I just received an email from CardPool telling me:
For the next 48 hours, you can get JCPenney Gift Cards for 25% off!
This is a great deal if you’re interested in buying things from JC Penney.
Otherwise, If you’re interested in working off a credit card minimum spend, it looks to me that you can buy and sell these for a fixed 2% loss as follows:
UPDATE: CURRENTLY PLASTIC JUNGLE IS ONLY OFFERING 65% PAYMENT DESPITE THEIR SPREADSHEET CLAIMING 70%. HOLD OFF ON THIS DEAL UNLESS YOU WANT TO USE JC PENNEY GIFT CARDS!
Step 1: TopCashBack
TopCashBack gives 2% back for purchases made at CardPool (up to $1000 in cash back lifetime)
Step 2: Buy at Cardpool
Buy a bunch of discounted JC Penney gift cards. My apologies if you find them sold out by the time you get there!
Note that I tried to use both a visa and an Amex gift card purchased at Office Depot, but neither worked. You may have to use a real credit card here.
Step 3: Wait for gift cards to arrive
Electronic gift cards are usually delivered in a few hours. Expect to wait at least a few days for paper ones.
Step 4: ShopAtHome
ShopAtHome offers 2% cash back on sales to PlasticJungle. Note that this is 2% of the amount PlasticJungle will pay (70% currently), not 2% of face value.
Step 5: Sell at Plastic Jungle
Currently, Plastic Jungle offers 70% of face value for JC Penney cards. One nice thing is that they have an option to sell the gift cards electronically (for select cards, including JC Penney) so that you don’t have to mail anything. You can check Plastic Jungle’s current rates here.
GiftCardGranny.com, if you’re reading this, note that your current listed sell price is incorrect.
Add it up
If I did my math correctly, the total loss from this whole procedure is 2%. If you use a credit card that awards points worth 2% or more (SPG, for example), then you come out even or slightly ahead. If you’re working on meeting minimum spend requirements on a credit card, this could be a good opportunity.
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Thanks for this deal. My pregnant wife and I actually needed to purchase a glider that only JCPenney sells. We used TopCashBack on CardPool. Then I used BigCrumbs 3.5% cash back on JCPenney. Our spend was $500 but actual cost was $350.
Sun: That’s great! It’s good to know, too that you were able to get cash back when using gift cards at JCPenney
I emailed S@H cause it just says purchases and they responded today saying the 2% is only for purchases, they are not providing ANYTHING for sales to PJ. So another bump in the road.
just noticed on plasticjungle that only 68.25% of the facevalue of the giftcard is offered – not 70%
Vivek D: That’s interesting. So, either their web page is incorrect or their spreadsheet is. Once I receive one of the electronic gift cards I bought, I’ll test it out.
Vivek D: You were right, they actually only offer 65%! Ugh!