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Over the past couple of years, Google has had a couple of different payment platforms: Android Pay for Android devices, and Google Wallet, which is an online wallet that can be used on desktop devices / browsers or to pay within apps from the Google Play store. Today, Google announced that in the coming months they are merging the platforms into Google Pay. Along with that announcement, they are offering discounts at several retailers that are already accepting Google Pay, including $10 off $50 at B&H Photo, $5 off Fandango tickets, and $10 off $35+ at Instacart, which is a grocery delivery company. See below for more details on each.
The Deal
- Google is combining Android Pay and Google Wallet to form Google Pay
- Discounts are available at several companies that accept Google Pay
- See Google’s blog post on this new roll-out here
- See more information on the discounts below here
Discount details
To get things started, Google is offering discounts at B&H Photo, Fandango, and Instacart. The details of each:
B&H Photo
- Get $10 off $50+ when you check out with Google Pay at B&H Photo by 1/31/18
- Limit one per customer
What it’s good for: I don’t see any restrictions from B&H. As a major electronics and camera equipment retailer, I think this discount would be most useful on smaller items like SD cards or other similar accessories.
Fandango
- Get $5 off Fandango tickets via the Fandango app by 1/18/18 when you check out with Google Pay and use promo code GOOGLEPAY2018
- Limit 1 promo code per person
What it’s good for: You get $5 off whether you buy one ticket or multiple tickets, so it would make the most sense for each person in your party to use this discount code for their own ticket (assuming they have an Android phone).
Instacart
- Use the Instacart app by 1/16/18 and check out with Google Pay to get $10 off your order of $35+
- Limit one order per person
- Discount cannot be applied to alcohol products
What it’s good for: Instacart is a delivery company that looks to be available in many areas (I tried a number of cities large and small and found it available in most of the zip codes I tried — YMMV). You get free delivery with your first order (minimum order size is $10). There is an asterisk next to the free delivery claim, as you can see here:
I think the asterisk is likely because Instacart adds something they call “Busy Prcing” if you select a delivery time during a high-demand part of the day. See this page for more information on delivery charges.
Initially, I thought that it might have that asterisk because they offer a free 14-day trial to their Instacart Express service, which offers free delivery on all orders $35 and up — but comes at the steep price of $149 per year in the zip code I checked:
But I was later able to verify that even though I selected “No, thanks”, I was eligible for one free delivery on my first order within the next 7 days for signing up as a new user.
The stores available vary by region. When I first landed on the Instacart page, it showed the following available in Boston:
In a smaller zip, I saw these options:
Instacart isn’t available in my area, so I couldn’t verify that prices were spot on with local pricing, but I imagine that with $10 off of $35 and free delivery on your first order, you can probably come out ahead. Unfortunately, it said that gift cards are not available for delivery (though I tried with Costco).
Bottom line
I’m sure we’ll see more about this transition to Google Pay — and hopefully we’ll also see some additional discounts offered as an incentive to use Google Pay as they expand the new platform. At this point, it looks like Google Pay is mostly limited to Android users, though it will likely expand as Google Wallet is fully integrated and more retailers begin accepting it. The Google blog post about this transition did not offer a strict timeline, but did say the changes would be “in the coming weeks” – so be on the lookout for further promotions.
H/T: @MashanaGallman on Twitter
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With the newly branded name of “Google Pay”, will the transactions still qualify for the Chase Freedom 1Q 5% bonus category (as Android Pay)?
Yes, I believe it really won’t change how or what card you setup for Android Pay. I think it will only be a name change for you if you don’t use Google Wallet.
I’d imagine Craig is absolutely right.
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This makes prefect sense to combine services. I liken it to discounts to other services like Visa checkout, Masterpass, and PayPal.
Instacart prices are a lot higher than in-store prices IME (Publix prices are about 20-30% higher).
Well good to know then! Have you tried any other stores?
Nope, just Publix when they introduced the service.