Stop&Shop

Stop&Shop Promo 2X Gas Reward for Visa GC purchases

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Overview

This week (3/20-3/26), Stop and Shop supermarkets has a promotion of gas reward. You can earn 2X gas reward point on Visa gift card purchases.

s&s gas reward promo on vgc

Basic of Stop&Shop Gas Reward Program

Save 10 cents per gallon for every 100 points. You can earn 1 point for every dollar spent at Stop&Stop. Points will expire in 30 days. It’s redeemable at Shell gas station, up to $2.20/gal discount for a single fill-up (limited to 35 gallons.)

Details of the promo

S&S occasionally has a promotion on VGCs purchases. This time, it’s only 2X gas reward point. Last year, there was 5X and then 4X and then 3X. It’s getting lower and lower, but it’s still a good deal. You should look for $25-$500 variable VGCs and load max $500. A purchase fee of variable VGCs is $5.95. If you find a store that allows to pay with your reward credit cards, it’s much better. $500 VGC purchase gives you roughly 1000 pts (=$1/gal, up to $35 saving.)

Summary

S&S gas reward is more valuable than it used to be. That’s because gas prices recently got lowered. Regular Unleaded is around $2.49 in my neighborhood. So, maximum redemption ($2.20/gal) almost covers most of gas expense. If you have Amex Bluebird/Serve/REDcard, you can easily liquidate VGCs. I plan to buy 4 VGCs during this promotion. Please remember that points will expire in 30 days. So, consider how much gas you need for the next 30 days and don’t buy more VGCs than you need.

Payback Rewards of PayPal Prepaid MasterCard

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rewards of paypal prepaid mastercardI applied PayPal Prepaid MasterCard a few months ago. The primary purpose of having this card is to earn interest from its savings account (see details here), but I have been making purchase with the card to see what kind of reward they offer. Their reward program is “targeted.” They review how you use the card and give you offers that are relevant to your spending. Thus, when I just received the card, there was no offers. I searched online to see some examples of offers so that I could use the card efficiently. However, I couldn’t find any examples.

So, I carried out an experiment. I exclusively used the card at supermarkets. To boost up the process (from my guess), I also asked cash back as much amount as each store allowed. About a month later, I received three offers for the first time.

1. Walmart

Shop at Walmart.com and receive 5% Cash Back on every purchase until a maximum of $500 in combined total spend is reached! Offer valid on purchases through 12/8/2014! Purchases must be made through this link. Offer not valid toward shipping and handling, taxes and other surcharges. Offer applied after all discounts and coupons. Offer not valid toward purchases from Sam’s Club and Samsclub.com, pharmacy, travel, financial services, tires, optical, Wal-Mart Connect Internet Service, gift cards, and online gift cards. Walmart.com – Save Money. Live Better

I wonder why I received an offer for the store I have never used the card. It is a very common offer. You can find the same one in many cash back portal sites. I was expecting offers that are similar to Amex Offer so I can use the card in stores and redeem the offer. But this offer is online only, and purchases must be made through the link. This is just typical cash back offer you can find in portal sites any time.

2. Peapod by Stop and Shop

Online Grocery Delivery: Shop with Peapod by Stop & Shop in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York, and New Jersey to earn 15% Cash Back on a purchase amount up to $100. Shop at Peapod by Stop & Shop to find some of your favorite national brands, plus money-saving store brands! View the Peapod by Stop & Shop website to learn more. Peapod by Stop & Shop – Grocery shop anytime, anywhere!

Offer expires 12/13/2014. Payment must be made on or before offer expiration date. Payment must be made with your eligible debit or credit card. Offer valid online only. Offer valid one time only.

Another offer for online shopping. The terms don’t mention about the link. So, if I click the link of cash back portal site and use the card, I may earn both rewards. For example, BeFrugal offers $10 cash back for new customers. If I can earn both rewards, I will get $25 cash back in total. The problem is that Peapod charges $11.95 for each delivery and $2.95 for each pick-up. Besides, all my neighbor Stop&Shop stores are somehow excluded for pick-up locations. The closest store is 12 miles away. However, this will be an interesting experiment.

3. Verizon FiOS

Switch your TV, Internet and home phone services to Verizon FiOS & earn $75! Verizon FiOS gives you the ultimate in home entertainment. Plus, redefine what TV can be by upgrading to FiOS Quantum℠ TV and get more storage, more control and more access.

Verizon FiOS order must be placed online through this link. Account must be active for 60 days to receive reward. Reward can take up to 90 days to post to account. New customers with 2 year term only. Offer valid one time only. Other conditions apply. Offer expires 12/16/2014.

Like the offer for Walmart, I have no idea why I got this offer. And I’m not interested at all. So, I don’t check anything further. Probably, you can find the same offer in cash back portal sites any time.

Summery

These are three offers from PayPal Prepaid MasterCard for the first time. They are a lot different from ones I expected. I found an offer for Peapod interesting. Cashback portal sites pay only new customers. If I continue to receive an offer, it’s worth keep using the card at supermarkets.

3X Gas Rewards on Visa Gift Card Purchase at Stop and Shop

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3 times gas points on visa gift card purchasesThis week, 10/17 – 10/23, Stop and Shop supermarket has a promotion of Gas Rewards program. When you purchase Visa Gift Card, you will earn 3X points. You need to look for $20-500 variable gift cards. Unlike small denomination of GCs, the variable GCs are a little hard to be found. Even if they are not on a rack with all other gift cards, you should check on racks at cash registers, especially the racks between registers. People tend to overlook GCs there, and those GCs may be left for a long time.

variable visa gift card at stop and shopI was lucky to find the variable GC on the gift card rack. There were several more GCs on the same rack. I tried to pay with my newest credit card, Citi Double Cash. Double Cash offers 2% cash back. Variable GCs charge $5.95 purchase fee, but cash back from credit card will be $10.12. The cash back will pay a purchase fee and leave a profit! However, transaction was declined. So I purchased with another credit card that offer 1% cash back.

It is still great deal. Cash back will be $5.05. So, I paid only 90¢ for $1.50/gal discount deal. Since you can redeem for up to 35 gallons of single fill-up, $1.50/gal discount is worth $52.50! Unfortunately, my car’s gas tank is small. It takes only 15 gallons. $1.50 x 15 = $22.50, it is still a good deal.

Citi Double cash was declined. It turned out to be a fraud alert. I received this email from Citi about ten minutes after swiping the card. I confirmed this transaction and clicked VALID. It won’t be declined in the future.

citi fraud alert

I don’t know how much I can earn through this offer because the ad doesn’t say about the limit. But I’m going to buy at least two more.

Vanilla / OneVanilla / Target Visa Gift Card Problems

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It used to work before, but didn’t work yesterday. Since I found out that ShopDiscover, Discover’s shopping portal, pays out cash back on the purchase of Target Visa GCs, I have purchased many Target Visa GCs. It used to be able to reload American Express BlueBird/Serve with Target Visa GCs at Walmart MoneyCenter Express. But their system has recently updated so that it declines Prepaid gift cards issued by Bancorp, such as Vanilla, OneVanilla, and Target Visa GCs. I also used $100 Target Visa gift cards for purchases of Costco Cash Cards and got cash back at the same time. But now this isn’t available, either.

Visa GCs issued by Bancorp can’t be attached with your name or address. All you can do is to assign Zip code. Since online merchants can’t verify your billing name and address from the cards, many online merchants decline transactions.

So, for what can you use them?

Purchase at stores

You can use it anywhere it accepts Visa, purchase for merchandises that cost less than $100 in total. Depending on stores, you can use multiple GCs for a single transaction. You should ask store clerks at first.

Add to your amazon account

You can add not only Visa prepaid GCs, but also AmEx GCs to your amazon account. You can shop items at amazon.com. If you have “left-over” GCs, like $1.37 or $5.69 left, redeem for amazon e-codes. A great feature of amazon e-codes is that you can choose any amount in increment of as little as 1¢. (As of July 2014, an e-code can be purchase between $0.50 and $2,000.)

Send Via Amazon Payment

Since you can add prepaid GCs to your amazon account, you can send money to your friend, member of your family, or someone you can trust, through Amazon Payment. Unlike PayPal, Amazon Payment doesn’t charge a fee to send money from debit or credit cards. Someone who receives your money either sends back to you through Amazon Payment or withdraws to his or her bank account and then give you back in cash.

Add to your PayPal account

Even if an online merchant declines the card due to being unable to verify a billing name and address, you can pay through PayPal as long as online merchants accepts PayPal payment. Before adding the card to your PayPal account, you should assign Zip code in the website, www.mybalancenow.com. Otherwise, PayPal rejects the card.

Buy merchant gift cards

Unlike bank GCs, such as Visa, MasterCard, or AmEx GCs, merchant gift cards don’t charge a purchase fee. So, you can use up the card without leaving a small amount.

Tips of buying merchant GCs

Depending on stores, you may get a reward on the purchase of merchant GCs. For example, when you buy a $100 BestBuy GC at Stop & Shop supermarket, you will get a fuel reward, which you can save 10¢/gal. Sometimes, there is a promotion. During this promotion, the fuel reward you earn will be multiplied by 3 to 5.

Maximize Shop Your Way Fuel Reward

Kmart has also a fuel reward program. When you buy a $50 merchant GC, you will get a 30¢-off-per-gallon coupon. You can buy (2) $50 GCs with $100 Target Visa GC, but you should make two separate transactions to receive two coupons. If you buy Sears or Kmart GCs, you can use them at Kmart later. If you use the GCs for something that costs $50 or more, you will get another coupon. So, in the end, you will get four coupons out of (1) $100 Target Visa GC.

I needed to come up with these methods because I have many Target Visa GCs right now. My plan was reloading Serve and Walmart MoneyCard with them, and also getting cash back at stores whenever I got a chance. But that is no longer available. I’m not going to order Target Visa GCs anymore unless ShopDiscover has a promotion, or I get a new credit card with sign-up bonus, etc.

Earn 3X Gas Rewards on GC purchases at Stop and Shop

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earn 3x on the purchase of gcs at s&s6/6/2014 thru 6/16/2014, you can earn 3x gas rewards when you purchase any gift card at Stop & Shop. I was lucky enough the store has $20-$500 Visa gift cards. I knew the store had lots of gift cards including Visa, MasterCard, or American Express, but I have never seen $20-$500 gift cards. There is a bunch of them now. It seems the store have just restocked them. Without thinking, I picked up and took it to the cashier. I had it loaded $500, and a fee is just $5.95. That is only 1.19%.

I used American Express Blue Cash Preferred so I will get 6% cash back ($30.36) in addition to 3x gas rewards (1500 pts = $1.50/gal).

I don’t know full potential of Visa GC, but at least I know that you can load American Express Serve at Walmart and withdraw money to your bank account. There is no fee in this process. It is just you need a trip to Walmart, and it takes up to 5 days to withdraw money to your bank account.

visa gift card

On the other day, I tried to get cash back with Visa GC (issued by the same bank, MetaBank) at the register of Target, but it couldn’t succeed. A PIN pad said, “Access denied, contact issuer”. At that time, I used $100 Visa GC (issued by the same bank, MetaBank), and tried to get $40 cash back. What if I choose a smaller amount of cash back? What about other stores. I will have to find out.

Of course, you can use the gift card normally, at grocery stores, gas stations, online purchases, etc. After you add the GC to your PayPal account, you can spend it on eBay purchases, too.

You don’t have to buy Visa gift cards. Any gift cards except Stop & Shop gift cards are eligible for 3x gas rewards. I chose $500 Visa gift card because:

  • A purchase fee is the lowest against a face value of gift card
  • I can use anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted
  • There is a way to turn it into cash
  • It may be possible to get cash back at the register
  • I can buy gift cards at Stop & Shop or elsewhere again

If I buy an amazon gift card with the Visa GC, there is no credit card cash back. However, since there is no purchase fee on amazon gift cards, you can buy $500 amazon gift card with $500 Visa gift card. And I will get another 1500 pts! This is just one example, but starting with $500 Visa GC, you will be able to choose a lot of options and earn a lot of gas rewards as well!

Comparison of Gas Rewards Programs 3/3

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Stop & Shop Gas Rewards vs Fuel Rewards Network

stop and shop gas rewards vs fuel rewards network

Although both programs let you redeem the reward at Shell gas stations, the reward’s points can’t be combined or redeemed together. Let’s see what is the difference between these two programs.

  • Stop & Shop Gas Rewards (S&S) needs to earn at least 100 points to redeem 10¢/gal discount, while FRN needs none. Even when you don’t have any reward in FRN account, you can always get 3¢/gal
  • S&S can save up to $2.20 per gallon per transaction, while FRN has no limit. (Actually, you need to pay at least .019 to .109 cents per gallon)
  • S&S reward can be redeemed up to 35 gallons, while FRN can up to 20 gallons
  • S&S reward can earn at Stop & Shop only, while FRN can earn at participating supermarkets, restaurants, bars and clubs, on convenience store purchase or auto service at Shell gas station, and a shopping through Online Shopping Mall

Conclusion

pay 1 cent per gallon with frnBoth programs are great. I found it very easy to earn S&S reward. But there is only one problem with this program. That is “It has a limit, $2.20 per gallon Max per transaction.” Even if you have lots of points, you can’t redeem more than 2200 point. For FRN, you can lower the price to almost $0/gal.

Even if you use the most effective way to earn FRN rewards that fits your regular spending, it is probably not enough to make the price down to $0.01/gal. In the FRN website, you can see at least five FRN members paid $0.01/gal every day. If you want to become one of those, you’ll have to work at it. If you are interested in $0.01/gal, read blog “Ultimate Strategy of Fuel Rewards Network 1/2“.

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“.