It’s that time of year, Holiday Bonus Gift Card Offers! Many Restaurants (and some retailers) will offer bonus deals when you buy gift cards. Use the bonus for yourself or pass it on as a gift too. Either way, now is the time to stock up! Most are available till the end of the year, unless otherwise noted.

Thanks to Mission to Save for many of these listings!

Tips for maximizing your gift card savings!

First, FIND THE DEALS!

• Check my list below – I’ve listed all the bonus deals I could find for restaurants, retailers and attractions.
• Check directly with your favorite store, and sign up to receive emails from your favorite retailers and restaurants! Often, exclusive deals are offered for customers and subscribers. For example, Sportsmans Guide is offering its subscribers a FREE $50 gift card with the purchase of $150 or more on Monday, December 10th only.
• If you have a Target REDCard, wait to buy gift cards from Target until early December when in previous years they have had gift card discounts! Last year you could save 5% on specialty cards with your REDCard the second week in December (this excludes all Target gift cards).
• Consider buying discounted gift cards from such sites as GiftCardGranny.com, CardCash.com and Swagbucks.com. (I LOVE Swagbucks for earning free gift cards or buying gift cards at a discount!) You can save up to 30% on gift cards from places like Target, Best Buy, Kohl’s, Victoria’s Secret, GameStop, Old Navy and many more.

Then, STRETCH THE DEALS FURTHER!

• Combine deals – for example, first buy a discounted gift card. Then use that gift card online and use a promo code to save on your purchase. (I always use retailmenot.com to find current promo codes.) Also be sure to take advantage of free shipping, which you can get at almost every website.
• Pair gift card gifts with coupons for that retailer or restaurant. That way the gift recipient can stretch their gift card even further! For example, some gift card deals include coupons. For example, in the past, Savers has offered a coupon for $5 off a $15 purchase with every $30 or more you buy in gift cards.
• Overall – with all the ways to save, you should be able to save money and avoid paying full price for gift cards!

Keep your gift cards safe! 

• Treat gift cards like cash – because if you lose them, there is often little you can do.
• That’s why it’s important to also keep the receipt for gift cards you buy, or even to take a picture of the card number.
• Retailers love selling gift cards because they know that many gift cards do not get used completely. So be sure to use yours! Now’s a great time of year to use them – if nothing else, buy a gift with those unused gift cards you have sitting around your house!
• Most gift cards have no expiration date, but some cards do, like VISA gift cards. After a set period of time, like a year, they can start deducting a small fee from the card’s value each month that it’s not used up. So use your VISA prepaid cards – and tell your recipient to use theirs by the expiration date!

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