Capital One Shopping, the public shopping portal that does not require having a Capital One credit card (not to be confused with Capital One Offers), is currently targeting some users for elevated rewards rates at GiftCards.com. Doctor of Credit is reporting 10% back on one4all cards, 9% on single brands, and 8% back on Visa and Mastercard gift cards. My own offers were a bit lower as I was only targeted for 8.5% back on single brands and 7% back on Visa and Mastercard gift cards.
The Deal
- Capital One Shopping is out with targeted offers for elevated portal returns at GiftCards.com. Offers vary by account, but we’re seeing good return on One4All cards, Single Brand Cards, and Visa and Mastercard gift cards
If you’re new to Capital One Shopping
- If you are new to Capital One Shopping, they sometimes have a referral offer. At the time of writing this post, some users qualify for an offer to get $40 back for both sides. See this post for details.
Key Terms
- Not eligible for any required taxes, service or shipping fees and orders over $2,000.
- Capital One Shopping offers are typically targeted. GiftCards.com offers typically display different rates depending on which types of cards you are buying. In my experience, the Capital One Shopping rewards stack with other offers they run.
Quick Thoughts
If you’re targeted, the return here can be pretty good, though it is not necessarily a slam dunk.
Keep in mind that even the virtual Visa and Mastercard gift cards come with a $5.95 activation fee, so you’ll effectively be paying a fee of about 2.38% on a $250 card (the highest denomination they sell). While a 7-8% back in rewards outpaces the fee, remember that the return here is in the form of Capital One Shopping rewards, which can only be redeemed for gift cards, not actual cash back. At the 7% back rate at which I was targeted, assuming that I value the gift card I am purchasing from GiftCards.com at face value, I’d be paying the $5.95 activation fee to earn $17.50 in gift cards. That’s about 66% off the face value on any of the gift card redemptions that Capital One Shopping offers, which is enough of a deal to keep me interested, but your mileage may vary. It is also worth mentioning that numerous readers have reported trouble with Capital One Shopping orders not tracking properly, so it isn’t everyone’s favorite portal (on the flip side, my family members and I have earned thousands of dollars back through Capital One Shopping, with most purchases tracking as expected without issue).
In some cases, you may prefer the One4All cards, which can be exchanged for many different types of cards. Some of those can be a nice deal with 10% back in rewards.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
I’ve been noticing a trend w my C1 Shopping email offers. As has always been the case, I use a browser with the extension, go to the shopping site, activate the C1 award (usually measely), and don’t buy. Within a day or two they almost always send me an email with a much better offer. Recently, however, when I click on that email to go to the site (and do it right away, long before offer expiration), the C1 shopping extension shows that I’m getting the normal measely rebate, rather than the elevated one that I clicked on in my email link. When I’m getting the elevated offer, hovering or clicking on the extension icon has always shown the elevated award (e.g. shows I’m getting 30% at Sixt instead of just 6% or whatever) so I’m pretty sure that it’s not just a matter of the extension not correctly showing the offer. I think it’s just not correctly giving me what I’m supposed to get. A few months ago I also noticed it would sometimes work and sometimes not, or vary widely in what it showed, but now it is consistently never giving me the email offer I have clicked on. Are others noticing this? I’m doing this from Firefox with the extension installed. I’d be afraid to trust it withou the extension b/c I think the extension correctly shows what I’ll get if I make a purchase. Thx
Yes. They give out money very randomly and it is getting worse. Hilton’s rebate program is becoming increasingly unreliable. Despite having a receipt with the correct tracking number, my Hilton offer was rejected. Customer service simply sent a generic copy-and-pasted response about the conditions without reviewing the details of my receipt. This is a poor customer service experience, especially when compared to TopCashback.
Will this apply to the giftcards.com gift cards, as a ‘single brand’, etc?