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To some folks, a gift card is a cop-out gift. It's that thing you buy when you have no other ideas of what to get -- or, perhaps worse, you forgot to do your shopping and are looking for a last-minute gift that isn't hard to wrap.
For the rest of us, a gift card is a simple, effective way to give a gift that doesn't need to be returned for a better size or more flattering color. A gift card can say, "I wanted to get you something, but you know what you need way better than I do."
No matter which side of the debate you're on, however, there's one thing on which we can all agree: The best gift card is the one with a discount. And your finances agree too. Happily, there are a number of ways you can purchase a variety of gift cards at less than face value. Here are a few places to look.
1. Warehouse clubs
One of the lesser-known perks to being a member of a warehouse club like Costco or Sam's is that you can often buy gift cards at a steep discount. For example, Costco's selection includes cards for tons of popular restaurants and you can get them at a 20% to 30% discount.
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Sam's Club and BJ's also offer similar selections of discounted gift cards. You can find everything from clothing retailers to airlines -- and just about anything in between.
Warehouse stores can be particularly great places to pick up gift cards for video game lovers. They offer discounted gift cards for the various game stores, like the Xbox digital store, as well as cards for monthly or annual game pass memberships, including Xbox Gold.
2. Credit card rewards portals
Cashing in credit card rewards can be a great way to pay for holiday gifts without blowing your budget. Your issuer's rewards portal also happens to be a handy place to pick up gift cards, sometimes with a nice discount, to boot.
Sure, in most cases gift cards aren't going to offer the best per-point value on your rewards points. (You'll want to transfer to a travel partner for that in most cases.) That being said, if you have an excess of points, the holidays tend to see the best deals on gift cards.
The specific offerings -- and discounts -- you'll see will vary a lot both by the issuer and the time of year. Each rewards program has its own retail partners that it will highlight.
3. The specific retailer
If you're looking for a gift card to a specific retailer, you may actually find the best deal from the retailer themselves. Many companies will offer discounts and bonuses on their gift cards during the holidays. For example, you might find a deal to get an extra $20 bonus card when you spend $100 on gift cards.
The best place to spot these deals tends to be the retailer's online shopping cart. You don't even need to check out; you'll often see a banner ad somewhere on the cart page (very loudly) announcing the deal.
4. Cash back apps
A lot of your favorite cash back apps not only give you cash back or rewards for the regular shopping you do -- they also offer discounts or bonus rewards on gift card purchases, too. For example, popular cash back app Rakuten has an entire section dedicated to discounted gift cards from hundreds of retailers.
How the discount works will vary by app and retailer. Some may offer you a discounted purchase price, while others may involve getting cash back on your purchase.
5. Reseller marketplaces
Although gift cards can make a great gift for folks who are otherwise hard to shop for, even a gift card can be a miss if you buy it for somewhere the recipient doesn't shop. Someone who isn't near a Cheesecake Factory, for instance, might not want a gift card they have to travel to use.
But that person's loss could be your gain. Many folks like to put their hard-to-use gift card cards for sale on online marketplaces like eBay -- usually at a nice discount to the face value.
Keep in mind that there are certain risks involved in buying second-hand gift cards from some random person on the internet. For one thing, you won't know 100% that the gift card is genuine and has the advertised balance. eBay and other online marketplaces have certain buyer protections in place, but it can get murky with stuff like gift cards.
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