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ABC Gift Cards or CardCash

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abc gift cards does not equal cardcashI usually use Gift Card Granny to search discounted gift cards. In Gift Card Granny, you don’t see “CardCash.com” as a seller or buyer, but you see “ABC Gift Cards” instead. ABC Gift Cards and CardCash are both online gift card exchange marketplace, and it seems they are the same company. A gift card that is for sale at ABC is also for sale at CardCash. When you add one card to the cart of ABC, the card will disappear at CardCash, or vise verse. The prices of cards are also the same whether you buy or sell a gift card.

They are the same company. And they share an inventory. It is just they have 2 different web sites.

…….So What?

befrugal cash back cardcashThere is a big difference between two web sites for those who buy gift cards from them. Because BeFrugal.com offer 2% cash back on the purchase at ONLY CardCash.com. BeFrugal.com is very reputable and reliable online shopping portal. You don’t need to be a credit card holder to use the site. It is free to become a member, you can start earning cash back from Day 1. It has over 4000 merchants and lots of online coupons of each merchant. Cash back info appears on the same day of the purchase, and cash back will be available for you to request after 90 days of the purchase.

Plus, CardCash accepts PayPal as a payment. So, using PayPal Extras MasterCard give you 2X points (1.66% cash back) in addition to cash back from BeFrugal.com. It is just like eBay. eBay accepts PayPal and gives 2% back as eBay Bucks.

Here are other gift card exchange sites and cash back rates which BeFrugal.com offers

  • Cardpool – up to 4%
  • Raise – up to 2%

Neither Cardpool or Raise accept PayPal, so you can’t get 2X point.

All you have to do is to know – to know ABC has an identical site, CardCash and Befrugal.com offer 2% cash back on the purchase at CardCash. This is great. You do not only get discounted gift cards, but also get cash back on the purchase of them!!

Comparison of Gas Rewards Programs 2/3

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Shop Your Way GAS REWARDS vs Stop & Shop Gas Rewards

shop your way gas rewards vs stop & shop gas rewards

Both are free to join. The benefits of these programs are that you can earn reward through every day purchase, and reward is much bigger than the programs introduced in the previous post. (Both discounts can be applied for a single fill-up.)

  • Shop Your Way GAS REWARDS – Spend $50 or more at Kmart and you will get 30¢/gal off coupon, up to 20 gallons at BP, Speedway, Sunoco, or Shell (depending on the location of Kmart)
  • Stop & Shop Gas Rewards – Earn 1 point for every dollar spent at Stop & Shop, save 10¢/gal for every 100 points, up to $2.20/gal to redeem and up to 35 gallons per transaction at Shell

shop your way gas rewards couponAt a glance, Shop Your Way looks better and easier to earn the reward than Stop & Shop. However, Stop & Shop offers extra points on the purchase of some items. See weekly circular and make sure that they have a type of price tag in store. (as pictured below) stop and shop gas rewards bonusAccording to this week’s circular, you must buy any of 8 items to earn 500 points=50 cents per gallon. Aside from the reward, the price of them are good deals. If you regularly buy some of these items, stock up on them. It allows to earn 10 offers per household (5000pts=$5/gal!) If you don’t find any items necessary, wait for next week. The bonus items change every week.price tag of gas reward bonus item

Kmart has a reward program called Shop Your Way Reward (A gas coupon is something additional. This is the main loyalty program of Sears, Kmart and Lands End). SYWR is a great program. When you combine with coupons, you can earn lots of reward points, and you can redeem for the next purchases. But deals are so timely. In my opinion, Kmart is not a good store to buy every day items, especially groceries. Besides, the 30¢ discount coupon can’t be combined with another 30¢ discount coupons. Only one coupon can be used each transaction. As for Stop & Shop reward points, you can redeem up to 2200 points (save $2.20 per gallon), up to 35 gallons per transaction.

Please note that there is an expiration date on both rewards. For Shop Your Way GAS REWARDS, a coupon is valid for 30 days. The exact date is printed on the coupon. For Stop & Shop Gas Rewards, points you earn expires 30 days later. You can check the exact date in the website.

Conclusion

Considering bonus items, Stop & Shop Gas Rewards is much easier to earn more rewards. Saving $2.20/gal is very appealing. And the discount is applied up to 35 gallons. If you own 2 or more cars, fill it up at the same time to get discount as much as possible. It is not difficult to earn thousands of points every week and redeem a maximum reward every fill-up!

Fuel Rewards Network (from the previous post) and Stop & Shop Gas Rewards are both for Shell gas stations. Let’s unveil the potential of Fuel Rewards Network and compare them in the next post, “Stop & Shop Gas Rewards vs Fuel Rewards Network“.

 

Comparison of Gas Rewards Programs 1/3

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BP Driver Rewards vs Fuel Rewards Network

bp driver rewards vs fuel rewards network

Both of them are free to join. After signing up, membership cards are sent to you. Every time you pump at a gas station, insert the cards and you will get the following discount:

  • BP Driver Rewards – Save 5¢/gal, up to 20 gallons, every 20 gallons with 2 transactions at BP
  • Fuel Rewards Network – Save 3¢/gal, up to 20 gallons, every fill-up at Shell

Both cents-per-gallon discounts are eligible for up to 20 gallons with one fill-up. “one fill-up” means that even if you redeem the reward and purchase less than 20 gallons, the discount won’t carry over for the next fill-up. To earn BP’s 5¢/gal discount, you have to make 2 transactions that total at least 20 gallons. To maximize the reward, use a sign up bonus (10¢/gal discount) and purchase 20 gallons at the first pump. Then make another transaction, but this time pump as little as possible. This meets requirements for the reward, and you will be able to use for next purchase of 20 gallons. By keeping this cycle, you will receive almost 5¢ discount on average. However, this way works for vehicles that have big fuel tanks. If you have a small vehicle that has 10-gallon fuel tank, you will receive only 2.5¢ discount on average. Fuel Rewards Network (FRN) is no requirement to get a discount. All you need to do is insert the FRN card before pumping at Shell.

BP Driver Rewards expire at the end of the month of 90 days after the rewards are earned. You can always receive FRN 3¢ discount as long as you have the card and insert it before pumping. (an additional reward earned through a purchase at supermarkets, online portal, etc have expiration date.)

As a sign-up bonus, BP offers 10¢/gal for the first fill-up, up to 20 gallons, and FRN doesn’t have any. (but there are several bonuses from online portal, dine, supermarket, etc after earning the first reward through each of them)

Conclusion

Because BP Driver Rewards needs 2 transactions to earn the reward, if you have a SUV or truck which have larger than 20-gallon fuel tank, you can constantly receive (almost) 5¢/gal discount in the way described above. But, if it’s 12-gallon tank, you can earn 3¢/gal discount on average. So, if a capacity of fuel tank of your car is more than 12 gallons, BP Driver Rewards gives you better rewards on average. If it’s less than 12 gallons, use FRN and you will earn 3¢/gal discount every fill-up.

This is only a comparison of rewards you can earn through gas purchases. While BP Driver Rewards doesn’t have any other strategy to maximize the reward, FRN has various ways to earn more and more rewards. I will explain this later. Before that, I’d like to introduce two other reward programs in the next post, “Shop Your Way GAS REWARDS vs Stop & Shop Gas Rewards“.

King of Cash Back! “Discover it” Card Review

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“Discover it” is a credit card which I earn cash back the most every month among all credit cards I have. I think that this is the best card for those who shop online a lot. Discover’s online mall, ShopDiscover has over 200 retailers. This number is much fewer than other online portals such as Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi Shopping Center, but ShopDiscover covers most of major retailers. I can find almost all retailers I usually shop in ShopDiscover. Although it has fewer retailers, some retailers can find ONLY in ShopDiscover, like Moosejaw.com, Harborfreight.com. Shopping through ShopDiscover gives you at least 5% cash back. As compared ShopDiscover’s cash back bonus of my favorite retailers with other online portals, I found some of them are the same, but most of them are better.

It is my first credit card which offers the reward (cash back). When I just received the card, I was so happy about 5% cash back on rotating category and 1% on everything else. And it is a shame that I didn’t know about online portals and hadn’t used it for first 4 months although I made many online purchases. I have missed so much cash back during that time. So, for those who don’t know about online portals, here is a walk-through of ShopDiscover.

Please note that ShopDiscover became Discover Deals on January 8th, 2015. Click here to see details.

Login and click “See Retailers”

enter shopdiscover

Either type a name of retailer or choose in a drop-down list

search a retainer at shopdiscover

Click “Start Shopping” and complete a check-out

start shopping thru shopdiscover

 

Mostly in a few days, you will receive an email look like the below

shopdiscover confirmation emal

Sometimes, ShopDiscover page looks like this

shopdiscover additional bonus

The seasonal or occasional bonus offer. Not all but many retailers offer additional 5% cash back. Here is an example, Macy’s.com’s page.

mothers day bonus shopdiscover

You will see this type of bonus very often throughout a year! While 5% cash back on rotating category are capped $1500 on the purchase each quarter, cash back earned through ShopDiscover is NO LIMIT! The more you buy, the more you earn!

Please note that ShopDiscover became Discover Deals on January 8th, 2015. Click here to see details.

There is another point I like “Discover it” card the best. That is its great redemption options. Here is a list of options.

  • Statement Credit
  • Direct Deposit
  • Partner Gift Cards
  • Discover Gift Cards
  • Charitable Donation
  • Pay with Cashback Bonus

redeem cashback for partners gift cardsBasically, one reward dollar= one USD. However, when you redeem for partner gift cards, one reward dollar can be worth more than one USD or even doubles. Partner gift cards (over 150 retailers’) are ALL on sale. You can get $50 Macy’s gift card for $45 reward dollar (10% discount), $25 Lands End gift card for $20 (20% discount), most gift cards in travel and vacation category are more than 50% off!

pay with cashback bonusNever choose “Pay with Cashback Bonus”. This feature, which is also found in Ultimate Reward, lets you redeem your reward dollar directly at amazon.com. If you do so, you can’t get any cash back through the transaction at amazon. If you redeem for statement credit, or direct deposit and then make a purchase at amazon.com with Discover card, you will get 1% cash back. So, don’t use this feature unless you need it for some reasons.

Like Chase Freedom and Citi Dividend, “Discover it” offer 5% cash back on rotating category. Discover’s Q4 is very unique and useful. This offer is capped $1500 on purchases each quarter. If you want some ideas to get  a full cash back ($300 a year) from Rotating Category.

Overall, “Discover It” is the best cash back credit card for those who shop online. Any other online portals don’t offer as good rewards as ShopDiscover. And you can’t see so many gift cards with discount to redeem.  That is all about King of Cash Back “Discover it” and why I like it the best.

Buy Visa Gift Card at Staples.com

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Many department or grocery stores sell 3rd party gift cards in stores, but not online. Most of them may sell only their own gift cards online. Target.com and Staples.com are kind of unique sites when it comes to their selling gift cards. Because they sell 3rd party gift cards in their own sites. Gift cards available at Target.com aren’t so great, but ones at Staples.com are very interesting. Here is a list of some gift cards available at Staples.com:

  • Staples
  • Lowe’s
  • Home Depot
  • Bed Bath and Beyond
  • Game Stop
  • Sears
  • Kmart
  • Lands End
  • Kohl’s
  • JC Penny
  • VISA
  • and more

There are a lot more stores’ gift cards being sold at Staples.com. The thing is that they are sold online, and a transaction is made within Staples. Because of these facts, you can get a reward from online shopping portal. In addition, if you have Chase Ink Cash business credit cards (or Ink Bold/Plus), you will get another 5% cash back (or 5x points) on the purchase at office supply stores. You don’t have to use Ultimate Rewards Mall, which give only 2% (or 2X). No matter which payment method you take, you can choose the best online portal. For Staples, it is ShopDiscover. Let’s see an example of $200 Visa gift card. The card charges $6.95 activation fee, and shipping is free. In the next statement, you will get $10 from ShopDiscover and another $10 (or 10,000pt) from Chase. So, the total of cash back will cover whole activation fee and even give you a $13.05 profit! Please keep in mind, it’s important to browse available coupons every time you shop online. It has been my habit to try online coupons before a checkout. This a good example of why you should get into the habit. I found this coupons in a coupon site. Usually, a purchase of gift cards are not eligible for coupons. So, I only tried to apply the coupon without much expectation. As a result, it went through. Unbelievable, I just bought $200 Visa gift card for $191.95, and later I will receive $20 cash back!

Staples coupon15 off on Visa GC

This Visa gift card is issued by MetaBank. There is no way to obtain PIN for ATM access to withdraw cash. Even so, you can use it anywhere in the U.S. that accept Visa debit/credit card. You can buy everyday items or even go back to Staples.com and make a purchase of other gift cards. If you buy $200 Home Depot e-gift card (no shipping, tax, or purchase fee), you will get 5% cash back from ShopDiscover again. (e-gift cards may not be eligible for cash back from online portal. I’ve done some tests and the result is here.) Staples has also many other gift cards available only in store, such as amazon, BP, Shell, etc. If you use Ink Cash credit card, you can get 5% cash back on the purchase of any gift cards in store. As you see, not only eBay or Cardpools, but Staples is also one of the best places to buy gift cards both in store and online.

2X Points on eBay Shipping and Seller Fees with PayPal Extras MasterCard

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earn 2x on ebay shippingTo maximize the reward of PayPal Extras MasterCard, let’s make all PayPal transactions charge on PayPal Extras MasterCard. Once you active the credit card, make sure that PayPal Extras MasterCard is your preferred way to pay with PayPal. When you buy something on eBay, it automatically charges on the card. It doesn’t matter you have enough money in your PayPal account, or you added other credit cards or bank accounts, it charges on the credit card as long as you choose this option.

However, PayPal Extras MasterCard can’t be used as an automatic or recurring payment, such as monthly membership fee of health club, subscribing a magazine, etc. Although you choose PayPal credit card is your preferred way to pay with PayPal, these payments withdraw from a regular PayPal account or bank account or charge on other credit card. If you want to earn 2x reward points on these payments, you need to cancel subscriptions and pay each month. (or year, every time, etc)

eBay shipping labels and selling fees are the type of payment that you can’t pay automatically. eBay shipping labels and selling fees are not cheap, I’m sure all sellers want to save money on these payments. Here is how to pay eBay shipping labels and fees with PayPal Extras MasterCard.

Step 1: Choose PayPal Extras MasterCard is your preferred way to pay with PayPal

Login > View card details > Update account preferences > Change (Check out preferences)

choose paypal mastercard as a preferred way 1

choose paypal mastercard as a preferred way 2

choose paypal mastercard as a preferred way 3

choose paypal mastercard as a preferred way

Probably, it’s been already done when you got approved or activated the card. Just make sure.

Step 2: Cancel Automatic Payment for eBay Shipping Labels and Selling Fees

Log in your PayPal account and click My Account > Profile > My Money

cancel ebay shipping 1

Click “Update” on the row of “My preapproved payments”

cancel ebay shipping 2

Find “eBay Inc” in a list and click

cancel recurring payment 1

Click “Cancel” and do the same for “eBay Inc Shipping” (Don’t worry about a discount on labels you are receiving from eBay. It will continue.)

cancel recurring payment 2

Step 3-1: Pay eBay selling fees

Go to your My eBay and click “Account” tab and Click “one-time payment” in a section of “Payment methods for Seller Fees” and complete the transaction.

pay selling fee by paypal mastercard

From now on, you have to do this every month. Don’t bother click “Change automatic payment method” and enter card# of PayPal Extras MasterCard. You can successfully set up an automatic payment in this way, but you will earn only 1x reward points because the transactions don’t go through PayPal.

Step 3-2: Print eBay Shipping labels

Go to the page of shipping labels, click “Purchase postage” With the box unchecked. Enter email address and password of your PayPal account and complete the transaction.

leave it unchecked

From now on, always leave the box unchecked. And you will need to enter the password every time you pay for shipping labels.

Paying all PayPal transactions by PayPal MasterCard will boost your earning of reward points. Remember that you can redeem the points for gift cards. The higher face value of gift cards you check out, the higher value of points. For example, $25 Sears gift card needs 3300 points (1pt=$0.00757), $200 needs 22500 (1pt=$0.00888). Enjoy your rewards!

How to Pay eBay Shipping labels with Credit Card

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When I started selling on eBay, I didn’t have any reward credit cards. Back then, I was so eager to have one because I would get cash back on whatever I pay for. I was planning to pay everything including merchandises, grocery, gasoline, eBay fees and shipping labels. Finally, I got my first cash back credit card (Discover it) and start using it on merchandises and eBay fees. However, I had trouble to setting up for paying eBay shipping labels by credit card. Actually, the procedure is very simple and easy. If there were an instruction to follow, I could have avoided all hassles. So, here is how to pay eBay shipping labels by credit card. If you have eBay or PayPal Extra MasterCard, it is a different procedure (much easier, but I had a big hassle again because of ignorance. Click here to see how to earn 2x points on eBay shipping labels.)

Step 1:  Cancel an existing automatic payment for eBay shipping labels

Log in your PayPal account and click My Account > Profile > My Money

cancel ebay shipping 1

Click “Update” on the row of “My preapproved payments”

cancel ebay shipping 2

Find “eBay Inc Shipping” in a list and click

cancel ebay shipping 3

Click “Cancel”. Don’t worry about a discount on shipping labels you are receiving from eBay. It will continue.

cancel ebay shipping4

Step 2: Set up an automatic payment for shipping labels with another PayPal account

Go to eBay and try to print a shipping label. Check the box below “Purchase postage” then click “Purchase postage”. If you see the box checked, just click “Purchase postage” and it will show you an error message. Then, go back to the page and the box is now unchecked. Check the box again then click “Purchase postage”.

ebay shipping by credit card

Choose “Create a PayPal account”

create a paypal account

Enter the information of your credit card, name, address, phone#, email address (other than one used by an existing PayPal account.) and password. Check the box and click “Agree and Create Account”.

enter info in new paypal accountenter info in new paypal account 1

Now, the whole process is done. eBay Shipping Inc will automatically charge on your credit card. You should never receive money or add a bank account to a PayPal account you just created. If you add a bank account, eBay deducts shipping fees from the bank account. A balance of new PayPal account has to be always zero, otherwise it will deduct from a PayPal balance.

Please note that some credit cards have a limit on fee-free transaction. For example, Chase ink business credit card has a limit of 200 activities a month for free transaction fee. Over 200, it will charge 40 cents per transaction. You’d better avoid using these credit cards for paying shipping labels.

If you have eBay or PayPal Extras MasterCard, you can earn 2x points on shipping labels. But, because of a characteristic of the card, the procedure is different. Click to see “2X Points on eBay Shipping and Seller Fees with PayPal Extras MasterCard“

Is PayPal Extras MasterCard Good or Bad?

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If you ever read reviews of PayPal Extras MasterCard, you will see many negative ones. Most of them complain about its reward program. They are telling the truth. It has low value of reward point. But if you use it correctly, PayPal Extras MasterCard is not bad at all, or rather one of credit cards you must have.

You earn 3 points per dollar on restaurant and gas, 2 points per dollar on eBay and PayPal, 1 point on everything else. When you redeem points for $50 cash back, you will need 6000 points. This means 1 points = $0.0083 (0.83% cash back). This is cheap. However, PayPal Extras MasterCard is the only credit card you can earn extra bonus on eBay purchase. Today, you can’t find eBay gift cards in any department stores or supermarkets, so buying gift cards with a credit card offering bonus reward is no longer available. And, not only eBay, but also many merchants accept PayPal. Use this card on eBay and PayPal only, nowhere else and the cash back will be 1.66%. This beats 1.5% cash back of Quicksilver Cash Reward.

You can also redeem points for gift cards. The higher denomination of gift cards you choose, the higher the value of points will be. For example, $25 Sears gift card needs 3300 points (1pt=$0.00757), $200 needs 22500 (1pt=$0.00888). And there is always one featured $25 gift card that need only 2500 points to redeem (1pt=$0.01). So, using the card only for eBay and PayPal gives 1.66% to 2% back to you.

$25 ebay gift card for 2500pt

eBay has its own reward program, called eBay Bucks. It doesn’t matter that you pay by PayPal credit card. You can receive eBay Bucks in addition to the reward from credit card. If you are an eBay seller, this card is much more valuable. You will earn 2x reward point by paying your selling fee and shipping labels as well (read “2X Points on eBay Shipping and Seller Fees with PayPal Extras MasterCard“)

Please note that maximum points you can earn in a card year is 50,000. If you use the card for only Paypal purchases, $25,000 is eligible for the reward points each year.

In a nutshell, PayPal Extras MasterCard is the best credit card for those who use eBay and PayPal a lot. Use the card for all merchants who accept PayPal, NOWHERE ELSE. No gas, no restaurant, either because there is a limit on point you can earn in an year, and there are other credit cards offering equal or better reward program for them.

You don’t buy stuffs on eBay? After you read some posts about gift cards, you will. Gift cards are essential items for money saving, and eBay is one of the biggest markets of discounted gift cards!