[Update 6/1/22: Topcashback now sells gift cards with the cashback going to your Topcashback account. Added to the list below.]
We write a lot about obtaining gift cards at a discount. These deals are useful for personal use, for gift card reselling, and for merchandise reselling. Below is a list of all consistent methods to buy gift cards at a discount or with some other kind of bonus rewards and miles.
The goal of this post is to create a single place to reference and quickly review the various options when the need for gift cards arise. We’ll keep it updated as things change.
We undoubtedly missed some ideas, maybe even some obvious ones; we’ll rely on reader’s comments to fill in the gaps and complete the resource.
Store + Online Options
- Buy discounted gift cards utilizing one of the dozens of gift card deals you see, including many we post here on the site. Examples: eBay comes out with deals weekly, Kroger sometimes has coupons, Samsung Pay deals, etc.
- Buy gift cards at merchants that have Amex Offer deals. These can be online deals or store deals. Sample deals: $10 off $50 at Lowes, Home Depot, or Kohl’s; you can buy third-party gift cards in those stores and lock in the $10 discount anywhere. Occasionally, there’ll be an Amex Offer for a place like Staples.com where you can buy third-party gift cards and lock in the discount anywhere.
- Buy third-party gift cards at Target stores or target.com and pay with REDcard for a 5% discount. Not instant delivery.
- Buy third-party gift cards at Staples or staples.com and pay with INK Plus/Cash to get 5x. Not instant delivery for staples.com.
- Buy third-party gift cards from wholesale clubs like Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s. They usually offer slight discounts as the standard price on third-party gift cards both in-store and online (1, 2, 3). Not instant delivery for online orders.
- Upgrading gift cards. This is highly YMMV, but some stores such as grocery stores might allow you to use their store gift card to buy another third-party gift card. If you can somehow buy the store’s gift card at a discount, that discount can then be locked in virtually anywhere with a third-party gift card purchase. Amazon.com is one such example (see below).
Store-Only Options
- Buy third-party gift cards at Office Depot, Office Max, or Staples stores and get 5x with INK Plus/Cash. At Office Depot/Max you’ll also get 2% back in rewards on up to $200 in gift card purchase each quarter.
- Buy third-party gift cards at the grocery store with a card that earns bonus rewards at the grocery. You may even get some fuel points along the way.
- Buy third-party gift cards at the drugstore with a card that earns a bonus at the drugstore.
Online Options
- Buy discounted gift cards on any one of the many second-hand exchanges. Beware, there is a risk getting a bad card which will require following up with the exchange. Delivery might be instant and might not. This option usually yields the biggest discount.
- Buy third-party gift cards on Amazon.com (our affiliate link) and pay with a 5% Amazon card or pay with Amazon gift card you purchased elsewhere at a discount. Stack with some other Amazon savings ideas. Gift cards usually come two minutes later.
- Redeem your Discover cash back for gift cards instead of cash. You can get 10-20% extra on many major brand gift cards (Staples, Lowe’s, Whole Foods, etc.), and many of then have an e-card option which comes instantly.
- Use a cash back portal and buy directly from whichever merchant you need. (Theoretical example: buy Sears gift cards from sears.com or Best Buy gift cards from bestbuy.com.) This doesn’t work most of the time since portals typically don’t pay out for gift card purchases, but occasionally portals pay out for gift card purchases. Check FM Lab.
- Get 5x INK Plus/Cash with Gyft when paying with Paypal. Gift cards issued instantly.
- Get 5x INK Plus/Cash by purchasing gift cards within your Verizon Wireless app. The gift card will be added to your Verizon bill and earn 5x when paid. Comes instantly.
- Buy gift cards with the MPX app to get bonus United miles on the purchase. Gift cards issued instantly.
- Buy first-hand gift cards from Raise.com and earn Raise Cash Back to be used for any future Raise.com purchase. Instant delivery. You can specify an exact denomination. Payment with credit card, Paypal, or Samsung/Apple/Google Pay.
- Buy gift cards with the Slide app, a product of Raise.com, and get 4-5% off at over a hundred retailers. Instant gift card delivery. Get your cash back via Paypal or Venmo. You can specify an exact denomination. Payment with credit card, Paypal, or Apple Pay.
- Buy gift cards with Pay with Ibotta and get cash back (debit card only, since June 2020)
- Buy gift cards from Fluz and get cash back.
- Buy gift cards from CrayPay and get a cash discount on the purchase. Gift cards issued instantly.
- Buy gift cards with the Spent app and get a cashback on the purchase. Instant??
- Buying dining gift cards with the EarnWallet app and get rewards back in the form of gift cards.
- Rakuten/Ebates sells gift cards with cashback earned to your Rakuten account (direct Rakuten link).
- Topcashback sells gift cards with cashback earned to your Topcashback account (direct Topcashback link).
- Buy gift cards from giftcards.com to get a bit back from a cash back portal and g-money on certain brands. Not instant delivery, AFAIK.
- Buy gift cards from Giftcardmall and get a bit back from a cash back portal. Not instant delivery.
- Buy gift cards from Mygiftcardsplus and get a cash discount (cashed out via Swagbucks or MyPoints). Not instant delivery.
- Buy gift cards from Egifter and get Insider points back. Go through a portal too. Fast delivery.
- Buy gift cards from giftcertificates.com and get rewards back from the portal on most brands. (Delivery speed?)
