Savvy shoppers save money with gift card offers

With each holiday, I see an increasing number of bonus gift card offers. They go something like this: Buy a gift card for a specified dollar amount and get a lesser gift card for free. Savvy shoppers can take advantage of these incentives to save a few pennies.

For Example:

For example, my local Safeway is offering a $10 coupon on my next shopping trip if I buy $100 or more in Visa Gift Cards. Now, Visa gift cards typically have an activation fee. But if the activation fee is less than ten dollars, then I could earn a few bucks just by buying the gift card. But do I need a Visa gift card? Sure. Here is how you pocket a few dollars without buying unnecessarily.

Take Advantage:

• Buy a Visa gift card for your personal shopping–an upcoming vacation or just daily expenses. You’re spending the money anyway. Putting your money on the gift card first simply allows you to get the bonus groceries.
• Buy a Visa gift card to put kids on a budget. Got kids going off to college, in need of spending money, or wanting to do a little back to school shopping?  With a Visa gift card, they can shop anywhere they want, but have to stay within the limit of the funds on the gift card.
• Plan ahead and buy gifts early. Think about upcoming birthdays, weddings, or even holiday shopping. If you’re going to spend the money in the near future, might as well save on groceries while you’re at it.

Expiration Dates?

One word of caution is to check the expiration dates. Thanks to gift card laws changing in August, the gift card you buy will be good for at least five years so you don’t have to worry about shopping too early. But the bonus gift card (in this case coupon), is likely only to be good for a specified period of time. So check restrictions before you buy.

Think Ahead

If you’re buying more than one gift card, you might need to do it in separate transactions so you can get the bonus for each gift card purchased–rather than one bonus for the total number of gift cards you buy. Check with the cashier to see if there is limit so you don’t over strategize.

Teryn gave us a gift card to the movies plus free babysitting.

My 20-year-old step-daughter lived with us for about six months. Though we tried to insulate her from the constant chaos of kids, Teryn couldn’t escape the early morning wake-up calls, dinnertime negotiations, and a constant barrage of questions (“Where are you going?” “Who are you talking to?” “Why do you go to school at night?”).

It’s no surprise she knew exactly what Paul and I needed for Christmas–a babysitter!

Teryn gave us a movie gift card and a homemade ticket that reads, “Redeem for a night off. Admit 3. Ages 9, 7, and 5.” This gift is a treat for the whole family because I get to enjoy a date with my husband and the kids get to spend an evening with their big sister. The movie gift card is a wonderful bonus, but the babysitting alone is all she really needed to do. We can’t wait to redeem this very special gift card!

Click here for more Family Gift Card ideas.

Tonight we exchanged Christmas presents with my husband’s family. Each year, they shower us with a bounty full of gifts we don’t deserve. Clothes, toys, boots, and baubles, all done up in beautiful packaging with elegant bows. And yet, my almost-10-year-old daughter bounced out of her seat and screamed like the girl she is when she discovered a $20 Target gift card inside the present from Aunt Leslie. Literally shaking with excitement, Ally exclaimed to all, “I’ve been NEEDING some things at Target!” So cute. So honest. So excited. (So already bugging me to take her shopping tomorrow.)

Kids love gift cards for the same reason the rest of us do–they get to shop for whatever it is their little hearts desire. And since we don’t live lavishly, Ally’s heart desires many things. But there is absolutely no way I’m taking her to Target on Christmas Eve.  Though redeeming gift cards with kids can be a fun excursion and a terrific learning experience, the process also requires a little extra time and an extra measure of patience–two things I’m a little short on right now.  We’ll go after Christmas when we have a chance to think logically and shop leisurely.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Put yourself on the Nice list.

Still trying to figure out what to get your boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse for Christmas this year? Maybe you’re over thinking it. We only launched this web site a couple of weeks ago and already readers are telling us we’ve changed the course of their holiday shopping. Instead of stressing at the mall, they’re multi-tasking at the grocery store. Instead of fretting over sizes, likes, and dislikes, they’re gift carding with confidence—anxious for the recipient to open their gift. (When was the last time you gave someone a gift card and couldn’t wait for them to open it?)

Get inspired from suggestions sent in by some of our readers:

• Nice List.  With a note pad and a pen, attach a gift card to the department store. That’s what Carole did and then she wrote, “Make your OWN list.  Check it Twice.  Then with this gift card.  Get YOURSELF something nice.”

Restaurant gift card and Beano for the old farts!

• Seasons Greetings.  Attach a gift card to the cooking store, BBQ store, grocery store, or any old store to a bottle of seasoning or marinade. Write “Seasons Greetings” on the tag. Go one level deeper and select a seasoning appropriate for the gift card.  Chipotle seasoning with a Chipotle restaurant gift card, for example.
• Yule log.   Attach a family entertainment gift card (movies, video, bowling, etc.) to a Duraflame log.  Write, “Hoping YULE have a Merry Christmas” or “Warmest Wishes this Holiday Season.”
• Warm Wishes.  Warm greetings are also appropriate with a pair of gloves, a scarf, or some hand warmers.  Attach those to a gift card to a café or any place you can get a delicious mug of hot chocolate and be sure to add “Warmest Wishes” to the card.
• Old Fart.  Brooke took gift carding to a new (lower) level with this restaurant gift card attached to a bottle of Beano.  She wrote, “Happy date night you old farts!”
• Dreaming of.  Get a gift card to Dream Dinners or any place designed to help busy women (make and take dinners, spa, salon).  Tell her you’re “Dreaming of a White Christmas” and a day she doesn’t have to work so hard.
• Rock my world.  Get a gift card for downloadable music and write a note that says, “You Rock my World.” Add it to something romantic like a box of chocolates, a candle, or a fun pair of pj’s.

Check out the For Her and For Him sections for more gift carding ideas you can pull together in time for Christmas.

Congrats to Allison H

She wanted a gift card to Home Depot or Lowe’s, but Allison H is getting a gift card to Blockbuster and Regal Cinemas instead!  Congratulations Allison for winning the Gift Card Girlfriend Movie Bonanza! 

If you didn’t win, take “heart.” We’ll unveil a special Valentine’s Day Gift Card Giveaway shortly—one that is sure to make your heart skip a beat.

In the meantime, take a look at the most popular gift cards desired this holiday season:

1. Clothing and Department Stores.  J. Crew, Anthropologie, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Ann Taylor and Banana Republic are top vote getters because you said it’s hard to spend that kind of money on yourself without feeling guilty.  A gift card gives you permission to indulge and buy clothing you crave without spending a fortune.  But many of you would be just as happy shopping for clothes at our second most desired gift card retailer…
2. Target.   A shopping spree at Target can be both a practical gift (diapers, household necessities, clothing for the kids) and a treat (makeup, clothing for me, electronics, household decorations).  You said, “Target is great because you can get almost anything you need there.”  I totally agree.
3. Movies.  Some want to take the family out, others want to sneak away for date night, and the rest of you are just anxious to see a good movie without having to take out a second mortgage.  If you’re gift carding a movie this holiday season but don’t know what movie theater is in the recipient’s home town, get a Fandango gift card and let the recipient decide.
4. Home stores.  Lowes, Home Depot, Home Goods, and other home improvement stores are next on the list.  While this may seem overly practical, we’re in practical times right now.  Defraying the cost of fixing up the old homestead would be a welcome gift.
5. Amazon.com.  While it used to be just for books, Amazon is now recognized by many of you as a place for everything.  Like Target, you can indulge yourself or buy practical items for the family.
6. Spa or Salon. You want the spa treatment or the much-needed pedicure, but the practical side of you warns not to be so self-indulgent.  The shoulder devil says, “I would really love a massage.”  But the shoulder angel says, “I should get a Target or AMEX gift card so I can buy diapers instead.”  The beauty of a gift card is that it allows you to flick that angel off your shoulder and indulge without feeling guilty.
7. Entertainment.  Beyond the movies, you’d like to go out to a nice restaurant (or ANY restaurant) and maybe grab a movie on the way home or curl up with a book afterwards.  Bookstores, Restaurants, Video stores, and iTunes gift cards round out the list of most desired gift cards.

Like you, many of the people you plan to shop for this holiday season would like to receive a gift card.  So get the gift card and deliver it with confidence knowing that you’re either giving someone permission to indulge in a way they don’t normally allow themselves, or you’re giving them the gift of reducing the cost of more practical items.  Either will be appreciated.

And I, for one, am saving money this holiday season doing so.  Mostly because I’m staying totally within my budget.  I’m buying gift cards in the amount planned and packaging them with simple extras that make the gift more meaningful.

DRAMA-FREE Christmas

After the post on turning a gift card into an ornament, my mom got into the spirit and created one of her own for an ornament exchange. It’s so cute, I had to share it with you…and will probably copy it myself this holiday season.

My mom got fancy with the details (no surprise), but all you need is a movie gift card and a little ribbon. Tie it up with a note that says, “Wishing you a DRAMA-FREE Christmas!” or “Hope this is the only drama you see this holiday season.” Cute!