Buying Gift Cards at a Discount
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FacebookHere’s a quick tip for those of you that are intent on giving gifts cards this holiday season… Check your local grocery store to see if they sell gift cards for major retailers and restaurants. Ours does, and that means we can actually save a decent chunk of money on them by using a reward credit card.
For example, our AmEx Blue Cash card offers 5% off on “everyday” purchases, including those made at grocery stores. While we’re not talking about a large sum of money here, every little bit helps. For example, you can effectively get a $25 card for $23.75 or a $50 gift card for $47.50. And even if you’re not looking to give a gift, you can roll your own 5% discount at a variety of merchants by doing this.
Curious as to the types of cards that you might be able to purchase? Here’s a rundown of the things that I saw on the gift card rack in our local grocery store:
American Airlines
Barnes & Noble
Bass Pro Shop
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Best Buy
Blockbuster
Cabela’s
Cheesecake Factory
Chili’s
Cracker Barrel
Home Depot
iTunes
Macaroni Grill
Maggiano’s
Nordstrom’s
Old Navy
Olive Garden
Outback Steakhouse
Potter Barn
Red Lobster
Regal Cinemas
Sears
Starbucks
Toys’R'Us
I’ve also seen gift cards of this sort in gas stations around town, so keep your eyes open when you’re out and about.
Published on December 11th, 2007 - 14 Comments
Filed under: Frugality
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About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
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14 Responses to “Buying Gift Cards at a Discount”
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December 11th, 2007 at 12:21 am
I’ve read somewhere that the grocery stores charge more than face value for gift cards to other stores. Do you know if that’s true? Thanks!
December 11th, 2007 at 7:41 am
We have a grocery store/chain that offers $0.10 off per gallon on gasoline for every $50.00 spent. So not only can you utilize the cash back from your credit card rewards, but you can also lower your fuel costs.
December 11th, 2007 at 8:05 am
CFO: These cards were actually selling for face value.
December 11th, 2007 at 8:35 am
Thanks, Nickel – that’s good to know!
December 11th, 2007 at 9:51 am
We also picked up some gift cards on ebay and craigslist that were selling under face value.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Just wanted to mention that the gift card should be used within 6-12 months. Otherwise it would have been better to keep the money in the bank.
Another way would be to (carry)trade the gift card on eBay for its nominal value, e.g. buy it for 23.75 and sell it on for $25.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
be careful as a lot of stores charge extra for gift cards. I got burned for 10% on those (for an AMEX giftcard). From now on, I either buy directly from the merchant or give cash.
December 11th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
thomas: Visa, MC and Amex branded cards often carry a fee, but store brand cards generally do not, even when sold at grocery stores (or at least that’s the case around here). Nonetheless, it certainly something to keep in mind. Thanks!
December 11th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Good idea, although you should be aware that some stores (around here, most Walgreens stores do it) will only accept cash or debit for gift cards.
Also, some of the comments say that there is a markup charged on the gift cards. This is usually only on the cards offered through credit card companies. The ones that are store specific usually don’t have any fee.
December 12th, 2007 at 9:49 am
You are a genius!
I calculate that I need to buy 4 $25 starbucks gift cards in order to get a free $5 latte.
December 12th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
Don’t forget about some Rx places.
My list:
AMC Theaters
American Airlines
Applebee’s
Barnes & Noble
Bass Pro Shops
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Bennigans
Best Buy
Blockbuster
Boston Market
Cabelas
Champs Sport
Cheesecake Factory
Chilis
Circuit City
Cold Stone
Cracker Barrel
Footlocker
Gap
Hollywood Video
Home Depot
iTunes
JCPenney
Jet Blue
Jo Ann’s
K-mart
Kohls
La Madeline
Landry’s / Rainforest
Lands End
Linens n Things
Logans
Lowes
Maccroni Grill
Marriott
McDonalds
Old Navy
Olive Garden
On the Border
Oshmans
Outback
Papa John
Pappas
Peir 1
Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn Kids
Quizznos
Radio Shack
Red Lobster
REI
Saltgrass
Sears
Sharper Image
Shell
Sports Authority
Starbucks
SWA
TGIF
December 14th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
I know that some will disagree with me, but I just don’t see the downside of rewards credit cards – as long as you pay off the balance every month.
December 17th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
My local grocery store (Publix)would only take Cash. However, CVS pharmacy took credit card.
March 23rd, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Be careful when purchasing gift cards from ebay and craigslist. I’ve done this a few times and got scammed on one, even though I am pretty cautious. I ended up losing about $30 due to a seller who refused to ship the card for whatever reason.