Sam's Club Members - Ditch Those Discover Cards!

     Some friends of mine run a small business and purchase all of their business related items at Sam's Club. They asked me how they could save more by using my MaxCashBack methods.  I learned that they did have a Discover card, and were using this credit card (the only one accepted by Sam's Club) to make all of their purchases.  They thought that they were getting 2% cash back.
     I did a little research and learned that Discover has one of the least attractive cash back rewards systems of the major cards.  See my post earlier this month on Best Cash Back Rewards cards here.  To make a long story short, one does not even begin to earn 1% cash back on a Discover card until after $6000 in purchase have been made.
     So, what does a loyal Sam's Club member have to do to get the type of savings I routinely find with other merchants?  The light bulb finally went off in my head today.  USE A WALMART GIFT CARD!!  Because Sam's Club is owned by Walmart, all Walmart gift cards are honored by Sam's Club, both online and in stores.  These gift cards can be readily purchased at a discount (see how to do this and save 5-10% here). Better yet, these gift cards can be purchased using a good cash back rewards credit card like the Chase Freedom Visa card or the Fidelity American Express card through any of the gift card resellers.
     Now, Sam's Club members can realize big cash back savings like the rest of us, instead of settling for the 0.25-1% cash back rewards typically earned by Discover card holders.  Let me know in the comments below if you found this tidbit of information helpful.  Thanks!

Merchant Cashback Strategies: Best Buy

This week, our Merchant Cashback strategy focuses on Best Buy, one of the original big box electronics retailers.  For many consumers, this is the place to go when purchasing big ticket electronics items, such as TV's, stereo sound systems, laptop computers or car stereos.  These purchases can represent a significant dollar amount, which is why it is extremely important to take advantage of every cash back strategy in the book.  The savings can be significant.
    The first questions I ask are usually: 1) Will I be purchasing in a local store or online?; and 2) Will I get more cash back from using my credit cards or by purchasing discounted gift cards?

   I can purchase Best Buy gift cards at a 7% discount at both Plastic Jungle and Cardpool.  If I am in a hurry and want to purchase online, I can probably find an Ecode gift card from one of these two merchants. The discounts that I get by purchasing gift cards usually will surpass even a 5% cash back credit card. However, if I am smart, sometimes I can have my cake and eat it too.  If you are buying online, then it is always good to see what discount your credit card shopping portal is offering for Best Buy.  For example, Discover gives you 5% back if you buy from the Best Buy website using their shopping portal.

  If I elect the gift cards route, I will purchase my Buy Buy gift cards through Cardpool by first going through the Mr. Rebates website, so I can pick up an extra 1%.  Now I am at 8% discount.  If I pay for my purchase with a 1% or 2% cash back credit card, I can get that discount up to 9-10%. I also check on Ebay to see if there are any 10% off coupons available for purchase.  While there are sometimes restrictions, often this will knock another 10% off your purchase, hence doubling your savings!  You may even find these in your local newspaper. Now remember, the discount you achieve using these methods is ON TOP OF whatever your final price is.  If you are shopping online, you may be able to get free shipping thrown in as well, or even additional cash back using coupon codes. Just remember that if it is a big ticket item, it is always worthwhile to comparison shop first. At a minimum, you should be able to expect 9-10% cash back savings, no matter what you purchase.
   Happy shopping!

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