I don't think the price will ever go down. There is a huge demand and very short supply due to the factories being shut down. My estimated ship date is Jan 5th 2023. What I did was I bookmarked the 14 Pro Max webpage on Best Buy, Verizon, Walmart, and Apple and just kept checking once a day for any sales or promotions for the past month. Finally on Black Friday, Best Buy showed the "Black Friday Deal" on their website. I eventually noticed "$55 off" in tiny red letters after trying to figure out what the "Black Friday deal" was. I almost missed it.

If you have a credit card that gives promotions to certain stores, see if there are any to Walmart, Best Buy, or other big-name retailers. Some credit cards offer reward points multipliers or a statement credit if you spend a certain amount in a month or at a specific merchant. Otherwise, the free gift card with the purchase of the phone like you mentioned is the other likely deal.