sales event later this month.
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/ Amazon has set a handful of deals live for Prime members ahead of its Prime Day sales event later this month.

Amazon