eGift Cards Earning Shopping Portal Points from Staples

Using Shopping Portals to buy eGift Cards at Staples.com seems to be an on and off situation.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but it is always worth trying since there is nothing to lose. Just don't count on them

Recently, I posted a deal to buy iPads through Groupon which arrived at my home today.  I ended up buying $1,000 of Groupon eGift Cards from Staples.  I earned 5,000 Ultimate Rewards points.

In addition, I got this lovely email from Upromise stating that I will be receiving $50 cashback.  An extra 5% onto the deal.  Not too shabby!

In addition, there have been quite a few reports of people earning portal credits from eGift Card purchases at Staples from other Portals on Frequent Miler's Lab. Check out the latest comments to see the reports.  Subscribe to the comments so that you are emailed the reports as they come in.

Turnover Tuesdays - $100 off Select iPads at Staples - Available Now - In Store Only

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site:  Staples, Amazon and Raise

For those who are not familiar, I started a series a while back called Turnover Tuesdays. Every Tuesday I like to highlight one item that I have resold. This will include profitable and non profitable sales. I hope that there is always something to learn.

Week 1 - First attempt at reselling
Week 2 - My second straight fail
Week 3 - My iPad mini collection
Week 4 - Bed Bath and Beyond
Week 5 - An iPad Idea for Your Staples Gift Card Collection

Week 6 - An iPad idea for Manufactured Spending
Week 7 - The Great iPad Deal that Wasn't
Week 8 - Lenovo iPads

This week I would like to highlight a deal that is still available so that some of you can still buy itif you are interested.

NBA AMEX Card - $50 Bonus on $1,000 Towards Travel July 1st - July 15th

Update: After posting, I saw that Doctor of Credit posted with 2 different deals.  The first bonus earns $100 after $2,000 of travel from 7/1-7/15.  The second one is the same $50 bonus for $1,000 of travel spending, but from 6/25-7/9.  Check your emails or call up to see what your bonus is.


The NBA American Express card is sending out emails to its cardholders regarding a bonus for spending money towards travel.

If you spend $1,000 or more towards travel between July 1st and July 15th, you will earn a 5,000 point bonus which is worth a $50 statement credit.

Bonus seems to include Airlines, Hotels and Car rentals.  This should be on top of the regular 1,000 points you will earn for spending $1,000 so it would be the equivalent of 6% towards travel.

Email does not mention anything about being a targeted email but it might be worth calling up if you don't get the email to see if you are included.

4x Targeted eBay Bucks Returns - 2 Days Only

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site:  Rewards Blast

Check your emails for an offer from eBay for extra eBay bucks. One of my accounts was targeted and one was not.

 

 

4x eBay bucks on any item of $50 or more.

Don't forget to start your purchase at Rewards Blast for an extra 1.5% cashback on eBay purchases.

Recently, there have been targeted eBay Bucks offers of up to 5x so this is not as good as previously, but it is still a great deal since it includes items $50 or instead of $150 or more like last week. Sale continues until the end of June 30th.

Check out Doctor of Credit's post on targeted eBay Bucks promotions.  This one is an additional one to the regular pattern.

This a multiplier of the regular 2% eBay Bucks so 4x is actually 8% in eBay Bucks!



No eBay bucks given for eBay gift cards, but most other purchases earn them. eBay bucks can be used for later purchases and can be very valuable, especially when buying discounted gift cards.

I've earned over $150 eBay bucks since April which I will be able to use starting July 3rd.


There have been a few deals recently to buy discounted eBay gift cards. Now is the time to start using those gift cards.




Don't have anything to buy? You could always buy Staples eGift Cards from PayPal Digital Gifts with your Chase Ink. You will still get 5x points from Ultimate Rewards (if you aren't using an eBay Gift Card) and extra portal cashback.

Alternatively, you can still buy $100 Phillips/76/66 gift cards for $90 as a possible money maker.

20K Spending Challenge - All Merchandise Bought - 2.9-8.9% Profit So Far

Recently, I joined Miles Per Day's $20,000 spending challenge.  The idea is to spend $20,000 on the American Express Platinum card within 90 days for the greatest amount of profit and the least amount of effort/time.  The full sign up bonus of 150,000 Membership Rewards Points is earned when you spend $20,000 in 90 days.






A couple of notes to start with:

- Everything that has been sent to Amazon has already been sold.  I have not been paid for all of it, but on July 4th I will be paid over $7,000 and the next week I should be paid another $4,000 or so.

-  I have bought all the merchandise needed for the contest.  All have arrived, but 5 iPads still need to be shipped to Amazon today or tomorrow.

- Almost all spending has gone through American Express gift cards first at a 2.25% payout from Top Cashback which leaves a net of 1.9% after fees.




Here is some updates  from some of the other contestants:

$10 off $200 Visa Gift Cards Online at Staples!

HT - Doctor of Credit

Update: sold out! 

Staples is offering $200 Visa gift cards for $196.95 online.  $10 off. Limit of 3 per account.  These will go fast!

Use a Chase INK card for 5x Ultimate Rewards points.

Unload onto Redbird at Target or Serve at Family Dollar or just spend them for extra savings.

Happy shopping

Gift Card Wiki is Really Powerful!

Update:  After posting on Twitter, Chasing the Points pointed out that I may have the incorrect filter.  When I changed on Raise from View 25 to View All, the higher denomination gift cards showed up as well. I don't know why they don't show up when you filter based on value.  I would think the highest denominations would be in the top Top 25 when you filter based on value, but for some reason they are not.  Lesson learned, always change to view all when on Raise



Recently, Miles to Memories introduces Gift Card Wiki to the blogosphere.  See here and here.

I tried it and saw that some information was not updated yet and good old Gift Card Granny was more correct.  I concluded that for now I need to check both to be sure because others were still having more success with Gift Card Wiki.

This morning, I saw how powerful Gift Card Wiki is.

I was searching for some Staples discount gift cards.  I went directly to Raise to see their prices.
I like to buy my gift cards off of Raise because they allow me to use American Express Gift Cards.  This adds an extra 1.9% cashback to the transaction (2.25% from Top Cashback with free shipping minus activation fees).


Raise showed me that I could buy Staples Gift Cards for 6.9% off, but the highest denomination was $100

That's a nice discount, but I like high denomination gift cards since Staples only allows 5 gift cards per transaction.

I checked Gift Card Wiki and this is what I saw:

Wow!  All these high denomination gift cards showed up from Raise.

I clicked on one (The second to last one) and it took me directly to that gift card on Raise

I was able to add it to my cart.  Wow!  Even raise couldn't find that card and Gift Card Wiki found it!
I didn't buy it yet so that I could see if Gift Card Granny could do the same.

I then went to Gift Card Granny to see if I could duplicate the success.


Here is what I see:

They also found high denomination gift cards, including the same one I clicked on before.

When I clicked on it from Gift Card Granny, instead of taking me directly to the gift card, it took me to Raise's site with all of their Staples Gift Cards.

Once again, Raise couldn't find anything higher than $100.



Gift Card Wiki was more powerful than Gift Card Granny and even Raise in finding Raise Gift Cards.  It isn't perfect, but it is a great tool to check.

Brooks Brothers 10x United Miles Today and Semi Annual Sale - $50 off $200 with American Express Offers for You + Extra 5% off Gift Cards from Raise

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site:  Raise

HT - Robert Dwyer on Twitter


Recently, I posted a deal to buy and resell Brooks Brothers gift cards.  That worked out very well for those who jumped on it quickly.  I don't recommend that anymore as the buying prices have dropped closer to 73% and will likely drop further.

Birthday Freebies

I just had my birthday recently and as I was eating from my free ice cream (Carvel and Baskin Robbins) and drinking my free coffee (Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts), I realized that others may benefit from the same.

One site that I follow regularly is Hey It's Free.  It's a great site if you are into freebies and his posts are usually quite humorous.  He has a pretty comprehensive list of freebies.

Here are some of the one's that I like.  His list is much longer.

$20 off $50 at Newegg with Citi Wallet

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: ExtraBux


$20 off a $50 purchase at Newegg when you use Citi Wallet.

Use promo code CITIWALLET

Does not work for gift cards.

Expires on July 12th or when 7,250 redemptions have occurred.


Start your purchase from Extrabux for 1.5% cashback on the purchase.


Terms and Conditions:

**Offer expires July 12th, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. PDT, or when 7,250 redemptions have occurred, whichever happens first. Not applicable to Pre-Order, Gift Cards, Marketplace or Open Box items. Taxes and shipping fees are not included when determining if order exceeds $50. Cannot be combined with other promotional codes, combos or promotions that include a free gift. Discount may only be used once per customer and is limited to $20 off of a purchase that exceeds $50. Promo code CITIWALLET must be entered at checkout. Purchases must be completed using MasterPass. Discount will be reflected at checkout and applied before shipping fees and taxes are calculated. Offer may be discontinued at any time.

Gilt and Citi Wallet $25 Credit Towards Gilt after $25 Purchase

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Gilt



HT: Maximizing Money - Great site for referral deals

Earn a $25 Gilt Credit after a $25 purchase with Citi Wallet.

Once you have an account, anyone can refer someone else. If your referral makes a purchase, you will receive a $25 Gilt credit.

Expires 6/30/2015.  Credit is valid until 9/30/2015.  Limit of 1 per customer.

Terms and Conditions

*When you make a first purchase of $25 or more on gilt.com or giltcity.com with Citi Wallet through 6/30/15, you will receive a $25 promotional account credit ("Credit") off a future purchase, valid on Gilt.com and GiltCity.com, excluding taxes, shipping and delivery charges. Credit valid for customers who use Citi Wallet at checkout. Credit must be used in a single transaction and may be subject to product restrictions or exclusions. Credit will be placed into your account within two weeks of purchase and will be valid through 9/30/15. Not valid on LuxuryLink.com. Credit is non-transferable and may only be used by the intended recipient using the email address associated with the initial qualifying purchase. Limit one (1) Credit per customer. Credit will not be granted, may be revoked, and may not be redeemed for a future purchase if the initial transaction is cancelled or item(s) are returned. Credit will not be revoked if the initial item is exchanged for the same item in a different size. Credit may be suspended or terminated at any time 

E*Trade Faux Pas via Flex Offers

E*Trade is increasing the commission it passes along to bloggers when they send someone their way.



Here is the email I got (I added the stars to protect the name of the person sending the email):

Hi [name],
We really want you to promote E*TRADE and much more, so we've increased the payout from $36 to $42.75 per completed online application effective immediately and valid until further notice. Please note, all other program terms still apply.
If you have any questions, let me know!
******** | Affiliate Marketing Manager
FlexOffers.com, LLC.
p: 786.347.3747 ext. 123 | e: *********@flexoffers.com

I can see a lot of effort went in to this.  Awkward.

Important Posts to Know About

Here are a few Posts from around the web to know about:

• Discover Double Cash Promo No Longer Available for Signup for Existing Accounts?
• Frequent Miler
• Try to jump on these offers fast.  It's a shame if you missed out.  You might have to apply for a new card
• $100 Phillips Gas Gift Card for $90, Stack with Bonus Bucks for $24 Moneymaker
• Doctor of Credit
• Another great eBay reselling deal if you were targeted for extra eBay Bucks.
• Roll Gift Cards into Points for Triple Rewards
• Frequent Miler
• Great post about Sears Shop Your Way Points.  Great to know about because of the Discover Doubling promotions.  A great way to add a lot of cashback and free merchandise to your Sears purchases.
• Annual Twitter Recommendations
• Freequent Flyer Book
• Check out his choices.  You might want to add them to your Twitter feeds.
• I liked Manufactured Spending in New York City
• Chasing the Points
• I love my New York City routine.  I have Staples, USPS, CVS, Family Dollar all right within walking distance.  The worst part of MS is when you take the time out to go somewhere and you are rejected at the cashier.  Learn the schedules that work and it will make MS much easier.

My Ideal Wallet Q3 2015

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Credit Sesame, Discover

These are the Credit and Debit cards that will either be in my wallet from July 1st until the end of September 2015


Make sure to sign up for Credit Sesame and/or Credit Karma to monitor any changes in your credit history for free (I have both).

• American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries (up to 6k a year), 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else. There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries or for those who have a close Supermarket that sells $500 Visa Gift Cards.
• $150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
• You earn 6% on gift cards you buy at the grocery store as well.

• Discover it® - 5% cash-back on Amazon.com, Department Stores and Home Improvement Stores. Discover Doubles your rewards for a year so 5% becomes 10%! This is the new it card (see what I did there ;)
• 5% cashback for Discover is actually more than 5%.  I use them for Staples or Bed, Bath and Beyond Gift cards.  $20 in rewards is a $25 gift card.
• Must be activated before purchase to qualify for cashback bonus
• $50 sign up bonus via my referral link (or anyone else's).  $50 becomes $100 after 13 months.  Refer your spouse/friends/family members to earn $100 yourself for every referral!
• 
  
• Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back at Gas Stations and Kohl's.
• $75 maximum cash back per quarter. You need to activate the 5%.
• Chase Freedom 2015 5% categories
• $200 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days (ends very soon), you will get another $25 bonus if you add an authorized user who makes one purchase in the first 90 days.
  

• Chase Ink Classic (Business Card) - 5% cashback at Office Supply Stores, Cable, Phone (Landline or cell) and Internet bills.
• 20,000 Ultimate Rewards for spending $3,000 in 3 months.
• No annual Fee

• Citi Dividend - 5% cashback on Hilton Hotels and Airlines
• Up to $6,000 of purchases a year instead of $1,500 a quarter (up to $300 cashback for the year).  I haven't used it much this year.
• I might use this for airlines, but I am sure many of you can use this.
• You can't sign up for this card, but many people have reported that you can product change from a different Citi card to the Dividend.

• Bank of America Better Balance Rewards - $25 back for every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month. Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking account.

• Best Usage - Set up a monthly bill on this card and auto pay the full balance. You never have to think about it and then every three months you will get $30.
• You can try to get multiple of these cards as well.
• Sign up for a card with a sign up bonus and then product change to the BBR card.

• Bank of America Cash Rewards - 3.3% on Gas into a Bank of America Checking account - 5.25% on gas if you have preferred rewards

• "Old" American Express Blue Cash - 5% cashback at groceries and select pharmacies after $6,500 of yearly spend at 1%.

• Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.
• This card is always in my wallet.  Discover it can replace this card for a year.
• Alternatively, you can use the Discover it Miles card for 3% cashback everywhere during your first year of the card.

• Charles Schwab Check Card – Unlimited Free ATMs Withdrawals at every ATM in the world
• This card is always in my wallet

Up to 4x eBay Bucks - 2 Days Only - Targeted

Wow, this is frustrating.  I just bought $200 of TGI Friday's gift cards and earned $4 in eBay Bucks.  If I waited an hour I would have earned another $4.  That's life!

I guess I'll send eBay an email, but I'm not optimistic.


Check your emails for an offer from eBay for extra eBay bucks. One of my accounts was targeted and one was not.

4x eBay bucks on any item of $150 or more.

Recently, there have been targeted eBay Bucks offers of up to 5x so this is not as good as previously, but it is still a great deal. Sale continues until the end of June 25th.

Check out Doctor of Credit's post on targeted eBay Bucks promotions.

This a multiplier of the regular 2% eBay Bucks so 4x is actually 8% in eBay Bucks!



No eBay bucks given for eBay gift cards, but most other purchases earn them. eBay bucks can be used for later purchases and can be very valuable, especially when buying discounted gift cards.

I've earned over $150 eBay bucks since April which I will be able to use starting July 3rd.


There have been a few deals recently to buy discounted eBay gift cards. Now is the time to start using those gift cards.




Don't have anything to buy? You could always buy Staples eGift Cards from PayPal Digital Gifts with your Chase Ink. You will still get 5x points from Ultimate Rewards (if you aren't using an eBay Gift Card) and extra portal cashback.

Update on Groupon Deal - Orders Cancelled Until I Used eGift Cards

Recently, I mentioned a Groupon deal for iPad Minis as a reselling opportunity. 

I tried to order 2 times with different credit cards and both times the orders were cancelled (portal cashback is still posting so far) due to an issue with my credit card.  I used the cards elsewhere without a problem. 

I am not the only one.  Reader Daniel commented that his order was cancelled as well.


I then bought eGift Cards from Staples with my Chase Ink to earn 5x Ultimate Rewards points and hopefully so that the order goes through.  I am happy to update that my order did in fact go through.  Portal cashback is posting for this as well even though I used gift cards for the entire purchase.


If your order is cancelled, buy Groupon eGift Cards from Staples.  That should work.  The eGift Cards were delivered the next morning

$50 TGI Friday Gift Cards for $40 - Small Reselling Opportunity

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Top Cashback and eBay



Via Doctor of Credit and Frequent Miler



eBay (via SVMGiftCards - very realiable seller) is selling TGI Friday $50 Gift Cards for $40 - Limit of 5. Limit of 5. 



According to Gift Card Granny, you can sell the cards for the same 80% to Gift Card Zen.

So, here goes the math.

Breakeven from reselling

• 1.1% from Top Cashback - $2.20
• 2% in eBay Bucks towards a future deal - $4 in eBay Bucks
• 1-2.2% in credit card rewards - $4 if you use a 2% card
• More savings if you have discounted eBay Gift Cards to use.  This is why you should proactively buy eBay Gift Cards even if you have nothing in particular to buy.

Check to see if you are targeted for increased eBay Bucks (up to 4x).

This is great if you want $10 for about 5-10 minutes of work or manufactured spending for credit card sign up bonus.

Keep in mind that the reselling price can fall, especially if a lot of people resell the same gift card at the same time.

American Express Business Gift Cards - 2.25% Today from Top Cashback

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Top Cashback



Recently, there have been a few increased payouts on American Express Gift Cards from the different portals.    Competition among the sites is good for everyone! On a $10,000 order, this is an extra $75.  Not too shabby!

Until the rest of 6/23/2015, Top Cashback is offering 2.25% cashback for buying American Express Business Gift Cards.


 Business cards only!   Promo codes invalidate cashback and cashback is only for $2,000 denominations and below.

No promo codes! Your cashback from Top Cashback will be invalidated.

Use your $10 American Express offers for you to save an additional $10..

Turnover Tuesdays - Lenovo Tablets

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site:  Amazon, Ebates


For those who are not familiar, I started a series a while back called Turnover Tuesdays. Every Tuesday I like to highlight one item that I have resold. This will include profitable and non profitable sales. I hope that there is always something to learn.

Week 1 - First attempt at reselling
Week 2 - My second straight fail
Week 3 - My iPad mini collection
Week 4 - Bed Bath and Beyond
Week 5 - An iPad Idea for Your Staples Gift Card Collection

Week 6 - An iPad idea for Manufactured Spending

Week 7 - The Great iPad Deal that Wasn't


Today I want a share a deal from a Lenovo tablet I bought a while back.  It worked out well (not as well as I thought), but it was a nice lesson for me.

Cardpool 5% off any Gift Card - Targeted - A Possible Tip

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Cardpool

This morning I received a surprise email from Cardpool, which offered a coupon code for 5% off any gift card.  $10 max savings.  The email is definitely targeted. 

Some Background and a Tip

On Saturday night, I tried to buy a Target gift card from Cardpool.  I used an AMEX gift card to pay like I would on Raise.  I was promptly rejected.  I forgot that you can't use AMEX gift cards on Cardpool (It might work if you register your address over the phone).

I then left the gift cards in my shopping cart and didn't think about it again

This morning, I got the targeted email.


My recommention:  "Buy" a gift card with an AMEX gift card or any card that will be rejected.  Leave the cards in your cart and hope you get targeted too.


I don't know that this will work, but it can't hurt.


I was able to buy Staples gift cards at about 11% off and Walmart gift cards at about 8.5% off and I still get another 2% for using my Fidelity American Express.  Not too shabby!

Don't have a Cardpool Account?  I would appreciate it if you signed up for an account through my affiliate link.  I will receive $5 if you sign up.

Great Posts from Around the Web

Some Great Posts from Around the Blogosphere to know about from last week or so.  I'm a little behind on this so there are a whole bunch of them.

• New Targeted AMEX offer - Get $75 back with $250 or more Purchase at Staples, Home Depot & More (Use 5x)
• Frequent Miler Quick Deals
• This is one of the best AMEX offers ever available.  I was not targeted, but definitely check if you were.  Only on AMEX business cards.
• Staples Easy Rebate: Purchase $300 in Visa Gift Cards and Receive $20 Visa Gift Card (June 21-27)
• Travel with Grant
• There have been a lot of these lately.  I never get upset.

• Best Buy - $15 promo gift card per $150 eGift Card.  Up to 26% off online with Discover Deals
• Big Habitat
• Great promo if you are planning on shopping at Best Buy anyways.  Not always something available to resell but flash sales have been good lately.
• Maximizing the Discover Double Cash promo: Huge Rewards via Online Shopping!
• Frequent Miler
• Great post.  50-70% off Sears Purchases in July?  Count me in!  50% is more realistic, but it may drop to as low as 30% off everything.  Oh no.
• How to Receive Mobile Notifications for Hot Deals that Will Likely Die Quickly.
• Doctor of Credit
• Doctor of Credit is flat out one of the best blogs out there.  The only problem is that there was no way to get the best deals quickly to your phone or inbox (too many posts to check everything).  Frequent Miler solved the problem with a separate site called Quick Deals.  Doctor of Credit started a new Twitter handle that you can set up for mobile notifications.  I highly recommend you jump on board to not miss out.
• Santander Adds a Definition for What is a Direct Deposit for Their Extra20 Deal
• Doctor of Credit
• Basically, switch to real direct deposit to get your $20.  Loopholes will eventually be shut down.  They're on to us!
• New Targeted eBay Coupons - I got a free $70!  Stacks with Discounted eBay Gift Cards
• Miles to Memories
• I wasn't targeted, but it's worth looking in your account to see if you were
• Top Cashback Offering $14 for Your First Purchase on Fiverr, Profit of $8.50
• Doctor of Credit
• Quick, easy, pajama money.  My favorite kind.
• Chase Sapphire Preferred is terrible, get Slate Instead
• Freequent Flyerbook
• Ever the contrarian, Freequent Flyerbook is always worth a read.
• Upgraded My Toolbox to Gift Card Churning Means Increased Efficiency and Execution
• Chasing the Points
• Interesting idea. If you are doing a lot of gift card churning, this is something to consider.
• 5,000 Points Per Hilton Stay Through July 6 at all Properties Worldwide
• View from The Wing
• Extra points if you are planning on staying at a Hilton anyways
• A Way Around Chase's New Rules
• Doctor of Credit
• Going into a branch to sign up for a credit card isn't as convenient, but it might be the difference between getting approved and not approved.  You also might get a bigger sign up bonus than online.

Staples and Visa Checkout - 15% off $100+

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Ebates,

HT: Frequent Miler Quick Deals and TF via email

15% off purchase of $100 or more Visa Checkout.  Max Discount is $50

Terms and conditions do not exclude Apple products like iPads.

Limit 1 per person.  I don't think this is targeted, but make sure you see it on the Staples homepage before you buy.

4% cashback from Ebates as well does not exclude Apple Products.

5% cashback from Discover Deals (which will turn into 10% after 13 months does exclude tablets)



You should still get Staples Rewards money as well.

I don't know how Visa checkout at different stores are categorized so you may not get 5x points for using a Chase Ink card.


Terms and Conditions:

Limited time offer. Valid online at staples.com® when you pay with Visa Checkout only. Not valid in store. Limit one coupon per customer, nontransferable. Max discount of $50. Minimum purchase requirement of $100. Tax and shipping not included in calculating the minimum purchase. No cash/credit back. Not valid on any Beats™, Bose®, Canon® ink, Epson® ink and toner, HP ink and toner, JBL®, Roku®, SquareTrade® warranties, Staples Industrial(sm) purchases, Steelcase®, custom printing orders placed online, services, promotional products, gift cards, prior purchases or any purchases on other provider Web sites. Expires 6/23/15 or when promotional redemption limit has been reached.

Updates on Groupon iPad Deal

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site:  Mr. Rebates, Be Frugal, Ebates, Top Cashback

On Friday, I wrote about a Groupon deal to resell iPads minis (first generation).  Here are a couple of updates:

• The deal was extended for another 10 days!
• I'm not sure why, but my order was cancelled.  I'll have to rebuy today

iPad Mini 16GB $180 from Groupon Today

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site:  Mr. Rebates

HT - DansDeals

Groupon is selling an iPad mini (1st generation) 16GB for $180 today.  This sells for $220-$240 on Amazon.


In addition, you can earn 8% cashback from Mr. Rebates for Groupon purchases


Resell anyone?  Fees are about $18 (don't forget about taxes)  so this is probably a nice resell idea.  It's ranked at #23 on Amazon so it should sell like hot cakes!

Max 5 per person

Buy $25 Walmart or Target Gift Card and Earn $15 of SwagBucks

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site:  Swagbucks


HT - Slickdeals

Update: This deal seems targeted as some are reporting that they don't have the offer on their Swagbucks account.


You can earn 1,500 Swagbucks (worth $15 towards a gift card through SwagBucks) when you make a minimum purchase of $25 or more on Dlyte.com.  You can buy a $25 gift card to Walmart or Target and you will qualify for the 1,500 swagbucks.


Here is how to do it:

Log into Swagbucks and go to this link.  Locate the Dlyte.com offer.  Create an account at Dlyte.com and make a purchase of $25 or more.

2,100 swagbucks will allow you to buy a $25 eBay gift card through the end of June and you can earn free swagbucks by running videos in the background of your phone that can push you from 1,500 to 2,100 by the end of the month.  You can usually earn about 80 swagbucks a day with the videos.



Sign up for SwagBucks for free from my referral link

$20 of $100+ at BuyDig.com with Visa Checkout

HT - Slickdeals

Use promo code VISADADGRAD20 and save $20 off a $100 purchase at Buydig.com with Visa checkout.

Excludes Canon, Garmin, LG, Nikon, Samsung, Sony, Tamron, Vizio, Weber and Yamaha products.

Valid until 6/25 or until 5000 customers use the code

You can use any credit card to pay as long as you register it with Visa checkout (PayPal competitor).

According to Cashback Monitor, you can save up to 2.4% with My Deals and Coupons (never heard of it before) or 2% with Top Cashback

Terms and conditions:

*Offer excludes orders under $100 and items from Canon, Garmin, LG, Nikon, Samsung, Sony, Tamron, Vizio, Weber and Yamaha products. Visit www.BuyDig.com, place your order and enter the coupon code during checkout. Spend $100 or more at www.buydig.com and receive $20 off with coupon code VisaDadGrad20(“Offer”). Offer valid from 06/10/2015 - 06/25/2015 or while supplies last. Limited to the first 5,000 customers per Offer. Coupon valid on regular, promotional and/or clearance priced items. Not valid for purchases using a payment method other than Visa Checkout. The coupon amount will be subtracted from your subtotal product purchase (not including shipping and applicable sales tax). Not valid for purchases of Canon, Garmin, LG, Nikon, Samsung, Sony, Tamron, Vizio, Weber and Yamaha products, not valid on prior purchases. No cash value. Some restrictions apply, see site policy for details. Coupon is good for one-time use only, not for resale or auction and cannot be combined with other coupon offers. Beach Trading Inc. reserves the right to limit quantities sold to each customer and to extend, modify or discontinue this Offer at any time without notice. Coupon void where prohibited.

Extra 3% off Raise Gift Cards - Today Only

 

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site:  Raise and Top Cashback

 

HT - Doctor of Credit

Raise.com sells gift cards to retailers at a discount.  They run almost weekly weekend sales where you can get an extra 5% off on top of the regular prices on select gift cards.  This weekend, they decided to offer 3% off every gift card and the sale ends today.

Keep in mind that the base price for the gift changes with inventory so I will list its current price but there are currently staples gift cards that are 5% off and Walmart gift cards that are 2.5% off.  That will net you ~8% and ~5.5% respectively.  Try any gift cards you want since the promo works on all of them.




Don't have a Raise account?  Sign up free with my referral or with Doctor of Credit's referral link as a thank you for posting the deal

Raise accepts AMEX gift cards so this is a good way to get way to liquidate those.

Start your purchase from Top Cashback and get up and get an extra cash back as well for your first $1,000 of gift cards purchased there.

Don't have Top Cashback?  Sign up here for free.

Up to 3x eBay Bucks - Targeted - Start Using Those Discounted eBay Gift Cards!

Check your emails for an offer from eBay for extra eBay bucks. One of my accounts was targeted and one was not.

 

3x eBay bucks on any item of $50 or more.

Recently, there have been targeted eBay Bucks offers of up to 5x so this is not as good as previously, but it is still a great deal.  Sale continues until the end of June 19th.

Check out Doctor of Credit's post on targeted eBay Bucks promotions.

This a multiplier of the regular 2% eBay Bucks so 3x is actually 6% in eBay Bucks!



No eBay bucks given for eBay gift cards, but most other purchases earn them. eBay bucks can be used for later purchases and can be very valuable, especially when buying discounted gift cards.

I've earned over $150 eBay bucks since April which I will be able to use starting July 3rd.


There have been a few deals recently to buy discounted eBay gift cards (20% off any purchase and 10% off from Gyft which is still going on).  Now is the time to start using those gift cards.




Don't have anything to buy?  You could always buy Staples eGift Cards from PayPal Digital Gifts with your Chase Ink.  You will still get 5x points from Ultimate Rewards (if you aren't using an eBay Gift Card) and extra portal cashback.

Serve Reloads at Family Dollar - $500 per Store is Not the Maximum

Serve is a great prepaid product available from American Express.  The benefits of Serve include $1,000 of online credit card loads with American Express cards, worth $20 a month with Fidelity American Express ($1,500 of loads if you are grandfathered into SoftServe).

In addition, you can load Serve via Debit Cards (AKA Visa Gift Cards) at Walmart and Family Dollar with a limit of $2,500 a day and $5,000 a month

American Express Prepaid Card Adding Monthly $4.95 Fee for Most

HT: JF via email

I originally wrote this post about Serve.  Within 2 minutes I took the post down when I realized my mistake.  Serve is not adding any monthly fees.  I read AMEX Prepaid Card in the email and my mind immediately went to Serve.  I hope I didn't scare anyone too much.  It was sloppy and I apologize.

American Express is adding a $4.95 monthly fee to the American Express Prepaid Card for anyone who isn't a resident of Arkansas, New York, Texas or Vermont.

Monthly fee starts October 15, 2015.  

  

Here is a link to the new Terms.

This is not a big deal since they are basically useless.  If you have any money left, drain it now and then close the account.  If you don't, you can't have a negative balance so don't worry about it.

From their terms:

PLEASE NOTE: If your Available Balance is less than a $4.95 for a particular month, we will deduct the Available Balance on your Card and apply it toward the monthly fee. If you have no money available on your Card, or if you do not have enough money to cover the entire monthly fee for a particular month, your Card will not sustain a negative balance as a result of this monthly fee.

  

American Express Business Gift Cards - Simply Best Coupons - 2% Cashback on 6/22

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Simply Best Coupons


HT: AL via email



Simply Best Coupons will be giving 2% cashback on American Express Business Gift Cards on Monday (6/22/2015). That is better than the usual 1.5% from Top Cashback and others.

Don't use a promo code and don't buy denominations greater than $3,000 since they are not eligible for extra money.


Here is the email:

Hello again!
We wanted to give you an advance notice:
Next Monday - 6/22/15 we will be offering 2% cashback on American Express Business Gift Cards.
It will start at midnight Pacific time.
https://www.simplybestcoupons.com/Coupons/americanexpress.com/?ref=advance-noticeCheck the terms carefully! $3,000 gold cards don't qualify for cashback.

Feel free to use my referral link as a thank you ;)

Be on the lookout for 2.25% cashback from Top Cashback as well. They often coincide, but not always

$200 Visa Gift Cards fee Free at Staples, 1 per Order?

Twitter Follower @dcatast tweeted the following picture

Update: Fee is now being charged correctly.


Picture shows that there was no fee when purchasing a Blue $200 Visa Gift Card at Staples.  He then bought another four and got the $6.95 fee waived once.  It may be that every purchase can have one fee waived.

I have no personal experience here but I think it is worth it to check it out, especially if you are going to Staples anyways.

Make sure to use a Chase Ink card for 5x points.

$5 off $50 eBay Gift Cards from Gyft X3

HT - Frequent Miler Quick Deals

UPDATE: reports are that coupon code EBAYDAD works three times too.  Try it!


Check out the post and act fast.  Coupon code DAD2015. 

If the $50 eBay gift cards are out of stock, log out, add the $50 gift card and then log back in - from Noah of Money Metagame on Twitter.

Total is $135 for $150 of eBay gift cards.

Use Be Frugal's portal to possibly get another 2.5% cashback.  Did I say act fast?

Brooks Brothers Gift Card Reselling Update - Mixed News

Last week, I wrote that I bought a lot of $200 Brooks Brothers gift cards for $150 in the hopes of reselling them for a $1 profit, $16 from Mr. Rebates Shopping portal and free credit cards (assumed to be worth $2 at least).

Here is what has actually happened so far: