Some people don’t mind taking a few extra steps to increase their savings and one of the easiest ways for frequent shoppers of the same stores to start out their trip already ahead of the pack is to pick up gift cards at reduced prices.
Gift card swapping websites are becoming more and more popular. It’s not uncommon for well meaning family members, friends and coworkers to give you a gift card to somewhere you have no intention of ever shopping. Sure, you could re-gift that sucker (which really isn’t a bad idea) or you could sell it on one of these sites.
When you list a gift card on a site, you usually select the amount you want to sell it for. Say you got a Starbucks gift card but aren’t a coffee drinker. You could discount that a mere 5 percent and it’s still going to easily sell. So your $20 gift card now turns into $15 in your pocket.
If you receive a less popular gift card or even one to a local store, you can still list it, but it’s likely to do better with a steeper discount.
Personally, I am a Starbucks addict. Like any good personal finance guru in training, I keep my addiction in check, but I also look for creative ways to get my caffeine fix at a discount.
Since I know I’m going to be a repeat customer, I buy Starbucks cards in $100 increments from the gift card swapping sites anytime I can find them discounted at least 15 percent. I wait for weekends when Raise has their additional 5 percent off sale and then I load it onto my Starbucks rewards card, which gets me a free coffee for every 12 stars I earn.
My roughly $75 investment usually yields about 21 coffees and lasts me about 4 months. That’s not that bad, especially when you consider how much I enjoy it.
All it really required was knowing my shopping habits, five minutes to sign up with a gift card site, five minutes to sign up with Starbucks rewards and, finally, the effort it takes to remember to keep an eye out for Raise’s extra 5 percent sale when my balance gets down to around $25.
Some sites also allow you to swap one type of gift card for another without losing any value on the swap — Dunkin’ Donuts for Starbucks, for example, depending on your preferences.
Here are five of my favorite sites for picking up discounted gift cards or making a few bucks with your own rejects:
1. Raise: Raise is really easy to navigate and often has sales sponsored by the site that can be layered on top of the already discounted gift cards.
2. Gift Card Granny: Gift Card Granny has a section called Flash Deals that has extra discounted cards that are in short supply, pooled from all of the discount gift card sellers online. It’s definitely worth checking out.
3. Cardpool: Cardpool has a cool wish list section that lets you collect the cards you’d like and share with friends and family, great for holidays and birthdays.
4. Giftcard Zen: Giftcard Zen has a nice, large collection of gift cards that infrequently runs out of the larger, more popular stores.
5. Card Cash: Card Cash totes their 45-day balance guarantee, so if you have any issues with your purchased card, they will cover it. They also have background checks for their card sellers.
The hardest part is just training yourself to go visit these sites before making purchases. These sites even include cards to places like Dick’s or electronic and appliance supply stores, so if you know you’re about to make a one-time, large purchase at a place like that, you can start out already ahead by picking up a few discounted gift cards.
Since most of these sites have both physical gift card and electronic ones, even for little one-off gifts like a fruit basket or a bouquet of flowers you can often find great deals, receive them in your inbox within minutes and apply them to your purchases.
Combining gift card websites with brand loyalty programs is one of the easiest ways to rack up big rewards fast with minimal effort!
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How Gift Card Swapping Sites Can Help You Splurge originally appeared on usnews.com
