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.

Love the “Give One Get One” gift card offers all over the place.  For example, CVS pharmacy is offering a free $5 gift card for every $25 CVS electronic (downloadable) gift card purchased.  You can get up to $30 with a $150 purchase. 

That’s got me thinking.  I bet I spend at least $150 at CVS over the course of a few months.  Shouldn’t I just get BOTH gift cards for myself?  It’s basically a 20% savings on anything I buy in the store.  I called CVS and they confirmed there is no expiration date on the card.

So if you regularly shop CVS, you might want to GoGo or just GT (That’s get two!)

These deals are everywhere.  I can’t open a newspaper or get my mail without seeing a new GoGo offer.  I’ve got a coupon for a local mexican restaurant that’s giving away a $20 gift card with every $50 gift card purchased.  I’m seriously on the lookout for offers I can take advantage of for my own personal use as well as for holiday giving. 

P.S. Always a good idea to inquire about any restrictions on the free gift card. Some expire and some can only be used during a certain window.  But I think the window is worth looking into.

CVS GoGo "Give one, Get one"