Buying gift cards for rewards Discover

Anonymous · ‎12-10-2020

Hello everyone,

So Im on the market for a new TV and I was thinking of buying Amazon/Best Buy gift cards at grocery stores with my Discover Cashback CC in order to rack in 5% rewards instead of 1%.

Has anyone done this succesfully, if so any tips on how to do it? Could discover denied the rewards and consider them as Rewards abuse and cancel account? The TV im looking into cost $1500 so I would have to buy three $500 gift cards in order to maximize the rewards.

Thanks!

Loquat · ‎12-10-2020

The short answer is yes, you can buy gift cards using a Discover card.

I've never read of anyone being denied their cash back because of such but I would caution that there is probably a threshold for just about most things in this hobby.

I don't think anyone can definitively say what Discover will or won't do but can offer advice from experience or an opinion.

Most things in this hobby, especially as it relates to the earning of rewards comes down to your personal risk tolerance. If you feel as though something you're thinking of or about to do may bring hardship, the simple answer is, don't do it. We all have our own comfort level and you'll have to establish yours as you navigate this space.

I'm sure others will chime in with their perspective and hopefully after such you can feel comfortable making an informed decision either way.

Anonymous · ‎12-10-2020

Generally, issuers are less concerned about "reward abuse" when things are capped low. So I wouldn't overly worry here. That said, what is your timeframe? If your normal supermarket spend is say $100, a $500 charge will get noticed, and a $1,500 certainly would. The nice thing about retail gift cards (as compared to Visa/MC/Amex gift cards) is that there is no purchase fee, so to be as safe as possible you can buy a set of say $200 cards over several days to stand out less.

But if you are at all nervous, also think that you are trying to save $60, and decide if the stress is worth it!

TheBoondocks · ‎12-10-2020

When I first bought gift cards, I used usbank and buy gift cards every week for $50, then I decided to use Discover and found out by reading on here they're not sensitive where as amex are. I did it with usbank, discover, boa, never had a problem. I only do lke $25 or $50.

simplynoir · ‎12-10-2020

In my experience AMEX isn't as sensitive as people say they are as long as you're not abusing the system, but that can be said for any rewards program really. The only time I've seen/read a...gentleman's agreement to no gift cards has been US Bank and the use of the Altitude Reserve with mobile purchases. To me as long as your volume of buying gift cards isn't outrageous then it can be profitable for rewards earning. As LTL and Fin stated it just depends on how much your own risk tolerance is

My thing is when you purchase big ticket items like electronics you lose out on the credit card protections that would take affect if you were to buy anything straight up. Purchasing a warranty/plan can I guess can offset that but always helps to have redundancies to ensure if something happens you have avenues to explore to correct it

AndySoCal · ‎12-10-2020

I would say you will not get the 5% cash back if you buy your Amazon / Best buy gift cards at the grocery store. Per Discover criteria specifically states Amazon.com. Target.com, Walmart.com and Best Buy ( preusme bestbuy.com would be what would qualify) Ask Discover about Best Buy. Amazon your gift cards will arrive next day. I ordered mine yesterday and they arrived today non prime member as well.

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Anonymous · ‎12-10-2020

@AndySoCal wrote:
I would say you will not get the 5% cash back if you buy your Amazon / Best buy gift cards at the grocery store. Per Discover criteria specifically states Amazon.com. Target.com, Walmart.com and Best Buy ( preusme bestbuy.com would be what would qualify) Ask Discover about Best Buy. Amazon your gift cards will arrive next day. I ordered mine yesterday and they arrived today non prime member as well.

I'm assuming OP is talking about next quarter, when the 5% category is grocery stores. Otherwise OP should just buy directly with Discover this quarter (assuming the TV is from Amazon or Best Buy). But @simplynoir has a great point about protection on expensive electronic purchases, getting the right protection may well be worth more than the savings.

Anonymous · ‎12-10-2020

@simplynoir wrote:
The only time I've seen/read a...gentleman's agreement to no gift cards has been US Bank and the use of the Altitude Reserve with mobile purchases.

I haven't used AR to purchase gift cards because of this understanding, until last week when I was in the UK, and bought, on separate visits, 2 100gbp gift cards. One was a gift, the other was a sudden late revelation for me! I use Amazon UK sometimes, and since I don't have the AOD, and the US Alliance has a FTF, the most I have been getting is 2% with PPMC. Then it struck me, I can buy an Amazon UK gift card with the AR and load that.....

Of course, airfare, quarantine and hotel costs prevent this from being a general solution but while I am there......

And so far, the AR continues to work.

simplynoir · ‎12-10-2020

@Anonymous wrote:
@simplynoir wrote:
The only time I've seen/read a...gentleman's agreement to no gift cards has been US Bank and the use of the Altitude Reserve with mobile purchases.
I haven't used AR to purchase gift cards because of this understanding, until last week when I was in the UK, and bought, on separate visits, 2 100gbp gift cards. One was a gift, the other was a sudden late revelation for me! I use Amazon UK sometimes, and since I don't have the AOD, and the US Alliance has a FTF, the most I have been getting is 2% with PPMC. Then it struck me, I can buy an Amazon UK gift card with the AR and load that.....

Of course, airfare, quarantine and hotel costs prevent this from being a general solution but while I am there......

And so far, the AR continues to work.

That's good to know. For me I'm fine using another card since I don't want to tempt fate on using AR. My AMEX Gold will do just fine when purchasing retail gift cards at 4 MRs 😂

JoeLuvsHisCredit · ‎12-10-2020

YES Many times at Krogers from $300.00 to $750.00