Three Quick Deals
Some of these deals expire quickly, so without further ado…
“Economic Stimulus” Gift Card Bonuses
Many, and i do mean many, grocery stores across the country are offering bonuses if you put your “economic stimulus check” — or an equivalent value in most cases — towards a store gift card; the going rate seems to be a 10% bonus on $300 increments, meaning a free $30 for every $300 purchased in gift cards. Patrick over at Cash Money Life has a goof overview of this on his post Get $206 in Free Groceries.
This deal can be made even more lucrative in two ways:
- Many grocery stores will let you charge the gift cards to your credit card. If you use a credit card that offers high rewards at grocery stores — like the 3%+ offered by the Chase Freedom Card — you can earn even more cash back.
- Some grocery stores will allow you to purchase gift cards with a gift card. In this case, you won’t earn money, but you could move that 10% bonus over to another merchant’s gift card.
Most of these promotions expire July 31, 2008.
American Express Gift Card Promotion: Buy 2, Get 1
While I have previously argued against open-loop gift cards, American Express is currently running a very tantalizing promotion. If you purchase two American Express gift cards at participating retailers, you’ll get one free $25 gift card valid only at Best-Buy, Borders, Fandango, or SpaFinder, after mail-in rebate. You can find more information on the AmEx webpage here — remember, you have to purchase at a participating retailer, which includes Walgreens and most Grocery Stores. Beware: All AmEx gift cards have an activation fee. The cheapest way to execute this deal is to purchase two $25 AmEx gift cards, which will each have a $3.95 activation fee. Then, for $57.90 you’ll have $75 in gift cards, a net profit of $17.10.
Note, of course, that this promotion is really only worthwhile if you are planning on shopping at Best-Buy, Borders, Fandango, or Spa Finder anyway. Promotion expires June 30th, 2008.
Restaurant.com 60% Off Coupon
Restaurant.com, which sells gift certificates to specific restaurants and almost always has decent coupons available, has a particularly good deal going on right now. Use coupon code MEALS to save 60% off your order, plus get a free $10 gift certificate with each order. Pay attention to the details before you buy a gift certificate to a restaurant, as certain restaurants place limitations on when you can use it order minimum purchase orders. Expires July 1, 2008.
In my case, I was able to purchase a $25 gift-certificate to a local Indian restaraunt for $4, plus get my $10 certificate.
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The grocery store gift cards are a great deal! I like your idea of trading the grocery store gift cards for other gift cards!
A lot of people don’t know that the Kroger git cards are also good at Barclay Jewelers, which is owned by the same parent company. So people can get a big discount on jewelry as well!
Thanks for the mention!