@BronzeTrader wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@BronzeTrader wrote:From a friend.
He uses his CC to buy small amount ($50) gift card at gas station, and get gas CC rewards. Then the gift card is used as cash to buy food and receives gift card rewards. This works with any CC with 3% or 4% on gas. I'm sure a $100 gas station purchase does not look right.
Sounds like a good plan. The gift card can be used to buy gas, but carries no rewards.
sounds like you are saying he is buying a gift card for a restaurant and is somehow getting rewards from the restaurant not the card? like steak and shake??? for instance if you pay with their app you get $5 for every 50. I typically purchase steak and shake gift cards at a 20% discount or more and get 2% cash back on top of it. Then load those into the app and get another 10% off in essence. Otherwise its only 3% with sams/aarp.
First you say the gift card receives gift card rewards, then you say the gift card carries no rewards.
You buy gift card at gas statioin. For gas CC, you get 3% or so gas rewards since $50 seems a legit gas purchase at gas station.
Then you use the gift card, or load the gift card into phone app. Use the balance to buy food, drink, coffee etc. You get certain amount of coupons for free food, after you spend $50 or so.
This is intriguing... I do something similar myself. 
I buy gift cards each month at Kroger (usually when they're running a 4x fuel point promo) and I effectively get 6% off (cash back) for using my BCP... similar to what you're describing with the gas station. Until I got my Sam's Club MasterCard I would even buy Kroger GCs inside the store to use outside at the pump, so I could get 6% off my gas as well (that's no longer necessary, though).
I've never been able to get any more mileage out of them than that, though (not that I'm complaining). If there's an app that would squeeze even a few more points/cents out of the deal I would love to hear about it! 
I have used the Chick-Fil-A app to pay before, but it's cumbersome and a GC isn't required (you get the same 'deals' with any credit card).
@BronzeTrader wrote:If you get a couple of coupons for free coffee after spending $50, it is a good rewards AFTER you get regular CC rewards.
Ah, I gotcha. I'm not a coffee person so that wouldn't apply to me directly, and as far as I know the places I frequent (with GCs or otherwise) aren't into coupons, with the notable exception of Chick-Fil-A if you use their app.
This thread is a good reminder to always be on the lookout for 'bonuses', though.
If you frequent certain chain regularly, there is certain loyalty program. I still need to find the chain I like. Not yet.