Shopping Portal

Recent AmexGC purchases via TopCashback

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TopCashback has canceled cashback on my two transactions made at the end of October. Both orders were (5) $200 GCs with a promo code that waive $3.95 purchase fee (of all GCs).

On the other hand, I made four transactions of a single $200 GC with a promo code at the beginning of October. These are for redeeming Amex Offer ($10 statement credit for the purchase $200 or more Amex GCs.) Each cashback for these four transactions is confirmed.

clawback amex gc cashback

I’m not sure of the reason for cancellation of cashback. Did the promo code cause it? If so, why were four transactions eligible for cashback? Did purchasing a large amount cause it although a denomination of each card was $200?

In either way, the cashback deal on Amex GC purchase is over. No promo code, no deal. 1.5% cashback doesn’t even cover a $3.95 purchase fee. Even if a promo code works, but you need to buy only one $200 at a time, you will have to make so many transactions. And I believe that Amex doesn’t want you to do that, either.

I made the same transaction ($200 x 5 with promo code) on November 9th. There is pending cashback for this purchase, but it will be canceled in a few days, I guess.

pending cashback on amex gc purchase

Target Secret Freebies via TopCashback (new members only)

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TopCashback offers $18.99 cash back for Minions Blu-ray DVD pre-order at Target.com. The item is currently priced at $18.99, and Target offers free shipping and free $5 Target gift card with this order.

target secret freebies via topcashback

Please note that cashback deal is for new TopCashback member only. And, the item is pre-order. It will be released and shipped on December 8th, 2015.

To receive $18.99 cash back, you have to make a transaction that contains ONLY ONE Minions Blu-ray DVD. If you buy multiple quantities or other items with the same transaction, cash back will be 1% or even 0%.

Cashback offer is valid until 23:59 PT on Friday, November 20, 2015, or stock runs out. They also mention that you have to act fast because the price may change.

If you have never used TopCashback and also want this DVD for free, create TopCashBack account and then click here.

1800flowers and Shopping Portals and Partners

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Many portals offer a good rate for the purchase at 1800flowers.com. I personally and exclusively use Discover Deals for 1800flowers. The following information is only from my experience with DD. So, results may not be the same when you use other online shopping portals.

GC purchase

Purchases of 1800flowers gift cards are eligible for cash back. The gift card is redeemable at 1800baskets, Cheryls, The popcorn factory, Fanny May, and fruit bouquets, too.

GC redemption

According to terms of DD, GC redemption is not eligible for cash back.

Purchase with coupon

There are always some coupons available. When you click through 1800flowers link and use coupon, you may receive a confirmation email of cash back from DD, but it will be clawed back.

Others

Shipping, Tax, or other service fees are excluded. A confirmation email of cash back won’t be sent until an item is shipped or delivered.

6 Brands, 1 Account, 1 Checkout

In 1800flowers website, you can visit stores of other 5 brands, 1800baskets, Cheryls, The popcorn factory, Fanny May, fruit bouquets with 1-click on the tabs. When you enter 1800flowers first, then click the tab of 1800baskets, a web address is www.1800flowers.com/1800baskets-home. If you click other tabs, it’s the same, www.1800flowers.com/other stores name-home. Even if you buy a bucket of popcorn, a web address always starts with 1800flowers. If you enter the Cheryls website and then buy a fruit bouquets’ item, a web address always starts with www.cheryls.com.

You can take advantage of this fact when cash back rates of 6 brands are different. For example, when 1800flowers’ cash back rate is 15%, and 1800baskets’ is 20%. Even if you want to send flowers, you’d better enter the website via 1800baskets’ link. After you enter the website, go to 1800flowers by clicking a tab and check out normally. You will get 20% cash back although it is 1800flowers’ item. And a difference of cash back rate is NOT only thing you can take advantage……

Card Link Partner – Shop Your Way

There are two types of partner. One is the Card-link partner. When you purchase something at 1800flowers.com with linked credit cards, you will receive a reward of that partners program. SYW (Shop Your Way) reward program is a good example, and I believe it has the best offer of all. You can link up to 5 Visa and 5 MasterCard credit cards. When you use linked credit card at participating merchants, you will receive SYW points. SYW has many merchants as card-link partners. Rates vary by merchants. 1800flowers offer 20% back in SYW points. Other 5 brands also are all participating and usually offer the same rate. So, you don’t have to worry about which website to enter to check out. Around the end of 2014, the rate jumped up to 40%. If you bought $100 GC at that time, you’d earned $40 in SYW points (+$20 from DD, $10 in Celebration Rewards, and your credit card reward.) I like card-link partners very much because you can earn cash back from a portal at the same time.

Promo Code Partner – Rapid Rewards

The other types of partners issue promo codes. When you check out with a promo code, you will receive their rewards. Rapid Rewards is very popular, and it offers a relatively high reward for minimum spending requirements. Promo code (RR22) is always available. A minimum purchase is $29.99, and it gives 1000 Rapid Rewards points. And the points count towards Companion Pass (but not A-List, A-List Preferred.) Rapid Rewards sometimes offers temporary promo codes that offer more points. However, the points earned through these codes may not count towards Companion Pass.

Other Partners and Programs

There may be other partners from time to time. Around May 2015, Fuel Rewards Network was the card-link partner. At that time, you were able to get all rewards from DD, SYW, Rapid Rewards, and Fuel Rewards Network with a single transaction. (see details here)

1800flowers has its reward program called Celebration Rewards. You can get 10% back towards future purchases. You can earn the points even when you purchase GCs but can’t earn it when you redeem GCs.

A result of Q2 Discover Cash Back

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Background

discover itI enrolled in Discover’s “Double All Cash Back” promotion last month. It’s a great promo they literally double all cash back you earn for twelve statement cycle. My promotion started on 6/12. Since then, I’ve been using their shopping portal (Discover Deals) more often. And it will be no problem to earn a full of Q3 category bonus. The bonus offers cash back for up to $1500 spent at home improvement, department stores, or amazon.com. I regularly spend more than $1500 at home improvement stores. Even if I don’t spend that much, I can buy third-party GCs at Lowes or VGCs at Sears to get a full of category bonus.

Last Quarter, however, wasn’t easy to earn. Q2 category bonus was restaurant and movie. First of all, I don’t spend very much on these categories. Second, if I seriously wanted to save more money, I would have bought GCs from GCs resellers with more discount. There are 10% or even 20+% off GCs for restaurants and movies. Thus, I used my Discover card only a few times at restaurants when I enrolled in “Double All Cash Back” promotion.

The promotion will give you another 5% cash back. So, I thought there might be a way to earn a full of bonus cash back effectively. After some research, I found Fandango might be used for this purpose. And I bought $50 e-gift card as a test.

Earn Cash Back on Discover 2nd Rotating Category 2015

I made some mistakes. I assume that Save ya accepts Fandango e-gift cards, but they don’t. And I couldn’t tell from recent activity at Discover website whether or not cash back would post. But I thought cash back from DD would most likely post because I received a confirmation email. So, I bought five $100 physical GCs. Since physical GCs took longer to arrive than I expected, I couldn’t buy more GCs in Q2.

Discover Double All Cash Back and Q2 Bonus Category

Result

Now that statement closed, I can see the result.

  • 5% CBB- RESTAURANTS AND MOVIES + $28.07
  • SHOPDISCOVER 10% – FANDANGO.CO + $55.00

I spent $559.75 in total. Shipping cost and purchase fee ($9.75) is not eligible for cash back of DD. $55 came from $550 spent. It’s easy to confirm. As for 5% category bonus, $28.07*0.05=$27.99. It posted a little more because I spent a few dollars at a coffee shop. So, both of 5% category bonus and DD have been posted without a problem.

Lastly, It’s off-topic, but I wonder why they still use SHOPDISCOVER for some merchants in a statement while some of them are written as DDEALS in a statement.detailed rewars activity

Discover Double All Cash Back and Q2 Bonus Category

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Background

2nd quarter of Discover will end in 10 days. I don’t spend much on these categories (restaurants and movies), and usually, these GCs can be purchased from GC resellers with more than 5% discount. So, I hadn’t even tried anything to earn bonus rewards until I enrolled in Double All Cash Back promotion. Now, a category bonus reward is 10% cash back. Although there is not much time left, I tried to find a way to earn Q2 category bonus reward.

discover double all cash back

Transaction in a statement

As a test, I bought $50 e-gift card. A category of the transaction is Travel/Entertainment. I don’t know if it’s eligible for Q2 category bonus. As for Discover Deals, I received a cashback confirmation email a few days after the transaction. Hopefully, both category bonus and Discover Deals cash back will be posted and then doubled. When everything goes well, I can make a profit by buying and selling gift cards.

cashback from dd for fandango gc purchase

Physical or Electrical Gift Card?

I didn’t know much about Fandango. But at least I knew it was the website you could buy movie tickets online. And I thought their gift cards were used online only. For that reason, I assumed that Save Ya would accept e-gift cards for sale. That was a mistake. They need you to send physical gift cards for sale. Cardpool accepts e-gift cards, but payment is 5% less than a payment of physical gift cards sales.

Recalculation

If cash backs from DD and category bonus are posted and then doubled, e-gift cards are like 30% off price. Cardpool offers 70% for Fandango GCs. So, if you buy and sell e-gift cards, you can’t make a profit. If you buy and sell physical gift cards for 75% of face value, you can make a profit although physical gift cards charge a $1.95 fee. So, around 3% will remain in Discover’s reward. There is $1.95 fee per card and no discount even if you order multiple gift cards.

Physical Gift Card Order

I decided to keep $50 e-gift card for myself and order physical gift cards for resell. I ordered five $100 gift cards. The total is $509.75. Fandango has a promotion for GC purchase of $50 or more. For each order, I got one $20 promo code to spend at Shutterfly (one for e-code purchase and one for physical GC purchase, total two promo codes.) I don’t know what they are. I will find out later.

fandango gc promotion

Summary

All Double Cash Back promo is great, but the timing is bad. It’s the last month of Q2 now, and there is no way to confirm all cash back before Q2 category bonus ends. Since I received an email from Discover Deals, it’s most likely that cash back from DD will be posted. Q2 category bonus remains unknown. But Discover has many discounted gift cards for redemption. I always redeem the reward for Staples GCs, which is 20% discount. Considering this, I won’t lose money even if Q2 category bonus won’t be posted.

 

Triple Rewards on 1800flowers Purchases through July 31st

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Fuel Reward Network has a promotion for purchases at 1800flowers.com. You can earn 10¢/gallon discount on every $50 spent. $50 isn’t a minimum requirement. An amount you spend is cumulative and recorded in your FRN account. Once the total reaches $50, they post the reward to your account.

1800flowers frn promo

10¢/gallon is worth up to $2. So, the reward is equivalent to 4% cash back. If you don’t know about FRN, please click here.

The greatest point of this promotion is that it is not a shopping portal deal, but MasterCard and Visa cards link deal. In other words, you can earn cash back or travel reward from shopping portal site and an FRN reward with a single transaction.

FRN online mall has 1800flowers, but you don’t have to use this portal. There are the better ones. The best rate is 15% from Discover Deals. When you purchase something at 1800flowers with a linked credit card, you will earn 15% cash back and 4%-equivalent in FRN Rewards.

So far, it’s only double. What is the third one to make sense of the title of this post? It’s Shop Your Way. SYW is also a partner with 1800flowers. You can link your MasterCard and Visa cards. When you use a linked card for a purchase, you will earn SYW rewards. SYW offers 20% back in SYW points. Fortunately, FRN and SYW partner program don’t affect each other. You can earn both card-link partner reward. So, it’s now triple.

Plus, you can earn 10% back in Celebration Reward (loyalty reward program of 1800flowers.) And there is your credit reward, too.

What’s more? You can earn all rewards above on a purchase of GCs. 4%+15%+20%+10%+1%=50% A half of expense will be back in a variety of rewards. Their GC can be sold for around 60% of face value to GC exchange sites. By rough estimate, 10% reward will be remain!!!

Amex Business GC Offer returned to Fuel Rewards Network Online Mall

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In 2014, there was the offer of FRN (Fuel Reward Network) 2X then reduced to 1X, then it disappeared. It came back for a while and then disappeared again. After that, there has been no offer for Amex GC purchase. I check the portal site recently, and I found the offer was back. It’s 1X, which is equivalent to 2% cash back.

amex gc is back to frn online mall

As far as I can tell it’s been three weeks in FRN online mall, and may have been around for more than weeks. The offer can’t be found in “Gift Card” category, but there is in all store’s list or by typing “american….” in a search box. Last year, the offer was easily found in “Gift Card” category. Of course, you were able to found in all store’s list or by entering “american express gift card” in the search box, too. But, it’s easier to click “Gift Card” than to type the word in search box. I had been checking the site to see if the offer came back, but I checked only in “Gift Card” category. Weeks ago, I glanced all stores without any expectations and found the offer back although you can’t find in “Gift Card” category.

all gift card offers of frn online mall

1X FRN reward is equivalent to 2% cash back. 1X means that you can earn 5¢/gallon discount on every $50 purchase through FRN online mall. FRN rewards can be redeemed at participating Shell gas stations, up to 20 gallons in single fill-up. 5¢ x 20 gallons = $1.00. $1.00 back on $50 spent. So it’s equivalent to 2% cash back.

Terms and conditions of this offer are the same as other online shopping portals, such as Befrugal and Topcashback. But it seems to be limited to Business Gift Cards. You can’t use promo codes. And the denomination more than $2000 are not eligible for the reward. When you buy the highest denomination, (it’s $2000) you will earn a $2.00/gallon discount.

frn 1x rewards at american express business gift cards

Again, according to terms and conditions, only Business Gift Cards are eligible for the offer. Sometimes, Topcashback offers 2.25%, and Simply Best Coupons offer 2% cash back for Amex Business GC purchases. But they are usually a daily deal. FRN is continuously offering a 2%-cashback-equivalent deal.

If you want to know more details of Fuel Reward Network, please click here.

Until July 31st, FRN has a linked MasterCard or Visa card promotion. With some conditions, you may earn the reward virtually for free. If you are interested, please click here.

Best Buy E-Gift Card Promo with Cash Back Portal Deal

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You may see a lot of Father’s Day’s promotions throughout the web. The promotions are not limited to regular merchandises, you may also see the promotion on gift card purchases. Personally, I just bought Staples and Best Buy e-gift cards and happened to know that there was a cash back portal site for BBY e-GC purchases.

best buy e-gift card promo

Many merchants sell e-gift cards as well as physical gift cards. Some merchants pay cash back for purchases of both physical and e-gift cards, and some merchants don’t pay for either of them. And also some merchants pay only for physical gift card purchases. This may happen because e-gift cards are sold at different sites called Cashstar.

When you enter bestbuy.com and click Gift cards on the top, you are still in bestbuy.com. However, when you click Get Started (left at the bottom of the picture below,) you are taken to the outside of bestbuy.com. A web address is bestbuy.cashstar.com. The same things happen to some other merchants. For example, you enter gap.com and try to buy an e-gift card, you are taken to gap.cashstar.com.

best buy e-gift card link

If you have Amex Offer, you can’t redeem some of them with e-gift card purchases because of this fact. That’s why you see “e-gift cards are excluded” in terms and conditions of many offers. It actually happened to me with Chime Offer. The offer was $5 back on $50 or more spent at Best Buy. I purchased $50 e-gift card, but I couldn’t see $5 credit posted in my account. An hour later, I purchased $50 physical gift card. $5 credit was posted instantly.

Today, I happened to find this “Cashstar” in cashbackmonitor.com while I was checking cash back rate for other merchants. So, I have no idea how it’s been existing. SimplyBestCoupons offered the highest, 2% cash back yesterday. Best Buy’s link was in the section of sale/discount. I clicked the link and bought $150 e-gift card. Soon, I received an email from SimplyBestCoupons, and a pending cash back was posted. So many merchants use Cashstar for e-gift card selling, but merchants offering cash back seem to be limited. I check the website today, and they have updated terms and conditions. Now you can see a full list of merchants that is available for cash back. And the rate is reduced to 1.75%.

simply best coupons cashstar list

What I like about Simply Best Coupons is that they send an email for all transactions very quickly. They send an email and post $0 even when you purchase something that is not qualified for cash back. I bought Starbucks gift card at Target.com on 6/2.

simply best coupons cashstar cash back

As you see, I received $0. So, I’m sure that the item is not qualified for cash back. (As long as I know, there is at least one GC at Target.com is qualified for cash back.) And also, they sometimes offer 2% cash back on Amex Business gift card purchases. The next offer is coming soon. It’s on 06/22/2015. If you don’t have your account yet, please use my referral link to sign up.

Earn Cash Back on Discover 2nd Rotating Category 2015

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Discover it card offers 5% cash back on restaurant and movie theater’s purchases of up to $1500 in 2nd quarter (April, May, and June.) The offer will end in a few weeks, and I have earned almost nothing in this quarter. That’s because I don’t spend that much on these categories, and those stores (restaurants and theaters) don’t sell 3rd party gift card. They do sell their own gift cards, but you can buy them with more than 5% discount from eBay, GC Exchange sites, etc. That also means that you can’t sell their gift cards for good prices. So, I haven’t been doing anything for this category bonus. But thing’s changed now, and it may be possible to earn cash back effectively.

2nd quarter 2015 discover category bonus

Discover is now offering “Double All Cash Back” promotion for both new and existing cardholders. They double all cash back you earn for the next 12 billing cycles. Here is the fine print.

Double First Year Cash Back:After the first 12 consecutive billing periods that your new account is open, we will double all the cash back rewards you’ve earned and apply them to your account in the next billing cycle. You’ve earned rewards when they have posted to your account by the end of the 12th consecutive billing period. You will not receive Double Cash Back if your account is closed or no longer in the cash back reward program as of the award date. This promotional offer may not be offered in the future.

discover double all cash back

Please note that you need an enrollment over a phone or chat by July 31st if you are an existing cardholder. I did it over chat, and my bonus started on June 12th.

Now, rotating category cash back is 10%. However, you can’t expect to sell restaurants gift cards for 90% of face value. You have to accept significantly lower price when you sell. But, what if you can buy gift cards through Discover Deals?

discover 2nd 2015 category bonus lists

A website shows a lot of places you can earn 5% rotating category cash back. There are a lot, and these are not all.

discover deals and 2nd 2015 category bonus

 

Go to Discover Deals. Filter by category. There are only 11 offers, eight restaurants and three entertainment. Among them, there is only one store that offer cashback. It’s Fandango. (The others stores offer either instant savings or statement credit. They won’t be doubled.) Here is the fine print.

10% Cashback Bonus on Fandango Bucks at Fandango online

Offer valid on Fandango Bucks gift certificates only. Offer is not valid in combination with any other offers. Must have cookies enabled on your web browser, link to retailer site from the Discover Deals web page, found at Discover.com/deals or through the Discover mobile app, and use your Discover card for each transaction.

Next, go to gift card granny to see if their gift card be sold.

Fandango gift cards can be sold to five different GC exchange sites. And Cardpool, Monster gift card, and Save ya offer the highest rate of 75%. It’s a good sign that Save ya offer the highest because they accept e-codes without reducing payment. Cardpool also accepts e-codes but reduce the payment to 70% for Fandango e-code. Fandango sells both physical gift cards and e-codes. They charge $1.95 fee for physical gift card purchase per card while e-codes has no fee.

Say you do earn both 5% cash back from category bonus and 10% cash back from Discover Deals. The cash back will be double. So it’s 30% cash back in total. And then, when you sell e-code to Save ya, 5% of total purchase will remain in your pocket.

There are some things that are uncertain now.

Q1 Will you receive 5% category bonus?

Not sure yet. I bought $50 e-code. My order is still pending.

Q2 Will you receive 10% Discover Deals cash back?

The fine print says, “Offer valid on Fandango Bucks gift certificates only.” Are Fandango Bucks and Fandango gift cards the same things? I tried to find the answer, but I couldn’t find this term in the website.

Q3 Will Save ya accept Fandango e-code?

You can’t tell whether you can sell e-code until you enter the code and PIN. So, I did and click “Sell My Card!”

saveya fandango ecode

I was wrong. Save ya doesn’t accept Fandango e-codes. So, there are few options now.

  • Buy e-codes and sell to Cardpool for 70% of face value
  • Buy Physical gift cards ($1.95 fee per card) and sell to Cardpool or Save ya for 75% of face value

If a purchase of Fandango gift card is qualified for both category bonus and Discover Deals, (5% + 10%) *2=30% cash back will be posted. When you choose e-codes, it breaks even. When you choose physical gift cards, you will earn around 3% profit although you pay $1.95 fee per card.

My transaction of Fandango e-code is still pending, and I don’t know whether it is qualified for Discover’s cash back. If either one of them is not qualified, I will just keep the code for a regular spending in the future.

How to Save Money on Gas with Fuel Rewards Network

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Fuel Reward Network (FRN) is a reward program. It is redeemable at Shell only, but you can earn FRN rewards in lots of places and various ways. FRN rewards are given in the form of cents-per-gallon. You can redeem for up to 20 gallons at the pump. For example, $0.35 in FRN reward can save up to $7.00 (=0.35*20.) The rewards you earn in different times and places will be combined in your account, and then you can redeem all at once. If you have lots of rewards, let’s say $5.00, you can use it and get 20 gallons of gas for almost free. Due to some kind of rules, you can’t make it completely free. You still have to pay a few cents per gallon. It’s free to join.

Ways to Earn FRN Rewards

Shop Online – FRN has an online shopping portal. Shopping through the portal lets you earn the rewards. The rates of reward vary by merchants. Basic rate is 5¢/gal on every $50 purchase, and it’s described as “1X.” Since 5¢/gal is worth up to $1.00 (=$0.05*20), “1X” is equivalent to 2% cash back. There are over 700 merchants. You may find your favorite merchants. However, the rates of most merchants are not as good as other major shopping portals, such as Befrugal, TopCashback. For that reason, I don’t buy through the FRN portal now.

American Express Gift Card – Sometime in 2014, FRN portal offered 2X on American Express Gift Card purchase. It was the best rate of all back then. One day, the offer was downgraded from 2X to 1X, and after a little while, it disappeared. It came back once and disappeared again. At the time of writing this article, The best offer for AmEx GCs is 1.5% cash back from Befrugal. If FRN offer for AmEx GCs returns, and even if it is 1X, I will buy through FRN portal because the rate is slightly better.

Dine Out – Link your credit/debit cards to FRN account. When you pay with them at participate restaurants, you will earn 10¢/gal for every $50 you spend. You don’t have to spend more than $50 in a single transaction. FRN track your expense and accumulate. Once it reaches $50, they give you the reward. If you have a credit card that offer bonus cash back or point for an expense at restaurants, link and use it. You can earn not only FRN rewards but also bonus rewards from your credit card.

Grocery Stores & Other Participants – You can earn FRN reward with your everyday purchases at participating grocery stores and other participants. Basically, the offer for a grocery store is 5¢/gal for every $50 you spend. But some stores and participants offer the reward differently. So, you should check what stores is FRN participants in your area and how they give you rewards. Even if you don’t find any stores in your area, you still can earn the rewards in other ways.

Promotions – There are always some promotions to earn additional rewards. Those rules vary, but most of them are MasterCard offers. When you use linked MasterCard in-store or online where a promotion is ongoing, you will earn additional rewards. I like MasterCard promotions because you could earn multiple rewards in a single transaction. For example, the promotion, “Earn 20¢/gal for every $100 you spend at Toys R Us,” 20¢/gal is already a great deal. It’s like 4% cash back. And you will earn credit card’s rewards, too. On the top of that, if you shop online, you will also earn the reward from shopping portals. You don’t have to use FRN shopping portal. As I mentioned, FRN shopping portal’s rate isn’t great. Toysrus.com offers only 1X (=2% back.) If you shop through Upromise, you will earn 5% cash back. As long as you use linked MasterCard, you earn FRN rewards even when you shop through any shopping portals.

3¢ FRN Member Rewards

Even when there is no reward in your account, you will get 3¢/gal discount with the FRN card. If you have $0.01, $0.04/gal is available. If you have $0.02, $0.05/gal. If you have $0.03 or more, you will redeem the same amount you have. This offer plans to end in December, 2015.

Sign Up Bonus

Sign up through this link. You will earn 20¢/gal bonus after you first use an FRN card to fill up at Shell or earn the first FRN reward through the programs. Offer ends on March 1, 2015.