Reader Tip: "Buy Gift cards to Save Money"

A couple of days ago I got this good tip for saving money from Jennifer from IA:

During the holiday season a lot of retailers offer deals for purchasing gift cards. Several restaurants that I have been to or seen advertisements for have deals where if you buy a certain amount in gift cards you either a) get money off your bill or b) get added value to the gift card. For example, one restaurant had an offer that if you buy $25 in gift card, they would give you a bonus $5 gift card. Another restaurant offered $5 off your bill for buying a $25 or more gift card. One way I have taken advantage of these deals is to buy the gift card, earn the savings, and then turn around and use the gift card to pay for my meal. I have done the same thing at a clothing store (The Children’s Place). They offered a deal where if you bought $50 in gift cards you received a $10 off coupon. As I was making clothing purchases that were going to total over $50 – I bought the gift card, used it to pay for my purchases and then enjoyed my extra $10 bonus. This weekend at my local grocery store (Hy-Vee) I took advantage of a Best Buy catalina they were offering. If you bought a $50 gift card for Best Buy, you would receive a $10 catalina for your grocery purchase. As a big ticket item at Best Buy was on my holiday shopping list, I bought 5 gift cards and then was able to enjoy $50 in free groceries!

Thanks Jennifer for sharing this great tip!