topic Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS! in Credit Cards

12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

fastfire667 — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 09:15:03 GMT

As many Discover card holders here already know, this Saturday cardmembers can sign up to receive an additional 2% cash back on all purchases. This is in ADDITION to any quarterly bonus for online purchases and Shop Discover bonuses. As some may already know, the 5% cashback this quater for online purchases EXCLUDES discount stores and wholesale clubs. I saw a thread a couple days ago where it was reported that Walmart doesn't qualify for this bonus because it is coded as a discount store. I had to post to let everyone know that this is INCORRECT. Yes, it is true, if you make a purchase in a brick and motor Walmart, it is coded as a DISCOUNT STORE on your statement. However, I make purchases on Walmart.com through Shop Discover nearly every week for their 5% cash back, and can assure you guys that Walmart.com is coded as DIRECT MRKTNG-COMBO CATALOG & RETAIL. This means that Walmart.com IS eligible for the quarterly bonus!

Anyways, so this Saturday, any purchases made through Walmart.com will earn you 5% quarterly bonus + 5% Shop Discover Bonus + 2% One Day Only additional bonus= 12% back on ANYTHING! However, if there isn't anything you want at Walmart at this point, just buy anything around the value of gift card that you want. Purchase the item and then return it to customer service. They will ask if you want it refunded to your credit card or to a gift card. Say you want a gift card. So just like that, BOOM 12% off a Walmart giftcard.

Most, if not all Walmarts, sell many gift cards to other stores and services. I can personally confirm that Walmart gift cards can be used to purchase these. So in essense, you can get either 12% off anything at Walmart, 12% off a Walmart giftcard, OR 12% off any other giftcard that Walamrt has in stock. Hmm the possibilities....

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

scientifics — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 11:06:08 GMT

fastfire667 wrote:
However, if there isn't anything you want at Walmart at this point, just buy anything around the value of gift card that you want. Purchase the item and then return it to customer service. They will ask if you want it refunded to your credit card or to a gift card. Say you want a gift card. So just like that, BOOM 12% off a Walmart giftcard.

Most, if not all Walmarts, sell many gift cards to other stores and services. I can personally confirm that Walmart gift cards can be used to purchase these. So in essense, you can get either 12% off anything at Walmart, 12% off a Walmart giftcard, OR 12% off any other giftcard that Walamrt has in stock. Hmm the possibilities....

I feel like this is unethical. While no one will stop you, I just wouldn't feel right doing this. Does anyone else agree with me?

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

DeadSpider — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:03:50 GMT

Isn't the WHOLE point of rewards is to save, save, save ?

I say go for it $1000 gift card for $880 who doesn't want that ?

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

SwampSystems — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:11:43 GMT

fastfire667 wrote:
As many Discover card holders here already know, this Saturday cardmembers can sign up to receive an additional 2% cash back on all purchases. This is in ADDITION to any quarterly bonus for online purchases and Shop Discover bonuses. As some may already know, the 5% cashback this quater for online purchases EXCLUDES discount stores and wholesale clubs. I saw a thread a couple days ago where it was reported that Walmart doesn't qualify for this bonus because it is coded as a discount store. I had to post to let everyone know that this is INCORRECT. Yes, it is true, if you make a purchase in a brick and motor Walmart, it is coded as a DISCOUNT STORE on your statement. However, I make purchases on Walmart.com through Shop Discover nearly every week for their 5% cash back, and can assure you guys that Walmart.com is coded as DIRECT MRKTNG-COMBO CATALOG & RETAIL. This means that Walmart.com IS eligible for the quarterly bonus!

Anyways, so this Saturday, any purchases made through Walmart.com will earn you 5% quarterly bonus + 5% Shop Discover Bonus + 2% One Day Only additional bonus= 12% back on ANYTHING! However, if there isn't anything you want at Walmart at this point, just buy anything around the value of gift card that you want. Purchase the item and then return it to customer service. They will ask if you want it refunded to your credit card or to a gift card. Say you want a gift card. So just like that, BOOM 12% off a Walmart giftcard.

Most, if not all Walmarts, sell many gift cards to other stores and services. I can personally confirm that Walmart gift cards can be used to purchase these. So in essense, you can get either 12% off anything at Walmart, 12% off a Walmart giftcard, OR 12% off any other giftcard that Walamrt has in stock. Hmm the possibilities....

Discount stores, including Walmart, do not qualify for the 5% quarterly bonus.

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

Cory — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:24:13 GMT

scientifics wrote:
fastfire667 wrote:
However, if there isn't anything you want at Walmart at this point, just buy anything around the value of gift card that you want. Purchase the item and then return it to customer service. They will ask if you want it refunded to your credit card or to a gift card. Say you want a gift card. So just like that, BOOM 12% off a Walmart giftcard.

Most, if not all Walmarts, sell many gift cards to other stores and services. I can personally confirm that Walmart gift cards can be used to purchase these. So in essense, you can get either 12% off anything at Walmart, 12% off a Walmart giftcard, OR 12% off any other giftcard that Walamrt has in stock. Hmm the possibilities....
I feel like this is unethical. While no one will stop you, I just wouldn't feel right doing this. Does anyone else agree with me?

+1. I totally agree with you on this one. This is the reason why the credit card companies are now getting smart, placing tiers and caps on credit card/bonus programs as they must have realize there are to many loopholes to be exploited. And to top it off, it being posted on this public forum, where most everybody, including the credit card companies and their representatives come on and read.

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

jdsteel731 — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:53:13 GMT

About this being unethical... I think that case could be made a lot more if the person interested in doing this was doing it for CASH (i.e. no receipt return, ect.) However, if for just a giftcard, I don't really see the issue with this... Discover gets a hefty CC transaction fee from the purchase (probably still more than the cashback amount that people will actually redeem)... Walmart gets business no matter what because of the gift card. I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything like that, I'm merely trying to bring an alternative point of view to how you look at it.

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

navigatethis12 — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:07:39 GMT

Keep in mind the 2% is only on the first $250 in spending.

I do not see this an unethical and do not see how anyone could. I do wonder why you would buy an item instead of a gift card. Do they not sell gift cards online? Other stores do this too but obviously do not do it too often as they will catch on.

Cory wrote:
+1. I totally agree with you on this one. This is the reason why the credit card companies are now getting smart, placing tiers and caps on credit card/bonus programs as they must have realize there are to many loopholes to be exploited. And to top it off, it being posted on this public forum, where most everybody, including the credit card companies and their representatives come on and read.

They place caps because if they did not they would lose money, even from non churners. Regular people can spend 1500 on groceries a month, without even trying to milk the rewards program. So if Chase did not have the cap, they would lose a lot more money than they already do by having the 5%. Everyone knows about these tactics; all it takes is a little common sense. The credit card companies know about them too, but if you do not do it too often, they will not care.

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

MarcinXP — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:06:38 GMT

I agree...I don't really see anything unethical with this. If Discover allows 5% on department stores which I don't think Walmart would qualify for anyway, but say it does and then 5% on top of that and then 2% on Oct 6th then it's legit...Discover could care less what you buy from Walmart whether it's a $1000 gift card or $1000 TV.

If you return that TV to walmart and they give you a Walmart gift card that is fine as well...you will do business with them again.

Now if Walmart lets you use their gift card to buy a Amazon, Best Buy or Gas gift card that's their stupid policy and its on them. Personally they are losing money anyway on that deal but then again they could simply just give you money back on your discover if you return an item.

In any case...that's too much hassle and hope that everything works fine as advertise for a small gain. Hoping that discover will pay the 5% on walmart, then hoping that your transaction posts on Oct 6th to get 2%, hoping that the CSR at walmart will give you a gift card rather than just refunding back to your card and saying ooops...I did not know you wanted this on gift card...and then hoping that walmart will let you buy gift cards with gift card..

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

fastfire667 — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:15:31 GMT

You guys are missing my point. Walmart.com is coded differently that the brick and motor stores. Walmart.com is coded as Direct marketing while brick and motor purchases are coded as discount stores. That is the only reason this works.

I am curious where you saw that the 2% bonus is limited to $250? It doesn't say that in the terms and conditions, and numerous people have posted that they spoke with Discover reps who said there was no cap and that the 6th is basically a "free spend" day.

While yo are right that you can purchase Walamrt gift cards online, gift card purchases are not eligible for the shop discover 5% bonus. On top of that, most items on Walmart.com can be ordered and paid for online, then picked up in store an hour later. Gift cards are not eligble for pick up today, so you need to have them shipped to your house which takes another week to do.

In regards to the ethicality, I don't see how this is any different than BCP cardholders buying tons of gift cards to other stores at their grocery store in order to get 6% back on those purchases. Nobody seems to bat an eye at that practice.

Oh and btw I'm a college student, so every dollar saved is well worth the effort for me :)

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

jdsteel731 — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:15:39 GMT

And you've confirmed that you received 5% cashback from Walmart.com already? Would this work with Target.com as well?

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

DeadSpider — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:19:54 GMT

Yes you can buy gift cards with walmart gift cards.

Forgot about $250 cap at 2%.

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

firesoul453 — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:27:02 GMT

Don't forget that giftcards bought through shopdiscover don't count.

Offer not valid on gift certificate purchases
Offer not valid on shipping, taxes, or other service fees
Offer is not valid in combination with any offers found outside ShopDiscover
Must link to retailer site from the ShopDiscover Web page found at Discover.com and use your Discover card for each transaction
Offer is subject to change, including termination, without notice
Merchants may change their prices at any time; Cashback Bonus is calculated on the merchant site price if different from what is seen on ShopDiscover
The promotional Cashback Bonus will be applied to your account within 8 weeks

And in the terms...

Cardmembers who participate in a Cashback Bonus Program will receive the specifiedCashback Bonus on ShopDiscover purchases made with your Discover Card in connection with these promotions during valid promotion dates in addition to yourCashback Bonus of up to 1% on each purchase. We are not responsible for merchant delays in processing transactions. Promotional reward will be applied within 8 weeks. See Terms and Conditions for full details. Offer valid only when you link to retailer site from the ShopDiscover Web page found at Discovercard.com and use your Discover Card. These offers are not valid in combination with any other offers. These offers are subject to change, including termination without notice. Cashback Bonus is not eligible on returned items purchased through ShopDiscover. Offer is not valid in combination with any other offers found outside of ShopDiscover.

So you might be able to get 7% cah back on $250 of gift cards one time on that day.

But discover has plenty of things inplace ti make it really really hard to abuse this, I wouldn't feel bad at all for maxing out my rewards.

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

navigatethis12 — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:32:59 GMT

I was looking at the birthday month 2% instead of October 6, sorry. So I may just use their card at Macys tomrrow. Anyway, I think people are saying it is unethical to buy something with the intentions to return it to get a gift card. Since a giftcard does not earn the bonus, you have to buy the item insead. The shop still gets their money since it is being returned to a giftcard so all should be okay in the end.

The thing that concerns me is that it says the purchases must post to the account October 6. No card posts purchases the same day so really you would have to spend today to get it to post tomorrow. Some cards will not post transasctions over the weekend either. Maybe just being an authorised charge will be enough.

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

Jlu — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:34:05 GMT

scientifics wrote:
fastfire667 wrote:
However, if there isn't anything you want at Walmart at this point, just buy anything around the value of gift card that you want. Purchase the item and then return it to customer service. They will ask if you want it refunded to your credit card or to a gift card. Say you want a gift card. So just like that, BOOM 12% off a Walmart giftcard.

Most, if not all Walmarts, sell many gift cards to other stores and services. I can personally confirm that Walmart gift cards can be used to purchase these. So in essense, you can get either 12% off anything at Walmart, 12% off a Walmart giftcard, OR 12% off any other giftcard that Walamrt has in stock. Hmm the possibilities....
I feel like this is unethical. While no one will stop you, I just wouldn't feel right doing this. Does anyone else agree with me?

HELL NO. If you think for a second that I care about the likes of JP Morgan Chase, Discover, American Express etc you are INSANE. I use them & abuse them every chance that I get because you know what? They wouldn't think twice about cutting off your balls if it made them a profit. They are not extending you credit because they think you are a nice guy, they are lending to you in hopes you slip up so they have the chance to jack your rate up to 29.99% and hit you with a $35 late fee. That is how they make money. If vultures were a company they would be credit card companies. That's what they are. So no, I don't feel bad for one second - FAHHCK THEM!

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

navigatethis12 — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:40:34 GMT

Jlu wrote:
HELL NO. If you think for a second that I care about the likes of JP Morgan Chase, Discover, American Express etc you are INSANE. I use them & abuse them every chance that I get because you know what? They wouldn't think twice about cutting off your balls if it made them a profit. They are not extending you credit because they think you are a nice guy, they are lending to you in hopes you slip up so they have the chance to jack your rate up to 29.99% and hit you with a $35 late fee. That is how they make money. If vultures were a company they would be credit card companies. That's what they are. So no, I don't feel bad for one second - FAHHCK THEM!

Really if you get the penalty rate and the fee you brought it on yourself so I do not think they should be blasted for that. Anyway, I would advise not to abuse Chase too much. They are probably the most well known for shutting people down who are churners or cycle their credit limit multiple times a statement. They even say when applying for a new card that if they determine you are just opening accounts for bonuses they will not give it to you and will possibly close other accounts.

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

Cory — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 18:18:36 GMT

navigatethis12 wrote:
Keep in mind the 2% is only on the first $250 in spending.

I do not see this an unethical and do not see how anyone could. I do wonder why you would buy an item instead of a gift card. Do they not sell gift cards online? Other stores do this too but obviously do not do it too often as they will catch on.

Cory wrote:
+1. I totally agree with you on this one. This is the reason why the credit card companies are now getting smart, placing tiers and caps on credit card/bonus programs as they must have realize there are to many loopholes to be exploited. And to top it off, it being posted on this public forum, where most everybody, including the credit card companies and their representatives come on and read.
They place caps because if they did not they would lose money, even from non churners. Regular people can spend 1500 on groceries a month, without even trying to milk the rewards program. So if Chase did not have the cap, they would lose a lot more money than they already do by having the 5%. Everyone knows about these tactics; all it takes is a little common sense. The credit card companies know about them too, but if you do not do it too often, they will not care.

Your point is well taken. However, excessive abuse of the programs are what causes the credit card companies to rethink their strategy and lower the caps and tiers even more. I can't personally say who is being ethical or unethical here without the complete picture. But I can tell you that no one needs to be taught how to use their credit cards unethically. From the comments following the topic, you have mixed emotions about this conversation. Some don't see it as any harm, and others say, yes I know that these practices could amount to harm, but don't care. I learned that what I see as harm, or call moral, others don't see it that way and are looking at the situation from another viewpoint. So who is right, and who is wrong? I guess nobody.

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

scientifics — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:02:43 GMT

fastfire667 wrote:
You guys are missing my point. Walmart.com is coded differently that the brick and motor stores. Walmart.com is coded as Direct marketing while brick and motor purchases are coded as discount stores. That is the only reason this works.

I am curious where you saw that the 2% bonus is limited to $250? It doesn't say that in the terms and conditions, and numerous people have posted that they spoke with Discover reps who said there was no cap and that the 6th is basically a "free spend" day.

While yo are right that you can purchase Walamrt gift cards online, gift card purchases are not eligible for the shop discover 5% bonus. On top of that, most items on Walmart.com can be ordered and paid for online, then picked up in store an hour later. Gift cards are not eligble for pick up today, so you need to have them shipped to your house which takes another week to do.

In regards to the ethicality, I don't see how this is any different than BCP cardholders buying tons of gift cards to other stores at their grocery store in order to get 6% back on those purchases. Nobody seems to bat an eye at that practice.

Oh and btw I'm a college student, so every dollar saved is well worth the effort for me :)

I still feel like that's gaming the system, hence Amex putting a $6k cap on the 6% for groceries per year (starting in January). After the $6,000, it goes down to 1%.

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

jdsteel731 — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:05:22 GMT

Too bad Amex couldn't have found someway just to exclude gift card purchases at grocery stores from the 6% bonus rather than having to cap all purchases. Really unfortunate for families that make >$500 in grocery a month.

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

FrugalRican — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:06:23 GMT

Pass.

Was waiting to make a purchase from Amazon on Saturday. Thought about doing it on Walmart for "this".

But I'll take the 7% cashback on a 50 dollar purchase, more than the 12% cashback on a 60-65 dollar purchase.

Re: 12% Off Giftcards this Saturday. EAT THAT BCP LOVERS!

DeadSpider — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:34:09 GMT

You can also buy Amazon gift cards at Supermarkets with your BCP if you got one at 6% off.