Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is happening now! Follow us as Greg, Nick, and Stephen compete to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines before November 23rd. Who will complete the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
Thanks to Discover’s offer to double all cash back for a year, their quarterly 5% categories are more interesting than ever. Now, instead of earning 5% for those categories, cardholders enrolled in the Double Cash Back offers, will ultimately earn 10%.
This quarter, July through September, Discover is offering 5% cash back for up to $1500 in spend at Home Improvement Stores, Department Stores, and Amazon.com. For those enrolled in the Double Cash offer, this is a great deal. Even if you don’t plan to buy anything in those stores, you could buy Visa gift cards and merchant gift cards in-store at a number of them, including Home Depot, Kohl’s, Lowe’s, and Sears. Amazon.com sells gift cards too.
What if you do have plans to make purchases at these stores, though? Could you do better than 10% cash back? Of course…
Double Dipping Discover
A simple double-dip involves going through an online portal to a qualifying store and then paying with your Discover card. Ideally, you would use the Discover Deals portal since cash back earned from that portal will be doubled as well.
On Discover’s 5% CashBack Bonus page, they show examples of stores that qualify. This is far from a complete list, but it’s a good starting point. I cross referenced the example list of qualifying stores with stores found on the Discover Deals portal to see which stores will easily qualify for a double dip. Here are the stores that appeared in both places:
| Home Improvement Stores | Cash Back via Discover Deals |
|---|---|
| Ace | 5% |
| Home Depot | 5% |
| Lumber Liquidators | 5% |
| Department Stores | Cash Back via Discover Deals |
| Bloomingdales | 5% |
| Bon-Ton Stores* | 5% |
| Dillard’s | 5% |
| JCPenney | 5% |
| Kohl’s | 5% |
| Lord & Taylor | 5% |
| Macy’s | 10% (through August 31) |
| Neiman Marcus | 5% |
| Neiman Marcus Last Call | 5% |
| Nordstrom | 5% |
| Saks Fifth Ave & Off Fifth | 5% |
| Sears | 5% |
* Bon-Ton Stores include: Bergner’s®,Boston Store®, Carson’s®, Elder-Beerman®, Herberger’s®, PARISIAN, Younkers
** Amazon.com is not available through the Discover Deals portal, but you can get 6% cash back by clicking through from TopCashBack for certain types of purchases.
As you can see above, many stores that qualify for Discover’s 3rd quarter 5% categories are also available for 5% cash back through the Discover Deals portal. So, those enrolled in the Double Cash Back offer can easily get 20% cash back:
- Click through Discover Deals to the store in question
- Buy items and pay with your Discover card
You’ll get 5% back from the portal + 5% back from the credit card, and both will be doubled at the end of the year.
Triple Dip?
In a few cases, it may be possible to earn 3 times the rewards, as follows:
- Click through Discover Deals to the store in question
- Buy a gift card for that store and pay with your Discover card
- Click through Discover Deals to the store again.
- Buy merchandise and pay with your gift card
In situations where this works, you can earn 5% from your credit card and 10% from Discover Deals (since you’ll have earned 5% twice). Then, via end of year doubling, you’ll total 30% cash back! That said, it’s very important to understand that this will not work at most stores. Most stores do not offer portal rewards when you purchase gift cards and some do not offer portal rewards when you use gift cards.
Triple Dip Candidates
Using the list of stores identified above, I looked up each one in the Frequent Miler Laboratory to see if a triple dip is likely to work. Here’s what I found:
| Home Improvement Stores | Earn portal rewards when buying gift cards? | Earn portal rewards when using gift cards? | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ace | No data | ||
| Home Depot | No | Yes | Most reports suggest that the double dip won’t work |
| Lumber Liquidators | No data | ||
| Department Stores | Earn portal rewards when buying gift cards? | Earn portal rewards when using gift cards? | Analysis |
| Bloomingdales | Maybe (mixed reports) | Yes (very old report) | This double dip might work, but its risky |
| Bon-Ton Stores | No data | ||
| Dillard’s | No data | ||
| JCPenney | No | Yes | Probably won’t work |
| Kohl’s | Reports are mixed. Only physical gift cards work. | Yes | This used to be a dependable double dip, but I haven’t received any recent reports of success. Risky. |
| Lord & Taylor | No Data | ||
| Macy’s | No | Yes | Won’t work |
| Neiman Marcus | Yes (reports are mixed, but most report success) | Yes | This one should work |
| Neiman Marcus Last Call | No data, but I expect that it would work the same as Neiman Marcus | ||
| Nordstrom | No | Yes | No direct double dip opportunity |
| Saks Fifth Ave & Off Fifth | Yes (physical gift cards work, but not e-gift cards) | No data on the use of gift cards, but it’s likely that the double dip will work. | |
| Sears | Yes | Yes | This works, but it’s very important to buy e-gift card or reload existing gift card. Physical gift cards are sold by Kmart and will not be eligible for 3rd quarter 5% bonus. |
As you can see in the table above, Neiman Marcus, Saks, and Sears are all candidates for the triple dip. If you try it, please keep in mind that your results may vary. There is no guarantee that this will work for you. Also make sure to attend to the details noted in the table above:
- Sears: Buy e-gift cards or reload existing gift cards. Physical gift cards will not result in earning the 3rd quarter 5% bonus.
- Saks: Buy physical gift cards, not e-gift cards.
Consider waiting for an even better triple dip
Discover’s fourth quarter 5% category is called “Holiday Shopping & More”. While we don’t yet know the full details, in the past almost all online shopping counted. So, I expect that all of the above stores, and many more, will qualify for the 4th quarter 5% bonus. More importantly, Discover has historically offered better than usual portal rates in the holiday months at the end of each year. If they do that again, then Discover Deals will most likely offer 10% cash back for many of the stores shown above.
If both of my 4th quarter assumptions come true, it will be worth waiting to triple dip. You might be able to earn 5% from your credit card and 20% from Discover Deals (since you’ll have earned 10% twice). That’s a total of 25% cash back which will be doubled at the end of the year!
Here is, specifically, how it might work for Sears (if my 4th quarter assumptions come true):
- Go through Discover Deals to Sears.com: 10% cash back
- Buy gift cards and pay with your Discover card: 5% cash back (thanks to the 4th quarter bonus)
- Go through Discover Deals to Sears.com: 10% cash back
- Buy merchandise and pay with gift cards: If you’re a member of Sears’ Shop Your Way Rewards program you’ll earn at least 1% back in SYW points
In total, you’ll earn 25% cash back and at least 1% in SYW points. And, thanks to the Double Cash Back promotion, that will be doubled to 50% cash back!
Conclusion
There are some great deals to be had by combining multiple offers: Discover’s 3rd quarter 5% bonus; Discover Deals portal; and Discover’s Double Cash Back promotion. On the other hand, there’s a good chance that we can do even better in the fourth quarter. If you have limited purchases to make within the allowed categories, consider rolling the dice and waiting. Or, if you have lots of purchases to make, it might make sense to maximize this quarter’s promotions and the 4th quarter promotion as well.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
I missed out on this, but aren’t you all spending more than you would normally spend anyway. If not with money, then on time. Why not just churn CC’s for the 100-200 cash back? That way you are only required to spend $4,000 / year on anything unlimited ($1,000 in 3 months is common). And it’s a guaranteed 10-20% back.
A holiday gift costs $10-100. So even if you save, 50% on two most expensive gifts, you could have just churned 1 bad card deal.
But maybe I’m just jealous.
Because churning cards only goes so far. Reselling and MS scale to bigger paybacks.
Just for your info, I had it posted on other topics:
Haven’t had a “Congratulations, your extra Cashback Bonus is on the way” email since Oct 9th.
The statement that closed on Oct was supposed to get over $1000 (Adding up the cashback notification email in that statement period) in cashback but ended up being $35.xx. Looks like Discover changed their terms. My Sep statement cashback was over $1000 as well.
[…] but I went through Discover Deals which is currently offering 10% cash back through 8/31 (Note that gift card do earn portal cash back at Sears)and bought two $500 Sears e-gift cards, and paid with my Discover It card (which got me another 5% […]
In fact I now appoach all deals like this, never count on a portal deal to make a deal, if it is not at least a small money maker with out the portal, it’s not worth the hassel
Agreed…. And I think it’s irresponsible for FM to make it sound like this double dipping is a sure thing.
In the post I wrote “If you try it, please keep in mind that your results may vary. There is no guarantee that this will work for you.”
Sorry, you are correct. I must have missed that sentence somehow. Still, I think the “YMMV” caveat really should be emphasized more strongly, as from personal experience, Discover will find any reason to deny cash back whenever possible.
Ryan:
That makes sense.
Thank you.
SUBJECT: DISCOVER IT.
1. I am qualified for double cash back (D/CB).
I bought $1,500 Sears GC thru Discover Deals.
that offers 5% CB for 3rd quarter and 10% to purchase at Sears.
* DCB for 12 months.
I think it will get total 30% DCB.
CORRECT?
2. TRIPLE DIP:
Now, I go back to Discover Deals again, then Sears, to purchase a TV for $1,500 and plan to pay by Sears gift card.
A Discover’s Reps told me that I will GET NOTHING from Discover if I do not use Discover Card to pay.
Instruction from Discover Deals requires that I have to use Discover Card to pay at check out.
Your advices?
It sounds like its kind of a risk you would have to take. Technically discover requires you to use the discover card to get cashback via the portal, but oftentimes people have had luck even without using discover card, but if Discover ever went back to look at the purchase for whatever reason- they could take the cashback, back. from my understanding at least
if you ask, you will be denied. best not to count on a double dip, if it happens bonus, if not, part of the game
I asked this on another post but this one seems to get more action…
Ok… sorry in advance for the long post. My 21 year old water heater is finally dead and I was gonna buy a new one from Sears using my Discover IT card through the portal. With the possibility of up to 50% CB (I got in on the year end CB doubling as an existing customer in Jule) has me thinking about getting a hybrid electric model which I would never do otherwise. It is $700 more than a regular electric unit. But maxing the Sears CB and annual energy savings have me intrigued. So I would need to go through the portal and buy $1200 in GCs with my Discover card (the unit is $1140 but with tax will be over $1200) then go back through the portal and buy the heater with the GCs. Sounds easy enough! But people are having problems with Discover honoring the purchases using gift cards? So if they flag it then I would lose the second 10% through the portal (20% total after the year)? But still get all the original GC purchase CB?
Yes, that’s right. There is risk in the second dip as you pointed out. That said, I’ve done this countless times and haven’t had any trouble. You can reduce risk by going through a different portal the second time. Only bank portals say that they require use of specific credit cards for payment, so just about any other cash back or mileage portal should be safe.
I followed what you described in the article for Sears / Discover Deals and easily see how to get the first 30% back. However, Discover Deals specifically states to “Pay with your Discover card at checkout” in order to get the 10% portal cashback. Based on that, I do not see how you get the last 20% when paying by gift card. Does Discover Deals pay the cashback bonus even when the Discover card is not used?
Yes, in my experience.
I wanted to see if my idea would work to gain an additional 20% back.
-As you mention, use discover portal, with discover card to buy sears gift card on sears.com (5% CB for quarterly bonus, 10% CB for sears portal)
-Use those sears gift cards through the discover portal for an additional 10% CB, but buy items that give you 100% back in Shop Your Way Points
– Use those SYWP through discover portal a third time for an additional 10%.
Altogether get 35% CB, doubled to 70% CB?
Anyone know if this would work? Thanks for all the great posts!
Yes, I’ve been doing exactly that and it has been working for me.
Anybody ever get their Discover portal cashback clawed back when buying Sears GC from Sears or redeeming Sears GC alongside coupons?
I’ve noticed lately that Discover has been clawing back my cashback on some purchases where gift cards were redeemed.
The claw back shows up as a lesser cashback amount on my statement than what was originally reported in the initial cashback confirmation email.
No, that hasn’t happened to me. However, if you purchased things on, I think, 5/22/15, from any portal, you would have had your points or cash back clawed back. Something weird happened for a day or two then.
Are there beakers and flasks in the Frequent Miler Laboratory?
Nope, just gift cards and beer
Greg – Great post – as always!
So once I’ve used my first $1,500 3Q bonus using Discover It Card for Sears eGC purchases (assuming Discover card registered for the double bonus) and hence 10+10+5 = 25% on the single dip, I’m assuming I can buy HIGC’s at CVS with my Amex OBC CC and use these HIGC’s to continue the 25% total cb bonanza on further Sears eGC’s right? (10% +10% for using HIGC’s at the Discover Mall portal, and 5% cb on the Amex OBC). Please advise.
Then liquidate these Sears eGC’s at Sears to buy $200 VGC’s for BB loads at Wally’s, assuming the tellers at Sears don’t refuse (as is sometime the case.).
Any other creative MS/ miles strategies at CVS these days since we lost Vanilla Reload purchases using CC? A blog on this topic would be great.
If you want to use gift cards to buy Visa gift cards at Sears, you won’t get 25%. Instead:
* 5% for using Discover card at Sears
* 10% for going through portal to buy or reload gift card
The final 10% in my examples comes from using the gift card to buy Sears merchandise. Since you’re skipping that step, you won’t get it.
Also: Sears seems to be much more strict lately about not allowing gift cards to buy gift cards so you may have some problems with that as well.
CVS: This is one reason REDbird is better than Bluebird/Serve. Buy Vanilla One gift cards and use as debit cards at Target to reload REDbird.
I don’t think it is a bad idea, except that Discover may claw back all the cashback. Greg, it is possible to buy Sears GC at 5% off using your OBC and then use these to go through Discover deals and buy sears eGCs for an additional 10% off (which will become 20% after a year). Then, assuming you can find a cashier who will sell you VGC using Sears eGCs, you can convert them to VGCs.
See my reply below.
[…] It may be possible to double dip the portal cashback by purchasing Sears eGift cards for a total of 50% cashback. For more information, see Double dipping Discover’s 3rd quarter categories. […]
You probably also got the email from Discover today called “You’ll LOVE Discover Double CashBack Bonus”.
Any concerns about the last FAQ:
“Is Double Cash Back available to any cardmember?
No. Double Cash Back is available to new cardmembers only.”
No, I’m not concerned about that. I think it just reflects the fact that they are no longer letting existing cardmembers sign up. Those that already signed up will be fine.
anybody know if we would get portal rewards buying merchandise with home depot gift cards
confirming my own question, yes