Deciding Whether to Use a Discounted Gift Card or Buy with a Credit Card Straight Up

I used to use a ton of discounted gift cards in my purchases and I still use plenty.  There is a different calculus I have when buying a gift card for a purchase that I will resell than for personal use.

You can see that just from Raise I've saved almost $4,000 buying gift cards and that's just one of the exchanges (and almost all from this year).  The savings really do matter.  I'm also trying to help out all your gift card sellers ;)

iPads on Sale at Sam's Club - Only Available Until 10am ET

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Raise, Sam's Club, Amazon, Be Frugal


I'm on vacation so I don't have time to really go into detail, but I couldn't resist with this deal.  It's going to steal the thunder from my Turnover Tuesday's post for tomorrow, but hey this is available and I didn't want you to miss out.


iPad Air 2 64GB Wifi Cellular is $130 off from Sam's club.(One of the Shocking Values) Max 10 per Member

I Was Sloppy but Raise Comes Through Anyway!

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Raise



Here is a nice customer service story from Raise:


This past Friday, I received an email from Raise about their regular weekend sale.  Every weekend, there are certain gift cards which are an extra 5%.  This weekend, Staples was on sale.  I decided to buy gift cards since it would be an extra 5% off.  You can normally buy Staples gift cards for  3-4.5% off.

I bought $168 worth of gift cards for 4.3% off, which comes out to about 9% off after the promo code.


The problem is that I got really excited and I forgot to add in the promo code so now I am stuck with $168 of gift cards.  I would get 5x Ultimate rewards points with a Chase Ink without buying anything upfront!

 

Where to go from Here?

 

 

 

 

I checked out Raise's return policy and it says:

 

 

The Raise guarantee does not cover:

• Buyer's remorse/change of mind
• Misinterpretation of delivery method/time
• Misinterpretation of redemption method
• Neglect to apply promo code before purchase

That's not very good.


So, I decided to call anyways.

I was told immediately that it would be no problem and tRaise would add the promo code after the fact and refund my credit card the difference.  I even got an email confirmation from them:

Hello Oren,

We appreciate you taking the time to call in to Raise today. It was my pleasure speaking with you!

Just wanted to confirm, I will be refunding you for the promotion on Monday morning!

If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to reach back out to us.

Have a great long weekend,
*****

Raise Member Services
support@raise.com
(888) 578-8422

Moral of the story:  Most companies have really great customer service.  If you make a genuine mistake or didn't know about a promotion, just ask for it after the fact and most of the time the company says yes.

 

Chevron/Texaco Gift Card Deals on eBay - Easy and Quick Pajama Money

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site:  eBay and Ebates


HT: Doctor of Credit

eBay is a having a sale on Chevron/Texaco Gift Cards that can be a big money maker for reselling or just a really gift discount, all from the comfort of your Pajamas.

You can buy up to 3 $100 gift cards for $90 each, $270 for $300 is the limit.

- You can break even (even getting a small profit) by reselling the gift cards to either ABC Gift Cards, Saveya (same as giftcards.com) according to Gift Card Granny.  No profit at this point.


- Some people including myself have been targeted for up to 5x purchases from eBay for today and tomorrow on anything over $150.

• If you have the regular eBay Bucks offer of 2%, you will earn $5.40 if you bought the full $300 of gift cards.  $27 if you have been targeted.

- You can buy eBay Digital Gift Cards from Paypal (limit of $5,000 per 180 days) with a Chase Ink for 5x Ultimate Rewards Points.  Alternatively, you can eBay gift cards in a store that earns extra points.

• You should be earning at least 2% on this so let's says a minimum of $5.40 profit, but can be a maximum of $13.50

- Ebates is currently offering 4% cashback for gift card purchases on eBay.  You can use my referral link or Doctor of Credit's Link as a thank you.

• $10.80 profit.

If you already have all the accounts set up, this will take no more than 5 minutes and will earn you over $20 at a minimum and over $50 at the maximum.  Not too shabby!

A Word of Caution

1. No tracking given to you for the cards to be mailed out, but you should be covered by eBay guarantees.
2. Gift card reselling prices are always in flux.  When big deals like these come out, you should sell as soon as possible to minimize the chance that the price being offered for your gift card lowers because of resellers.

Getting the Transaction to Work 

It might just be me, but I've been having a lot of trouble being able to pay with Paypal recently.  Ever since I got myself a Chase Ink and AMEX Platinum and added those to Paypal it seems like I can't checkout at all.

A few hours on the phone with Paypal didn't seem to help the situation.  Argh!

If this is happening to you, try this:

The only thing that works for me, at least sometimes, is to clear all of my cookies, go back to eBay and then get back to the login screen at Paypal.  It should look like this:

Click on the area that says "Don't have a PayPal account?"

In this way, you can add a credit card (or prepaid card) and pay without actually logging in to PayPal.

The next time I tried to use PayPal this option was gone.  I had to clear cookies again.  So be it.

4% off $50 eBay Gift Cards - Limit of 6

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Top Cashback and eBay



HT - Doctor of Credit

Update: It has been confirmed from multiple sources, see Cav on Doctor of Credit and the original Fatwallet thread, that the limit of 6 is inclusive of some previous deals.  If eBay does not let you buy 6 gift cards, try buying fewer.

eBay is selling $50 eBay Gift Cards for $48 (4% off) with a limit of 6 gift cards per person.

eBay gift cards are a great way of buying other discounted gift cards on eBay or merchandise.  Note that you do not earn eBay Bucks for buying eBay gift cards, but you do earn eBay Bucks for buying 3rd party gift cards.

Discounted gift cards are a great way to make some money that does add up over time and helps you get closer to spending thresholds.

Exxon Mobil $100 Gift Cards on Sale for $90 on eBay - Limit of 3

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Top Cashback and eBay


This deal was actually available last week, but they were sold out before I could post.  If you bought then, you won't be able to buy again.  I recommend buying them right away.  Worst case scenario you will be able to sell them for a profit or just use them to pay for gas

Check out Doctor of Credit's post on the subject who has all the details.

Here is the link for the Exxon Mobil Gift Card.  Limit of 3 per person

The bottom line is that if you buy 3 gift cards, you can make at least $20 reselling them online.  I would check giftcardgranny.com to find the best price.  It seems that they can be sold for $93 each, which is $9 of profit just on the sale.

Start your purchase at Top Cashback and you will get an extra 1.5% cashback as well.

When you purchase non eBay gift cards you will also get eBay Bucks.  In this scenario, you will get $5.40 in eBay Bucks for your next purchase

. 

Use a Chase Ink Business Credit Card and you will get 5x points per dollar spent at Ebay.

This is a great way to use up existing eBay bucks or eBay Gift Cards, make some extra money or get close to hitting a spending threshold or all 3!

My Children's Place Purchase

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Discover it, Be Frugal


My wife and I recently bought a coat for my son and I thought the process might be helpful for others.  If you follow regularly, you won't notice anything much out of the ordinary, but it can be nice to see how it comes together for an everyday purchase.

If you have any tips for me or if you like or dislike this type of post, please comment below!


It usually works like this in my house.  My wife picks out something she wants for herself or one of my son's, sends me a link and then it becomes my job to figure out the best way to buy it.

My wife chose this coat for my son from The Children's Place.

When I bought it, the full price was $52.46.  I could be a sucka and pay $52.46 or I can figure out a way to pay less.

To be fair, I had a $5 Loyalty Coupon, which you can only get from previous purchases so let's assume the price is $5 less or $47.46.

The Discounts

Here is what I look for, in order.

• I want to figure out the final price after shipping and taxes.  I will usually buy a discounted gift card and I don't want any balance left over so I want a gift card that has slightly less than the final price.  In this case, I wasn't able to find one, but I got one for slightly more than the price of the coat and I will keep the balance for a later purchase.

• Promo code: ~$9.50
• I just Google something like "Children's Place promo code" and see what comes up.
• In this scenario, I found a promo code that took 20% off.  So the price dropped from $47.46 to $37.97, a savings of around 9.50.

• Buying a Discounted Gift Card - ~$5.70
• I check Gift Card Granny for the best prices on gift cards.  Gift Cards are currently only available in higher denominations ($85 or above), but they are 15% off, the same as when I bought my gift card.  15% off $37.97 is $5.69

• Using a Shopping Portal - ~$3.00-$3.80
• I check Cashback Monitor to see which shopping portal gives the greatest percentage back.  Right now, the highest cashback is 10% from Shop Discover (requires a Discover Credit Card).  If you don't have a Discover card and aren't planning on getting one, Be Frugal is awarding 8% cashback.  
• This cashback will be 8-10% off the final purchase price ($37.97).  Shop Discover and Be Frugal don't care that you paid less than face value for the gift cards.  

• Using the Correct Credit Card - $1.90
• This actually applies for when you are buying the gift card, but I'll mention it now.  Until the end of the year, Discover It is offering 5% cashback on any online shopping.  5% of $37.97 is $1.90.

• My Place Rewards - 2.5% or $0.95 towards the next purchase
• The Children's Place will give you 5 points for every $1 you spend.  1,000 points can be redeemed for a $5 loyalty card.  This is effectively 2.5% towards your next purchase.

The Final Tally

• Original price = $47.46

• Discounts - $9.49 + $5.69 + 3.80 + $1.90 = $20.88 + $0.95 towards the next purchase
• $9.49 coupon code
• $5.69 discounted gift card
• $3.80 Shopping Portal
• $1.90 Credit Card
• $0.95 towards your next purchase

• Final Price - $26.58 or 56% off + $0.95 towards my next purchase at The Children's Place.  Not too Shabby!

Oren's Money Saver Beginner's Guide Part 1 - Introduction - Extra Cash and Savings In Your Pocket

Check Out the Other Posts in this Series:

Part 2 - Maximize savings through Credit Cards
Part 3 - Maximize savings without Credit Cards
Part 4 - Manufactured Spend



Some of my reader's have pointed out that the site can be confusing for the novice and recommended something to get started.  You are expected to know too much to just jump in.  Therefore, I've decided to write a Beginner's Guide to help everyone learn the basics of what they need to know to understand most deals.  The idea is for this to be a permanent series of posts that can always be accessed.  So, here goes:




Oren's Money Saver is here to help you do accomplish 2 things, just about everything else I talk about is related to those 2 goals:

What You Can Gain From Oren's Money Saver

1)  Extra savings on purchases


2) "Free" and, hopefully, easy money



Let's talk about each of these in more detail:

Extra savings on purchases

You are spending the money.  You might as well get as much back as possible.  Here is the basic structure.

1) Using the correct credit card

Different credit cards give back extra cashback at specific types of stores.  If you use the correct credit card, you can get extra savings.

2) Discounted Gift Cards

If I have a $100 Walmart gift card I received as a gift, but I don't want it, what can I do?  I might be able to sell it online for $90.  The website can then resell it for $95.  That means that a third person can buy it for 5% off and everyone is happy.  Every retailer is different in how much of a discount you will get.

3) Shopping Portals

Many websites, referred to as Shopping Portals, will give cashback for starting at their site first and then going to the website you want to end up in.  Many times, you can stack these savings with previously mentioned strategies for a "double or triple dip".  Again, some examples in later posts.

4) Promo Codes

Just by putting in a promo code you find online, you can get extra savings.  The savings can range from $1 to 40% or more off

5) Credit Card Specific Offers

Many credit cards, including American Express, Discover and Bank of America have limited time deals at specific merchants.  You usually have to spend a minimum amount on your card at that merchant.  If you combine all of these different ways of savings, it can really add up.

"Free" and, hopefully, Easy Money

Why and how would I be getting free money?  Well, there is rarely someone giving out money for nothing.  Usually the money is an incentive to get you to do something that they think will make money long term.  Sometimes, the extra work is worth it and sometimes it's not.  Here is the structure of how it usually works:

1) Sign up for new accounts 

This includes credit cards, checking accounts etc.  These usually don't require much explanation and are constantly in flux.  I sometimes talk about these as they come up, especially if the sign up bonus is much better than usual or it is extremely easy, but it usually less of my focus.  If you want to check out the best current sign up bonuses for credit cards, I recommend Frequent Miler's page on the topic.

2) Manufactured spend

Basically, this means buying money for a price that is equal to or less than the value of that money.  For example, let's say your local bank was selling shiny new $100 bills for $100 and allowed you to buy them with a credit card for no fees (RIP U. S. Mint coins).  You could buy those $100 bills and deposit them in the bank to pay your credit card bill.  You would be left with your credit card points/miles and no out of pocket expenses. 

That would be nice, but let's say they were selling the $100 bills for $97 with no fees.  I think we can all agree that situation is even better.  Sometimes, it costs $97 and sometimes it costs $100, but you can get extra cashback from your credit card to be the equivalent of paying $97.

Manufactured spend is just like that except using more complicated financial instruments.  Concrete examples (nothing new to regular readers) to be explained in later posts.

We will start next time with using your credit cards effectively to maximize savings and go in order from there.