Get a Raise - Bro
Step 1: Sign up for Ebates
Savings: 1%
Ebates.com is a website that makes money by referring you to websites. When they refer you they get a commision paid to them. They pay you a part of that commision. The price of the good or service does not change so it is a win-win.
Step 2: Sign up for a cash back credit card
Savings: 2%
A simple cash back credit card is a nice thing to have. If you make a $100 purchase and the credit card pays 1% cash back you will get $1 back when you pay off your $100 credit card bill. I use the CITI double cash back credit card. You get 1% back when you make the purchase and 1% back when you pay your bill. There is no annual fee so as long as you pay the bill in full on time (a must) you are good to go.
Step 3: Buy gift cards on Raise
Savings: 0%-10%+
Raise is a website where people can buy and sell gift cards. Think of it as an ebay for gift cards. The nice thing is all of the gift cards purchased there are protected for 1 year. That means that as long as you use the gift card within one year you can be certain you will get the value promised or your money back. Delivery can take a few weeks for physical cards or only a few minutes for digital cards. I have bought digital restaurant cards while finishing my meal and had the gift card delivered to my phone before the check even came.
Some examples
King Soopers Grocery Gift card valued at $100
Raise savings: $1 (Price is $99 or 1% off)
Ebates rebate: $.99 (1% off of the $99 price)
Credit Card rebate: $1.98 (2% off of the $99 price)
Total savings: $3.97 or almost 4% off
Red Robin Restaurant gift card valued at $15
Raise savings: $1.22 (Price is $13.78 or 8.1% off)
Ebates rebate: $.14 (1% off of the $13.78 price)
Credit card rebate: $.28 (2% off of the $13.78 price)
Total savings: $1.64 or 10.9% off
Cabela’s gift card valued at $100
Raise savings: $14 (price is $86 or 14% off)
Ebates rebate: $.86 ( 1% off of the $86 price)
Credit card rebate: $1.72 ( 2% off of the $86 price)
Total savings: $16.58 or 16.5% off
As you can see the savings can really add up. Raise has gift cards for everything from electronics to restaurants. I have three small notes about the use of the Raise website. First, they run sales about once a month that give an additional 5% off a $200 purchase. This can be a good time to stock up on gift cards you use a lot such as grocery stores or Amazon.com. Second, a rare few gift cards have special terms and conditions. For example in the past I bought 6 HP.com gift cards in order to buy a new printer. Come to find out HP.com limits the number of gift cards you can use on a transaction to 5. Raise.com was great and allowed me to return a gift card for what I payed for it after contacting customer service. To find out about any special terms or conditions click on the “type” (Egift, Voucher, ect) in order to see the details. Last, gift cards can commonly be stacked with coupons and deals at the store. For example you could take your Cabela’s gift card and combine it with a 10% off coupon and end up getting an item that costs $111 regular price for $83.42. Happy bargain hunting.
Savings: 1%
Ebates.com is a website that makes money by referring you to websites. When they refer you they get a commision paid to them. They pay you a part of that commision. The price of the good or service does not change so it is a win-win.
Step 2: Sign up for a cash back credit card
Savings: 2%
A simple cash back credit card is a nice thing to have. If you make a $100 purchase and the credit card pays 1% cash back you will get $1 back when you pay off your $100 credit card bill. I use the CITI double cash back credit card. You get 1% back when you make the purchase and 1% back when you pay your bill. There is no annual fee so as long as you pay the bill in full on time (a must) you are good to go.
Step 3: Buy gift cards on Raise
Savings: 0%-10%+
Raise is a website where people can buy and sell gift cards. Think of it as an ebay for gift cards. The nice thing is all of the gift cards purchased there are protected for 1 year. That means that as long as you use the gift card within one year you can be certain you will get the value promised or your money back. Delivery can take a few weeks for physical cards or only a few minutes for digital cards. I have bought digital restaurant cards while finishing my meal and had the gift card delivered to my phone before the check even came.
Some examples
King Soopers Grocery Gift card valued at $100
Raise savings: $1 (Price is $99 or 1% off)
Ebates rebate: $.99 (1% off of the $99 price)
Credit Card rebate: $1.98 (2% off of the $99 price)
Total savings: $3.97 or almost 4% off
Red Robin Restaurant gift card valued at $15
Raise savings: $1.22 (Price is $13.78 or 8.1% off)
Ebates rebate: $.14 (1% off of the $13.78 price)
Credit card rebate: $.28 (2% off of the $13.78 price)
Total savings: $1.64 or 10.9% off
Cabela’s gift card valued at $100
Raise savings: $14 (price is $86 or 14% off)
Ebates rebate: $.86 ( 1% off of the $86 price)
Credit card rebate: $1.72 ( 2% off of the $86 price)
Total savings: $16.58 or 16.5% off
As you can see the savings can really add up. Raise has gift cards for everything from electronics to restaurants. I have three small notes about the use of the Raise website. First, they run sales about once a month that give an additional 5% off a $200 purchase. This can be a good time to stock up on gift cards you use a lot such as grocery stores or Amazon.com. Second, a rare few gift cards have special terms and conditions. For example in the past I bought 6 HP.com gift cards in order to buy a new printer. Come to find out HP.com limits the number of gift cards you can use on a transaction to 5. Raise.com was great and allowed me to return a gift card for what I payed for it after contacting customer service. To find out about any special terms or conditions click on the “type” (Egift, Voucher, ect) in order to see the details. Last, gift cards can commonly be stacked with coupons and deals at the store. For example you could take your Cabela’s gift card and combine it with a 10% off coupon and end up getting an item that costs $111 regular price for $83.42. Happy bargain hunting.
Note: I have received no compensation to write this article. I receive no compensation if you click any of the links. If in the future this changes I will update this message to reflect the change.
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