Category: Gift Cards

  1. The American Express Business Platinum’s Dell and Adobe credits are changing starting on July 1:

    – The Dell credit will be $150 annually, plus another $1,000 after $5,000 in spend at Dell
    – The Adobe credit will be $250 off of $600 in Adobe products

    You can take advantage of the current credits before July 1 and still be eligible for the updated credits when they come. I’m personally disappointed that Dell isn’t gone so that I don’t have to think about it any more, but for people playing Dell buyer’s groups games, the new structure is probably better.
  2. Zift Zillions cards earn 12x points at Giant, Martins, and Stop & Shop through Wednesday Thursday (Thanks to Eugene for the correction). Note that Giant Food stores are owned by the same conglomerate but are only paying 4x.

    There’s a Citi Merchant offer for 5% back up to $30 at Stop & Shop too. (Thanks to GCA)
  3. The best and worst performing major US airlines as measured by the stock market have Q2 shopping portal bonuses:

    – AA eShopping: 500 miles after $200+ spend through April 14
    – United MileagePlus Shopping: 500 miles after $100+ spend through April 14

    An obvious choice is giftcards.com.
  4. Chase Offers has an offer for 5% back at giftcards.com, and it’s potentially available on multiple cards for the same cardholder too too. (Thanks to Carl)
  5. The Chase Sapphire Preferred 100,000 Ultimate Rewards bonus is now available via referrals.

  6. US Bank’s business checking bonus for Q2 is here using promo code Q2DIG25. For both tiers of bonus, you need to maintain a minimum balance and have five transactions within the first 60 days. Last time I knocked this out, I scheduled five $1 ACHs. The tiers:

    – $500 for bringing $5,000 and maintaining at least that between days 30 and 60
    – $900 for bringing $25,000 and maintaining at least that between days 30 and 60

    Both are interesting if you time it right, and holding $5,000 in a business checking account with US Bank is a great way to shake-loose credit card approvals. If you’re not in the US Bank footprint, opening a brokerage account or CD first will get you in the door.
  7. United has an economy award sale for co-brand card holders with travel booked by tomorrow night for flights to Latin America through September 30. One-way fares:

    – 9,000-11,000 for Mexico
    – 18,000 miles for Central America
    – 30,000 miles for South America

    If you choose your route correctly, lie-flat business class cash upgrades can actually be quite reasonable and there’s no cancelation fee so you don’t have to slum it in the back if the cheap upgrade doesn’t materialize.

Happy Tuesday!

Eight cardboard computers at Dell will soon earn a $1,000 statement credit.

  1. American Express has targeted more accounts with a bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards for enabling Pay over Time on its charge cards. A few notes:

    – Set a reminder to disable Pay over Time after 121 days to be eligible to be retargeted
    – If multiple cards are targeted, activate quick on all of them

    What happens if you turn off Pay over Time before then? To the penalty box! (Maybe)
  2. American Express has a Q2 referrer bonus for 5x earning on up to $25,000 spend in travel and transit for three months in addition to the 15,000-35,000 Membership Rewards the referrer typically gets.

    The offers available to the referred haven’t changed, but referring to a business card that you close quickly without hitting a sign-up bonus is one way to play the game. (Thanks to mra101485)
  3. Kroger has fee-free virtual Visa and Mastercard $100 gift cards online with promo code NOFEEMADNESS through tonight, and these will earn Kroger fuel points too. This also marks the first time that I’ve seen Mastercards sold at Kroger.com since they transitioned from US Bank to BlackHawk Network for gift card fulfillment.

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  4. Chase’s Sapphire Reserve used to earn 10x points on all Lyft purchases, now that drops to 5x through September 30, 2027 which matches the earn on Inks and the Sapphire Preferred. There’s a new monthly credit of $10 towards Lyft rides for the Sapphire Reserve only through the same time period.
  5. As of today Fiji Airlines award tickets can be booked with AA AAdvantage miles joins oneWorld and uses AA as its currency for dynamic awards. On average, that probably means today is the best day for redemption availability, so I guess there’s no time like the present eh?

April Fool’s day is every day but April 1 at MEAB, so here’s a boring image as your feed cleanser for the rest of the day’s onslaught.

From at least 2017 through 2021, the Walmart mobile app had functionality for making bill payments from your phone through CheckFreePay, much like their in-store money center bill pay option. With the right gyrations it was a great from-home liquidation channel, supported plenty of volume, and in some cases even served as a liquidation channel of last resort.

In Spring 2021 though, Walmart updated the user interface framework and the interface for its mobile apps, and in the process killed bill pay functionality. But, technical users could install an old version of the app and keep access to bill payments. Those payments continued to work for months, and even worked better than before, probably due to decreased transaction load and volume.

Why bring this up today? Is this a timely post? Two answers:

  • No, it’s not timely because there are always games to play with older apps
  • Yes, it’s timely because there are always games to play with older apps

Have a nice Monday friends!

Throwbacks gonna throwback.

On most days since early 2024, the the Pepper platform offered bonus promotions on gift card purchases, and those bonuses crept up to the point of absurdity where Walmart, Delta, Home Depot, and other high value gift cards paid 30%. That all changed yesterday when a few things happened:

  • Tuesday morning bonus drops came hours later than normal
  • When they did come, payouts fell from 30x to 18-25x on the best bulk brands
  • In-app deal terms specified that even lower bonuses will be coming next week
  • They announced through multiple channels that lowered bonus payouts were permanent and that bonuses would be shrinking weekly until the business reached sustainability

Why did Pepper pivot? I think it’s been obvious since last year that these rates were unsustainable and that Pepper was losing money on every transaction (and oh yeah they just told us so), so a change was needed for the company to continue operating.

My most controversial blog post in terms of volume of discussion it produced was that based on how venture funding in big tech works, I guessed there was a 50/50 chance that Pepper would either run out of money or that they’d get new funding in March. I think the latter has probably happened and is exactly why we’re seeing all of these changes, and as a corollary I think that means that it’s probably as safe to use Pepper as most any other startup FinTech at this point. It’s also possible that it pivoted for an entirely unrelated reason, but I haven’t thought of another reason that lines up with the public and private data I have.

Regardless of why Pepper changed though, the fact that it did means that likely:

  • Bulk resale rates will creep back up as old, discounted inventory is sold
  • Floated coins in Pepper are probably safer than they were
  • Pepper will probably have extra runway for new development and enhancements, like maybe launching its AI product that (1) somehow knows your favorite color and shoe size, (2) ????, and (3) profit
  • People holding gift cards bought in the last couple of months can soon sell for big profits
  • Gift card resellers have a new post from a rando on the internet to debate repeatedly, and empirically, approximately 12 of those debaters won’t even bother to skim the article before debating

What’s my action, asked nobody? I hit Pepper coin-zero just last week after gradually drawing down my float, but I no longer feel like I need to be there. When resale rates return and deals are profitable, I’ll be playing the Pepper game like it was Summer 2024. I’m also buying some cards at the current bonus in anticipation of the bonus falling next week, and I expect I’ll be holding those cards for a while. Remember though, just because I’m doing something doesn’t mean you should do it too; in fact often it means you shouldn’t.

Pepper’s Spring form revealed to the world.

  1. There’s a great sign-up bonus for $1,000 statement credit after $5,000 in spend on one of the lamer named credit cards on the market, the AmaZing Business Credit Card. It’s available for residents of Arizona, California, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, or Texas.

    The card is a no-annual fee business Visa that earns 3x at office supplies, telecom, and networking, 2x in categories better served by other cards, and 1x everywhere else. The application process for the card looks streamlined but is actually archaic; that can be a good thing though, amirite?
  2. American Express Membership Week has enrollable offers for:

    – $75 back on $250+ at Curio, Canopy, Tapestry, Motto, Tempo, and Graduate Hilton properties in North America through May 15
    – $70 back on $350+ at Hertz within the US through April 30
    – $50 back on $200+ at Lowes online or in-store through March 31
    – $50 back on $250+ at Dell through August 15

    These work with faux-cardpointers too, and if you’re not seeing them remember the 100 offer rule. Also, here’s your periodic reminder that often these work more easily on third party American Express cards at AmEx Connect.
  3. Kroger stores have a 4x fuel points promotion starting tomorrow and running through April 1 on third party gift cards excluding Amazon.

    The best options for a bulk resale are still Apple and Lululemon, because Pepper blew everything else up for funsies.
  4. Citi ThankYou Points has a 25% transfer bonus to Avianca Lifemiles through April 12. Best uses:

    – ANA First to and from Japan
    – Lufthansa First to and from Europe
    – Mixed cabin shenanigans
    – Taking advantage of loose definitions of regions
    – Travel between Asia and Oceana

    There’s decent economy short-haul value too, I guess. But that’s definitely not funsies.
  1. Do this now: Register for your 5x bonus on rotating category cards:

    – Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex: Amazon (and “select streaming services” I guess)
    – Discover IT: Grocery stores and wholesale clubs, but Walmart and Target don’t count
    – Citi Dividend: Who knows, because it’s giving an error right now #citigonnaciti
    – US Bank Cash+: I choose utilities and electronics, cause #meabgonnameab

    Given Pepper’s explosion all over the gift card market, you should be getting a much bigger discount than 5x on Amazon purchases, either by using Pepper if you dare, or by buying Amazon gift cards from Pepper users at 12%+ off. I guess if you’re masochist there’s Raise/GCX at 7.60% off too.
  2. The Citi Shop Your Way Rewards card has released new mid-month offers including (I believe) a new all time high spending bonus for online spend through April 14:

    – 325,000 Shop Your Way Rewards after $1,000+ online spend
    – 250,000 Shop Your Way Rewards after $750+ in online spend
    – $100 statement credit after $1,000+ in online spend
    – $75 statement credit after $750+ in online spend

    (Thanks to uppereastsider, irieriley, Matt, and David 99)
  3. Meijer MPerks has a digital coupon for $10 off of $150+ in Visa gift cards through Saturday. This coupon doesn’t specify a limit, which probably means you can re-clip the same coupon after checkout repeatedly.

    This is the kind of low profile deal that can be so valuable that it’s worth it to travel from out of state if you don’t live by a Meijer, provided you have a good liquidation channel for Visas.
  4. Office Depot / OfficeMax stores have $15 off of $300+ in Visa gift cards through Saturday, and this one is confirmed working unlike last week’s Mastercard version, which didn’t work even though stores had the flyer, then worked after stores took down the flyer, then maybe worked, but only if you were lucky. For best results, always:

    – Buy in even multiples of $300
    – The “Everywhere” cards sometimes have lower fees and definitely work differently for liquidation

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  5. Hilton has a targeted bonus for 3,000 bonus points after your next stay within four months of registration, but no later than the end of the year. (Thanks to Beneficial-Board6959)

From the people in charge of last week’s Office Depot / OfficeMax’s Mastercard promotion.

  1. The American Express Marriott Bonvoy personal cards have increased sign-up bonuses through May 14, available head-on, or via referral (and if you know anyone with a referral, please use theirs instead of applying head-on):

    – Brilliant: 185,000 Bonvoy points after $6,000 spend in six months, $650 annual fee
    – Bevy: 155,000 Bonvoy points after $5,000 spend in six months, $250 annual fee

    A couple of notes: (1) I prefer points offers like these to certificate offers, and (2) if you’re going to get a personal Bonvoy card, the Chase one at least has an upgrade path to the Ritz card.
  2. All Kroger brands now have a digital coupon for no purchase fees on $150+ in Visa or Mastercard variable load cards just like Harris Teeter through Tuesday, limit one per account.

    If only it were possible to have multiple Kroger accounts, but alas, science hasn’t figured that one out yet.
  3. The US Bank Smartly card is reportedly no longer available for new applications in branch, and rumored to unavailable for applications online in the next month.

    Assuming that’s true, now’s the time for this card if you want it.
  4. Kroger stores have a 4x fuel points sale today only on all third party gift cards that don’t start with an ‘A’ and end with ‘mazon’. Pepper continues to murder the gift card resale market for all of the major brands it sells, so that means this promotion is basically useful for Apple and Lululemon only. (update: dead)

    Don’t worry, one day the gift card resale market will stabilize.

The multiple Kroger account science room clock.

  1. Yesterday’s post mentioned in fake-shakespeare obtuseness that Rapid Rewards points value shifts based on demand; based on questions and comments I got yesterday, that wasn’t clear to many. To speak in ye-new-modern-day-English: Southwest Rapid Rewards points will no longer have a fixed redemption value for each class of ticket, but rather the redemption value will vary based on demand.

    In other words, Rapid Rewards which already had dynamic pricing based on ticket value, will now have a dynamic redemption value per point too. To quote the quiet grandmaster churner RabbMD, “double secret dynamic” pricing.
  2. Harris Teeter stores have a coupon for fee-free variable load Mastercard and Visa gift cards when loaded with $150+ through Tuesday, limit one per Kroger account. (Thanks to GCA)
  3. Rakuten’s In-Store card linked program has offers for several grocery stores:

    – 1% or 1x at Giant
    – 1% or 1x at Giant Food (different than the above, duh)
    – 1% or 1x at Martins
    – 1% or 1x at Food Lion

    These are valid for 75 days after clipping the coupon. But after first use, the coupon is only valid for another hour, at which point you can reclip it as long as the promotion is still going. Why so complex? Well, remember that Rakuten is the company that bought Buy.com for $250 Million and decided that Buy.com was too hard for Americans to pronounce and remember, so just migrated it to Rakuten.com.
  4. Some discount airlines, sorted in order of recent annoyingness, are running promotions:

    – Breeze 50% off: Book by today, fly between March 18 and June 18 with promo GROW
    – Frontier award sale: Book by Monday, fly through August 18
    – Alaska international sale*: Book by April 11, fly through July 31
    – [this space left intentionally blank]
    – [this space left intentionally blank]
    – Southwest sale: Book by today, fly between April 1 and June 11

    *The Alaska sale includes Premium Economy, which is weird because Alaska doesn’t really support partner Premium Economy bookings for the partners you need to get to these destinations. #AlaskaGonnaAlaska
  5. The Wyndham shopping portal has a bonus of 2,000 points after a single purchase through April 9. (Thanks to FM)

Don’t blame Rakuten, after all, Rasputin was once named Bryce right? (Don’t check)