Are those Best Buy credit cards worth the effort? A Best Buy worker shared just how frustrating using them can be in a viral video. He had to call the representative multiple times.
TikTok user Dallas (@dallas_ponzo) recalled this while sitting in his car. “The very first customer of the day today came in and purchased a screen protector and a case on his [Best Buy] credit card and had no issue doing so. It was $114. It went through,” he shared with his 298,000 followers.
When the customer returned to buy another item, there was a problem.
“Ten minutes later though, the same customer came up to me and wanted to purchase Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra headphones on that same card except this time, it declined three separate times,” the content creator shared. “I checked his balance and he had $3,338 available.”
As soon as the employee gave the card number and information to the bank rep, there was another hassle. “After a couple of minutes, super quickly, she goes, ‘OK, what’s the card number again?'’’ Dallas said.
Once the customer gave him their card, he read off the numbers. “I started reading it off and she goes, ‘OK. Give me just a minute,’” he revealed. “Then, like, 30 seconds later, she comes back and says, ‘One of those numbers was wrong. It didn’t work.’”
“She started reading it and got to a point where it was wrong, I said, ‘It’s wrong. That’s not the right number,'” he said. After entering the correct number, the worker wanted to speak with the customer. Handing the phone to the customer, the bank worker interrogated, “‘Is that really a [Best Buy] rep standing next to you?’”
Annoyed, the customer asked, “This is ridiculous. Why does it have to be such a process to use my card?’”
They'd had enough. “I just straight-up hung up on her," Dallas said. "The customer was, like, ‘I’m glad you did that. I just won't buy them’ and left.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Dallas and Best Buy for comment.
“The only thing I miss about working at Best Buy is the discount. lol. Everything else is such a hassle,” one viewer wrote.
“I hate calling our help/citi line, it’s so frustrating to work with them. It’s always a pain whether you’re a customer or the employee,” another commented.
“As a current employee the bridge and the bank are the WORST THINGS TO DO,” a third agreed.
Others offered explanations.
“I worked as a QA analyst for a call center. you can call back from the same number, ask for a manager and have them do a ‘tape pull.’ they should evaluate the call and coach her,” one user stated.
“It’s a fraud alert on the bank side, if you make a purchase, then go back to do a second at the same store, in a short amount of time they will think it’s fraud,” a second said.
Large purchases within a short amount of time can trigger a fraud alert. In addition, if you're not a huge spender, this can raise flags. To avoid this, Bankrate suggests informing your credit card issuer about your new spending habits or requesting a credit card with a higher limit.
It comes down to your spending habits and loyalty to Best Buy.
You get $5 for every $100 you spend, per Best Buy's website. There are bonus rewards throughout the year, and you earn on premium brands like Apple. But as Reddit notes, rewards expire.
"Best Buy points earned by using their store credit card or either of the Best Buy Citi Visa cards are automatically redeemed for a Best Buy certificate when you hit a max of $20 in rewards (unless you meet certain annual spend requirements at Best Buy), and those certificates expire in 60 days. If you don't use the rewards you get from Best Buy in 2 months, they're gone, period. I would not recommend applying for any of the Best Buy credit cards unless you consistently and regularly shop at Best Buy. Even if you are a regular, think very carefully about whether or not you would be better served by another card," a redditor noted in the Credit Cards forum.
But fans of the card are into its 12-24 month 0% financing. As one redditor observed:
"This is the best use of the card. 24 months financing can save hundreds and is worth more than cash back or rewards. It’s a legitimate way to afford major appliances such as a fridge, washer, dryer, tv, etc especially since these purchases either come when moving and you have lots of large one time purchases at once, or at imperfect times when they suddenly break.
Just caution for anyone reading this, this financing offer is deferred interest - contingent on paying the entire financed amount off on time. Owe even $5 at the end of the term and the entire interest amount built up becomes owed. So make sure you structure your payments appropriately."
@dallas_ponzo The experience wasn’t quiet nor comfortable
♬ original sound - Dallas
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The post ‘I checked his balance’: Best Buy customer tries purchasing Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra headphones. There’s just one problem appeared first on The Daily Dot.
