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What’s better than receiving a discount on something you were already going to buy?
What if there’s a way to receive discounts on nearly everything you purchase from your favorite stores, including high-ticket items, without spending a lot of time or energy?
There is, and that’s where discounted gift cards come into play.
Why Buy Discounted Gift Cards?
Although most people think gift cards are for birthdays or Christmas, you can use them to save money on everyday items at the stores you already shop at.
Let’s say you’re shopping for a few new pairs of jeans. The prices are usually the highest towards the end of the summer, but you can still save money by purchasing a discounted gift card to your favorite clothing store. For instance, if you buy a $40 gift card for $30, you’ve immediately saved 25% on your next purchase.
You can stack these discounts with in-store sales or online coupons to maximize your savings.
Discount Gift Card Sites Quick Comparison
When deciding where to buy discounted gift cards, make sure you compare the different sites. Prices and discounts can change at any time, and one site might be offering a better discount on the deal you want. Below are the current features for the top five discounted gift card sites.
| Raise | Gift Card Granny | CardCash | Gift Card Spread | |
| Sign up Bonus | $10 | None | None | None |
| Cash Back Offers | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Refer a Friend | $5 | $5 | $5 | None |
| Guarantee | 1 Year | 100% Full-Guarantee New Gift Cards | 100% Risk-Free 45 Day Money Back Guarantee | 60 Day Return Policy |
| Physical Locations | No | No | No | No |
| App | Android, iOS | Android, iOS | Android, iOS | None |
The terms and conditions are different for each website. Be sure to check things like the estimated time of arrival and where they ship. Some cards will ship to your address while others will be sent to your email, and some might even offer a sign-up or referral bonus.
1. Raise Marketplace
Raise is one of the largest discount gift card websites, with over 2 million buyers and sellers using the platform. Since 2013, card buyers have saved over $150 million.
The company also provides a different selling experience by allowing sellers to set their own discount percentages, keeping discounts competitive and affording gift card buyers a chance to grab steep markdowns. You will need to actively search the platform to find the best deals, but they’re not that difficult to find.
Raise also offers a 1-Year Money-Back Guarantee which issues a refund in the event that the card purchased is delivered as a different brand, isn’t received, doesn’t have the value promised, or is inactive. It covers the purchase price of the card but does not cover buyer’s remorse or cards purchased mistakenly.
Raise charges a 15% commission to sellers for every gift card sold on the platform. They also charge an additional $1 or 1% of the balance (whichever is greater) to the seller if the gift card sold is a physical gift card.
Related: Raise Review 2023
2. Gift Card Granny
You can buy and sell discounted physical and e-gift cards on this site. Gift Card Granny also acts as an aggregate site by collecting information from other sources and directing you to purchase there. You can also earn cash back when you buy a gift card through the portal.
Currently, you can’t redeem your earnings in the form of cash, but you can redeem them for e-gift cards to use online or print them to use in-store. Gift Card Granny’s cash-back program can still help you save money when you apply your cash-back rewards to something that you need or would’ve purchased anyway.
Gift cards are available for large national brands as well as local vendors.
Related: How to Get Free Gift Cards for Things You Already Do
3. CardCash
CardCash allows you to do three things: buy, trade, or sell gift cards. As a buyer, you can filter for gift cards to specific stores or brands by type, value, discount percentage, or price. Once you select and purchase your card, you’ll receive either an email with your card information or a physical gift card in the mail.
Trading your gift cards gives you the opportunity to exchange a card you’ll never use for one you will. For instance, if you have a gift card to Hooters but never plan to eat there, you may get the best deal by trading it for a card to a restaurant you will visit.
You won’t receive an equal amount when trading, but it’s likely your new gift card’s value will be higher than the cash offer you’ll receive. Selling gift cards to CardCash is easy, but you aren’t able to set your own price. Because CardCash sells gift cards to customers from their own stash, they set the rules when it comes to how much you can earn.
You can visit their website to get an instant cash offer for your gift card. There’s no obligation to accept the offer, and you don’t need to sign up for anything to learn how much your card is worth.
Related: The Top 10 Best Shopping Apps to Save Money on Everything
4. Gift Card Spread
Gift Card Spread only offers the option to buy and sell gift cards. They don’t offer trade-in deals, cash-back opportunities, or local kiosks to sift through. And there are no listing fees or commissions to worry about.
To sell your cards, you’ll submit a form with your card balance information and the price you’d like to receive for the card. Gift Card Spread will reply within 24 hours to let you know if your offer is accepted. If not, they will send a counter offer for you to consider.
If you’re buying a card, you can filter your search by price, card type, and category. You’ll see the discount on the search results. You can save an additional 3% for buying cards in bulk.
The company offers a 60-day return policy so that you can check your gift card balance upon receipt. If anything seems wrong with your purchase, return the card and they’ll refund your money. You’re fully covered as long as you haven’t used the card, it’s in the same condition as when you received it, and the information in your claim matches the original card.
5. Gameflip
If you’re a gamer looking to save money on gift cards, Gameflip has discounted cards available for PSN, Xbox Live, Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play. They also offer gift cards for companies like Netflix, Starbucks, Lyft, and Amazon, and you can even find ones for products like Microsoft Office.
To find what you’re looking for, you just have to search the website or mobile app. When you find one you’re interested in, click or tap on it to view the full listing. On the card listing, you’ll be able to review the seller’s rating, the type of delivery (auto or mail), the original amount of the card, and the percentage off. There’s even a method for asking the seller for additional information before you buy.
Cards are usually listed for 2% to 15% off the original amount and, thanks to the Gameflip Guarantee, your purchases are protected if something is wrong with the gift card you purchase.
Related: 14 Best Places to Sell Video Games
6. MyGiftCardsPlus
MyGiftCardsPlus works with Swagbucks to offer you both gift cards and the ability to earn Swagbuck points (SBs) for each card you purchase. When you buy a gift card through MyGiftCardsPlus, you’ll get SBs as a rebate which you can then use to redeem for additional free gift cards or PayPal cash.
You can choose from cards to over 100 retailers, restaurants, and other merchants, and the gift cards are delivered either electronically or via the mail.
Although the gift cards aren’t discounted — you’ll need to pay full price unless you find one on sale — if you’re a Swagbucks member, it is a great way to earn extra points.
Related: Is Swagbucks Worth It? Here’s Our Official Swagbucks Review.
7. Cardflip
According to the site, “CardFlip.com is a discounted secondary gift card exchange created for you to SELL gift cards for top market value and BUY discounted Gift Cards for most brands, restaurants, and merchants.” In other words, the company buys gift cards in bulk so they can sell them to customers at a discount, and they allow individual sellers to sell their gift cards on the site as well.
You’ll find gift cards upwards of 25% off to places like Dunkin’ Donuts, the Disney Store, and Michael’s. They’re delivered electronically or via the mail, and you can pay using a credit card, direct bank transfers, or Bitcoin.
Additional discounts are available when you pay with direct transfers or Bitcoin. Cardflip also offers a 45-day guarantee that covers the cost of the gift card, but it’s unclear under what circ*mstances you would get a refund.
8. eBay
In addition to clothes, purses, and baby items, you can also buy discounted gift cards on eBay. Once you search for the gift cards you’re looking for, you’ll get a results page that shows a combination of discounted gift cards, cards being sold at face value, and those available through eBay’s auction process.
Once you make a purchase, the cards can be sent electronically or by mail.
Although eBay does set strict rules about what gift cards can and can’t be sold, buyers need to watch out for scams when purchasing discounted gift cards from the site. And if there’s a problem with your purchase, it is covered by eBay’s Money-Back Guarantee.
Related: 22 eBay Alternatives to Buy and Sell Goods Online
9. Costco
Bulk item retailer Costco also sells gift cards at a discount. You’ll find offers for various restaurants, fitness centers, and even travel. However, unlike other gift card sellers, the discounts from Costco come from buying the cards in bulk rather than individually.
For example, let’s say you’re buying a gift card to The Coffee Beanery. On other sites, you might pay $15 for a $20 gift card, but if you buy through Costco, you’ll spend $79.99 to buy four $25 cards. It’s a significant discount, but it only makes sense if you’re buying them as gifts or if it’s somewhere you frequently visit.
The cards are only available as physical cards, but you can redeem them online or in-store. If you buy the cards online, you do not need a membership, but you’ll need to be a member to purchase them in-store.
Which Discount Gift Card Site Offers the Best Deals?
The following chart is a snapshot of some discounts available on various gift card sites. The prices are accurate as of this writing, but they change daily based on demand and availability, so make sure you double-check before you make your purchase to get the best deal possible.
Discount percentages
| Store/Brand | Raise | Gift Card Granny | CardCash | Gift Card Spread |
| Target | 3.1% | 2% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| Walmart | .4% | 2% | 2.5% | .05% |
| TJ Maxx | 6.6% | .5% | 6.46% | 5.5% |
| Netflix | Unavailable | 54% | Unavailable | 4% |
| Starbucks | 10.1% | Unavailable | 9.6% | 9% |
Be sure to note if cards specify online or in-store only use. If you know that you’ll be visiting your local store, then you need to purchase an in-store discounted card. If you plan to shop online, you can use an e-gift card.
Stacking Your Savings Can Lead to Deep Discounts
Don’t limit your savings by viewing gift cards as just gifts. You can save a fair amount of money when you purchase gift cards for yourself at a discount — as long as you use them.
Try not to purchase cards you don’t need. Likewise, make sure you keep track of them. You’ll spend more money than you save if you buy cards you lose or don’t want just because they’re offered at a discount. And don’t forget to use other money-saving options like Honey or Rakuten, credit card rewards points, or using free Amazon gift cards to buy other gift cards.
You can save money using any of these apps and websites as long as you stick to a budget, combine your discounts, and only purchase gift cards you’ll use.
