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When you’re about to buy something, you may be able to save money or earn extra miles by first buying a merchant gift card and then using that gift card to make your purchase.
Often, though, gift card deals take time. You may have to wait for gift cards to arrive in the mail, wait for an emailed gift card that comes hours or even days later, or drive to a different store to purchase the discounted gift card. The purpose of this post is to list options for buying gift cards right now. Whether you’re in a store checkout line or making a purchase online, you’ll find options below for saving money or earning extra rewards. We’ll be keeping this post updated in the coming months and years, so keep it bookmarked.
Caution: When purchasing items with gift cards you won’t get credit card protections such as extended warranties or price protection.
Best Gift Card Deals for use at store register
The options listed here let you specify an exact dollar amount that you need for your gift card and deliver the gift card instantly. The idea is that you can wait for the cashier to ring up your items so that you get a total amount owed and can then instantly purchase a gift card for that amount in order to save money or earn extra rewards.
| Gift Card Seller | Details |
|---|---|
|
(earn miles) |
United’s MileagePlus X (MPX) app is designed for use at the register as a way to earn extra miles on many purchases. The number of bonus points earned varies from merchant to merchant. Credit cards with bonus categories often (but not always) award bonuses based on the gift card bought. For example, if you buy a restaurant gift card then it is best pay with a credit card that offers a bonus for restaurant purchases. If you have a United credit card you’ll earn 25% bonus miles on gift card purchases. |
|
Fluz (earn cashback) |
Fluz works in a similar way to MPX in that you can buy a gift card for a specific amount (e.g. $14.89), rather than having to buy a gift card for a whole-dollar amount (e.g. $25). Fluz rewards you with a percentage of your transaction as cashback. It’s also one of the only options we’re aware of that rewards you for buying Amazon gift cards because most apps and sites are no longer able to offer that as an option. Similar to the MPX app, Fluz often passes on merchant coding. This information is displayed on the checkout screen before entering your PIN to complete the transaction, so you can adjust your payment card accordingly. |
|
(earn cashback) |
This app offers an instant discount for a wide variety of first-hand gift cards and it lets you specify the exact dollar amount you want. It’s therefore very much like the United MileagePlus X and Fluz apps above, except it offers a cash discount rather than rewarding you with miles or cashback. One benefit of this approach is that you save money immediately, rather than having to reach a payment threshold with Fluz. The rates are different across these different apps though, so that will influence which is better for each given transaction. This option has been around for a few years, but we’re not aware of anything particularly compelling about it to choose it over other options on this list. |
| Samsung Pay |
In the past you had to have an eligible Samsung device in order to use Samsung Pay, but there’s now a standalone website when you can buy gift cards from them even if you don’t have any kind of Samsung device. Important note: purchases using Samsung Pay on a Samsung device are instantaneous. Purchases via the website are processed quickly, but aren’t instant. They used to sell discounted gift cards, but those haven’t been offered in many months. |
|
Raise (formerly Slide) (my referral link) (earn cashback) |
Raise is an app created by Raise but which used to be called Slide. Although Raise is more commonly known for reselling gift cards, they also sell first-hand cards. When it first launched they offered a flat 4% cashback rate on all gift cards as well as a 1%-2% bonus when prefunding your account. The bonus for prefunding your account was removed in late 2023 and cashback rates for brands are now variable rather than being a fixed 4%. Raise allows you to purchase gift cards for specific amounts which can be helpful when checking out in-store, although they don’t have as many gift card brands available as some apps. |
|
(earn cashback) |
The Ibotta app has a feature called Pay With Ibotta which works in a similar way to MileagePlus X, Fluz, Raise and CrayPay. You can buy gift cards for many different retailers, buying specific amounts rather than being limited to whole-dollar amounts. Ibotta sometimes boosts the cashback rate it offers for select brands in the app (e.g. 20% for DSW, 10% for Gap, etc.) One of the best uses for Pay With Ibotta is at Walmart seeing as Walmart Supercenter purchases don’t usually code as groceries, so earning cashback from Ibotta can be good. However, you can only pay with debit cards, so you’d be missing out on credit card rewards. You can earn 1% cashback on the PayPal Business Debit Mastercard though. |
|
Upside (formerly GetUpside) – my referral link (earn cashback) |
Upside began life as a way to save money when filling up with gas but has since expanded their offering to include cashback at some restaurants and retailers too. As part of this, they have a Pay With App feature that lets you buy instant gift cards for some restaurants/retailers. The gift cards expire after four hours unless it’s a brand you can merge with an existing gift card (e.g. Starbucks and Dunkin’). The most useful parts of this feature is that it can trigger Chase Offers for eligible retailers and seems to pass on merchant coding (see this post for more). |
|
(earn cashback) |
TopCashback launched its own gift card portal in June 2022, offering cashback on a wide range of brands. They don’t guarantee that gift cards will be delivered immediately, but the test purchase Stephen made arrived in his email inbox straight away. TopCashback usually offers bonuses when redeeming cashback earned through the portal via various payout methods (e.g. 5% bonus by cashing out via virtual Visa gift card), so that can be a good way to juice the cashback rate earned when buying gift cards from them. |
Best Gift Card Deals for quick online purchases
The following gift card sellers offer options for buying gift cards quickly, but we wouldn’t use these at the register:
| Gift Card Seller | Details |
|---|---|
|
(save $) |
Sells second-hand discount gift cards. Email delivery is often nearly instant (but not always). You used to be able to earn 5X rewards by paying with Chase Ink Cash or Ink Plus when checking out through PayPal, but that option no longer works. CardCash has an app, but Greg had a lot of trouble using it as it kept asking him to log-in over and over (this was some time ago, so they might have improved its reliability since). CardCash only guarantees the cards is sells for 45 days, so be sure to redeem them within that time, otherwise you have no recourse if the cards subsequently get drained. |
|
(earn points) (save $) |
Giant Eagle is a grocery store that has a presence in a few states. In addition to selling gift cards in-store, they sell a wide range of third party eGift cards online. They tend to run new gift card deals every week starting on Thursday – you can find the latest Giant Eagle gift card deals here. The deals are sometimes for bonus Perks (their loyalty program which offers savings on groceries or gas), but other times they run discounted gift card deals (e.g. $50 Bath & Body Works gift cards for $40). Giant Eagle used to process payments themselves which was great as it meant they coded as grocery purchases. However, Blackhawk Network (owner of GiftCards.com and GiftCardMall) took over the processing of payments in 2020 and so gift card purchases no longer code as groceries. |
|
Discover (Redeem Discover It Cashback) (save $) |
Redeem Discover It Cashback for discount gift cards. eGift cards can be used instantly, but regular gift cards are sent via mail. The Discover iPhone App lets you send eGift cards to your iPhone Wallet. Be careful not to redeem for regular gift cards which are delivered by mail. |
|
(earn cashback) |
Sells first-hand gift cards. You can choose which currency you’re rewarded in via Prodege’s various sites. e.g. Swagbucks, cashback via Upromise, InboxDollars, MyPoints, etc. Swagbucks and MyPoints can be redeemed via PayPal, so they’re as good as cash, although you’ll need to earn enough to reach a payment threshold. PayPal redemptions start from 500 Swagbucks ($5), so it shouldn’t take long to reach that payout threshold. MyGiftCardsPlus sometimes runs gift card deals that offer much greater rewards (e.g. 15% cashback on Hotels.com gift cards, 10% cashback on Lowe’s gift cards, etc.). If you take advantage of those deals, be sure to take screenshots during the checkout process as the most popular deals can sell out just before you click the order submit button. |
|
(save $) |
This app and website is designed to let you buy new gift cards instantly and at face value. They very occasionally run deals offering discounts, but they don’t offer cashback or rewards otherwise. Gyft used to earn 5x on the Chase Ink Cash and Ink Plus cards when checking out via PayPal, but that no longer works. |
|
(save $) |
PayPal Digital Gifts usually sells gift cards at face value, but often has sales on select gift cards or offers bonus gift cards. You can find any current PayPal Digital Gifts deals here. You used to be able to earn 5X rewards by paying with Chase Ink Cash or Ink Plus, but that no longer works. |
|
(save $) (earn cashback) |
Raise primarily sells second-hand discounted gift cards and has a decent app available; note that it’s an app called ‘Raise Marketplace’ which is different to the Raise app listed in the table above despite being built by the same company. They sometimes release promo codes that offer additional savings on these already discounted gift cards. When using the app, you can pay with Apple Pay or Android Pay in order to earn 3X rewards with the US Bank Altitude Reserve card. Gift card delivery can be very fast, but they sometimes take longer when verifying orders. In addition to discounted gift cards which are second-hand, you can buy first-hand gift cards which Raise calls “Cash Back gift cards”. You pay full price for these cards, but earn a certain percentage back as Raise Cash which can be redeemed against a future gift card purchase. Cash Back gift cards aren’t eligible for the promo codes that are sometimes released. The return you get on Cash Back cards can occasionally be larger than the discount available on discounted gift cards, plus there’s no risk due to them being first-hand. |
|
(earn cashback) |
GiftCards.com offers G-Money Rewards when buying third party gift cards, sometimes offering discounts on certain brands when using promo codes (e.g. 10% off Uber, 15% off H&M, etc.). You can click through to GiftCards.com through a shopping portal to earn cashback / points / miles. Buying gift cards from GiftCards.com can trigger shopping portal bonuses. |
|
(save $) |
GiftCardMall offers a couple of ways to save on gift cards. First, they sometimes sell discounted gift cards – you can find any current deals here. Several different shopping portals have GiftCardMall listed, so you can also earn 1-5% cashback on third party gift cards. |
|
(save $) (earn fuel points) |
In addition to selling gift cards in-store, Kroger sells third party gift cards online. These purchases earn 2x fuel points at all times, or 4x when there’s one of its fairly frequent promotions going on. They often sell discounted gift cards, so you can find any current gift card deals here. One thing to note is that payments are processed by Blackhawk Network (owner of GiftCards.com/GiftCardMall), so online gift card purchases from Kroger don’t code as grocery purchases. You should earn a bonus by paying with a card that earns more in the Online Shopping category. |
|
(save $) |
Amazon sells a wide range of gift cards – both physical and digital. You can pay for third party gift cards using Amazon gift cards, so that can be a good option if you’ve bought Amazon gift cards at a discount (note that you can’t buy Amazon gift cards with Amazon gift cards). Amazon sometimes sells discounted gift cards, plus there are sometimes promotions offering discounts when redeeming 1 Membership Rewards / Ultimate Rewards / ThankYou / Discover point which can be used to get discounts on gift cards. |
|
(save $) |
eGifter sells first-hand gift cards and offers eGifter Points on your purchase which can be used to reduce the cost of future gift card purchases. They sometimes offer promo codes that provide a discount – you can find current gift card deals on eGifter here. Most purchases using a promo code aren’t eligible for earning eGifter Points. Every order that Stephen has ever tried placing with eGifter has been cancelled, so hopefully you have more success. One benefit of eGifter (if you can get an order through) is the sheer number of different ways you can pay. In addition to more traditional methods – credit card, PayPal, Amex Express Checkout, Apple Pay, etc. – you can pay with Bitcoin and numerous other cryptocurrencies. |
|
(save $) |
Newegg sometimes sells gift cards at a discount (e.g. $100 Lowe’s gift cards for $90), or with a bonus (e.g. buy $25 Domino’s gift card and get $5 Domino’s gift card free). Depending on your credit card, Newegg might code in a bonus category (e.g. 4x Membership Rewards on the Amex Business Gold card). |
|
(save $) (earn fuel points) |
Harris Teeter is a grocery store owned by Kroger. Their fuel points program used to run separately, but in 2022 Harris Teeter aligned with Kroger’s program more fully. Despite that, Harris Teeter has its own gift card site whereas Kroger’s other affiliate stores (e.g. Ralphs, Smith’s, Fry’s, etc.) don’t have their own. Similar to Kroger’s online gift card site, payment is processed by Blackhawk Network and so it doesn’t code as a grocery purchase. |
| Office Depot / OfficeMax |
Office Depot / OfficeMax sells third party gift cards on their website, but it’s not as good as Staples’ offering. That’s because Staples processes payments for third party gift cards themselves which means it codes as 5X with Chase Ink Cash or Ink Plus. Office Depot / OfficeMax’s offering on the other hand is processed by Blackhawk Network (owner of GiftCards.com/GiftCardMall), so it doesn’t code as 5x. As far as we know, they don’t ever sell discounted gift cards, but paying with a card that earns more in the Online Shopping category should reward you. It’s worth clicking through from a shopping portal in case gift card purchases track, but they’ve canceled every order Stephen’s tried making, so he hasn’t been able to verify if it tracks or not. |
|
(save $) |
They run gift card promotions at times too. That sometimes takes the form of a reward (e.g. buy $100 Hulu gift card & get $15 Best Buy gift card free), while other times it’s a straight discount (e.g. save 20% on Dave & Buster’s gift cards). Best Buy Amex Offers can be triggered by third party gift card purchases, although Best Buy eGift cards don’t trigger the statement credits because those particular transactions are processed by CashStar. |
|
(earn cashback) |
GiftCardCat used to be hosted on the RebatesMe shopping portal website. It’s now on a standalone site, but I think it’s still owned by RebatesMe. The cashback earned from buying gift cards can only be redeemed towards future gift card purchases from RebatesMe and expires after one year. |
| TheGiftCardShop | This site is owned by the same company that runs VanillaGift.com (Incomm). They sell third party gift cards as well as Visa, Mastercard and American Express gift cards and occasionally offer promo codes giving discounted purchase fees. |
|
(earn points) |
There are a couple of different Price Chopper grocery chains in the US; this site belongs to the chain that has stores in New York and Pennsylvania. Gift card purchases earn AdvantEdge Rewards points. However, the site is powered by Blackhawk Network and that’s who processes payment, so it doesn’t code as a grocery purchase. |
|
(save $) |
Target sometimes runs gift card deals online as well as in-store, such as getting a $10 Target gift card free when buying a $100 Apple gift card. If you have a Target RedCard (including the debit card version), you’ll save 5% on gift card purchases. |
|
(save $) |
Sam’s Club sells a variety of eGift cards online that are all discounted to some extent, some brands with larger discounts than others. The Cash App sometimes has a 5% Boost (i.e. 5% instant discount) for online Sam’s Club purchases, while there’s sometimes a 5% Sam’s Club Citi Merchant Offer available. Click through from a shopping portal because sometimes gift card purchases track and pay out. |
|
(save $) |
Meijer’s online gift card portal is another one run by Blackhawk Network, so buying gift cards from them won’t code as a grocery purchase. They sometimes – but very rarely – sell discounted gift cards online, but most gift card deals at Meijer are in-store only. |
|
Gift Card Granny (my referral link) (save $) |
Gift Card Granny offers a nominal cashback rate when buying gift cards, but also sometimes offers discounts on purchase and/or shipping fees when buying Visa or Mastercard gift cards, as well as discounts on third party gift card brands at times. |
Other Gift Card Deals that are not ideal for instant use
The following options are not recommended for instant gift card purchases, but may be useful when you’re not in a hurry (or if you have Bitcoin for GiftMe purchases):
| Gift Card Seller | Details |
|---|---|
|
(save $) |
Sells second-hand discount gift cards. Frequently cancels Greg’s orders. You may have better luck than him. |
|
(save $) |
Requires Bitcoin to purchase discount second-hand gift cards. If you have Bitcoin available to spend, this could be a great option for buying instant second-hand gift cards. Use caution though as there are overwhelmingly negative reviews of their app. |
|
(earn points) |
Staples sometimes gives discounts of 10%-15% when buying select third party gift cards. Can be a great way to earn 5X with Chase Ink Cash or Ink Plus, but eGift cards are usually delivered the next day. We frequently see Amex Offers and Chase Offers for Staples which can offer savings on gift cards bought online. Click through from a shopping portal because those purchases occasionally track. |
More gift card deals
We cover the most profitable and/or travel-related gift card deals here on Frequent Miler, so you can find all of those here:
We also keep a running list of all current Visa and Mastercard gift card deals here.
For all other gift card deals under the sun, check out GC Galore – Stephen’s own site.
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The coding changed for Fluz. Used to code as restaurant, now it’s coding as a gift card. Not getting amex Marriott credit this month.
Thanks. I see that too. This has happened in the past and then Fluz changed something to make it code correctly again. Hopefully that will happen this time too.
Great news: Even though Amex shows my Feb 2 purchase as a gift card purchase, I still earned the Brilliant Dining Credit. The gift card purchase coded as dining after all.
I tried to buy a modest gift card (about $50) from Card Cash. It immediately canceled my purchase as being fraudulent. I reached out to the company. No response. Punt.
There was a post today by Nick about ‘Serial Stacking’ that linked to this resource page; please consider adding Rakuten Gift Card Shop as he mentioned. I personally have not used it to verify its speed for at register use. But it does allow exact value purchases, cashback rates seem excellent for merchants I frequent and that’s before considering the increased value possible when earning MR.
As always I appreciate the resources and will bookmark this page.
Thanks for the reminder about Rakuten – I’ll get that added.
[…] Instant Gift Card Deals […]
I’ve used Mileage Plus X before a number of times at OD/Staples paying with an Ink Plus card to get the 5x from the Plus card as well as the M+ miles and store rewards where applicable. Any thoughts on trying MPX with a Freedom card to generate a Walmart card for use at Sam’s Club? I’d love to get the 5x Chase points.
It’s certainly worth a try. MPX sells Walmart gift cards starting at $5, so you could test it out on a $5 gift card to see if you earn 5x.
Another option is buying a Walmart gift card from Fluz as they accept PayPal and offer 0.5% cashback on Walmart gift cards.
[…] Instant Gift Card Deals […]
[…] Instant Gift Card Deals […]
[…] Instant Gift Card Deals […]
[…] addition to selling instant gift cards, United’s MileagePlus X (MPX) app runs a few other […]
[…] morning we published a list of ways you can buy gift cards instantly to save money or earn rewards. One of the methods listed was Samsung Pay and they started offering […]
[…] redeem, that isn’t the whole story. Just yesterday, Stephen Pepper published a new guide to Instant Gift Card Deals that shows many ways to get discounts on gift cards. You might then consider cashing out points at […]
Have you actually tried using apple pay on raise for the 3x on the AR. Every time i try it errors out. I’ve had that same issue when trying to use apple pay w/ AR through ibotta. Like it knows its a GC and denies the charge. Speaking of ibotta has i noticed when i used it through chase it coded as office/shipping so maybe a shot at 3x with CIP. Haven’t had a chance to test that out.
Newegg – Be sure to use your gift card quickly. I had a gift card for CVS that I bought from Newegg and only partially used it, and then let it sit for awhile. When I went to use it later, it had been zeroed out. When I checked with CVS, it had been redeemed at a CVS right near Newegg’s headquarters in Calif. Very suspicious.
I am completely confused by this:
5X with Chase Ink Cash or Ink Plus. Office Depot / OfficeMax’s offering on the other hand is processed by Blackhawk Network (owner of GiftCards.com/GiftCardMall), so it doesn’t code as 5x.
Purchasing a GC at these office supply stores don’t code as 5X? They have been. When did this change? I have bought many Visa and Amazon GCs this way,
This is about buying gift cards online not in-store.
Ohhh, dopey me, thank you!
Excellent roundup, thanks!