What I learned this holiday shopping season will forever change the way I shop for gift cards, and I want to share this hard lesson I discovered with you.
Avoid buying gift cards from retail stores
Scammers use gift cards as a convenient payment method in their scams. In fact, gift card scams are on the rise when buying gift cards at retail stores, with criminal scam artists tampering with some cards – rendering them worthless after you’ve added value to your hard-earned cash. Why Are Gift Card Payments So Loved by Scammers?
- almost untraceable
- Everything is available
- Easily Convert to Cash or Bitcoin
- Ability to move large amounts of money in small packages.
New Years Quiz! How much do you know about these facts that ring in the new year?
Here are some lessons I’ve learned with gift cards this year.
(iStock, file)
Only buy from cash back gift card sources
If you buy gift cards through a cash back source, you earn money and rewards just by purchasing gift cards. Cash back gift cards earn you a gift while being generous to others.
Here is my list of top reputation cash back gift card sources:
Ibotta is a great app that lets you earn cash back at some of your favorite stores like Target, Starbucks, Lowe’s, and over 1,500 other retailers. They include rewards for grocery shopping, food delivery, movie and concert tickets, and more.
Ibotta gift card options.
(CyberGuy.com)
Once you purchase a gift card for your loved one, you’ll receive instant cash back in your Ibotta account. Here’s how to buy gift cards for others in the Ibotta app:
Under the “Shop by Category” section, go to gift card From the Ibotta app home screen, search or browse retailers by categories such as Nearby, Clothing, Coffee & Tea, Electronics, Health & Beauty and more.
Fox News Channel’s Boisterous New Year’s Celebration Will Reach Viewers Across America
Select the store you want, then select the option to buy a gift card. After purchasing a gift card, you will notice the percentage back you receive. As you can see in the example below, if you buy an Old Navy gift card, you’ll get 7% back. You can get up to 20% back on some cards.
How to buy gift cards with Ibotta.
(CyberGuy.com)
- Enter the amount you want to deposit on the gift card
This is where payments are made on Ibotta.
(CyberGuy.com)
- to switch this is a gift Email or text the card to your loved ones after purchase; they don’t need the Ibotta app to use the gift card.
Ibotta lets you earn cash back.
(CyberGuy.com)
- Find Cash Back in your Ibotta account immediately after your purchase is complete.
click on this linkand use referral code mpiaurmSubmit your first receipt to earn $10.
Copy the code to insert into the referral code box on the Ibotta Create Account page: Mpiom.
To learn more about how you can use the Ibotta app to get some great freebies, visit CyberGuy.com and search for “Ibotta” by clicking the magnifying glass icon at the top of my website.
New Year’s Eve in Times Square: Here’s what got the ball sparkling for the big drop
This popular retailer offers easy ways to earn cash back. They can earn cash back on select gift cards purchased at the store through the Rakuten website or by downloading their app. Note: You may not receive cash back on any purchases made with your own gift card or gift certificate, which means you must always pay with a regular credit or debit card to receive cash back.
Rakuten gift card shopping.
(CyberGuy.com)
They offer over 3,500 stores to choose from, including Bath & Body Works, Ulta, and Uber, and each store will state the percentage of cash back you’ll get on your purchase. Stores like Adidas and Petco are offering up to 6% cash back when you buy gift cards through Rakuten.
Here’s how to gift a Rakuten gift card to your loved ones and earn cash back:
- go to Lotte > Click Category in the menu > Click Rakuten gift card shop
Rakuten gift card shop.
(CyberGuy.com)
Select your gift card store brand here.
(CyberGuy.com)
- Select the store you’d like to buy from, then select the amount you’d like to credit to your gift card. Be aware of the cash back percentage you’ll receive when you buy a gift card.
Earn cash back on gift card purchases at Rakuten.
(CyberGuy.com)
Make sure to click “Send as Gift”.
(CyberGuy.com)
- an examination send as giftoptions
- See how your Cash Back earnings appear in your Rakuten account.
Sign up for Rakuten here and earn $30 when you spend $30.Check the terms on the Rakuten page.
TopCashback gift cards offer up to 20.8% cashback when you purchase gift cards through their service. Some of the stores they work with include Macy’s, Kohl’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Here’s how to send gift cards to other people through TopCashback.
TopCashback also gives you cash when you buy gift cards.
(CyberGuy.com)
Below are the store options on TopCashback.
(CyberGuy.com)
- Select the store you want to purchase from, select the gift card amount, and press Continue. Note the cash back percentage you will receive under each gift card.
Here you can choose the amount of the gift card.
(CyberGuy.com)
- On the next page, select “Email to someone else” and fill in the information
Choose to email the gift card to yourself or someone else.
(CyberGuy.com)
- Enter your payment information and TopCashback will send the gift card to your recipient. You will receive your cash back within 30 days.
Many people use PayPal as their primary online payment service. However, most people don’t realize all the rewards that can come with using PayPal Honey. PayPal Honey doesn’t offer cash back when shoppers use gift cards, but it does allow you to redeem the points you earn when you shop through the app for cash, gift cards, or PayPal points for purchases.
Once you’ve downloaded the app and created a free account with PayPal Honey, you can activate the cash back option so you’ll be eligible to earn points on qualifying purchases. Then, when you shop at your favorite stores, the app notifies you if you qualify for any points, as well as any exclusive offers from the store, such as double cash back.
More than 4,500 stores have point systems that use PayPal Honey, including Apple, Walmart and Home Depot.
PayPal Honey for gift card credits.
(CyberGuy.com)
Click here for the Fox News app
Once you’ve earned enough points, you can redeem them for cash, gift cards, or PayPal credit for purchases. If you’d like to use your points to purchase a gift card, you can do so on PayPal Honey’s redeem page. All you have to do is:
- choose your favorite store
Honey gift card options.
(CyberGuy.com)
- Select the number of points you want to redeem and selectredemption
Here’s how to redeem points with PayPal Honey.
(CyberGuy.com)
- paypal honey Your eGift Card will be sent to you within 24 hours.
- Click to learn more about joining PayPal Honey here.
