Gap Amex Offer – Maximize with Gift Cards or by Purchasing Clothes
Last night while everyone was sleeping (except for me because I have a baby), American Express released a new offer for Gap stores that has a decent overall value. Lets take a look at the deal, the terms and how to maximize.
The Offer
Get a one-time $25 statement credit by using your connected Card to make a single purchase of $75 or more in-store only at Gap by 9/7/15.
How to Enroll
You can enroll in the offer on the American Express website or by tweeting #AmexGap from your linked Twitter account. All of my accounts automatically tweeted the offer due to the automated system I setup a couple of weeks ago.
Key Terms
- Valid in-store only.
- Not valid on online purchases.
- Not valid at outlet locations.
- Valid for purchases only at Gap, Gap Baby and Gap Kids.
- Excludes Old Navy, Banana Republic, Piperlime, Athleta and Intermix. Valid at any participating location in the US and US Territories.
You can find the full terms here.
Maximize with Gift Cards
The first way you could maximize this offer is to purchase gift cards. A $75 gift card would only cost $50, but could net up to 80% or $60. Unfortunately there has been a lot of downward pressure on Gap gift cards, so I would expect that the few resellers who are buying them at 80% will be lowering their rates soon. Even at a purchase value of 70%, you would still make a small amount of money.
Maximize with Gap Cash
Another way to possibly do well with this deal is to actually purchase clothes. Through 9/7 Gap is offering $25 in “Gap Cash” (HT: Deals We Like for the Gap Cash info) for every $50 spent. The Gap Cash can be used on a future purchase between 9/16-9/21. Note that unfortunately gift cards seem to be excluded.
If you have two synced cards, you could spend $150 total (hopefully they will allow split tender) and receive $75 back in Gap Cash. The $75 in Gap Cash would need to be used on a purchase of $150 or more between 9/16-9/21. Since the Amex Offer expires before you can use the Gap Cash, you could purchase a $75 gift card during the Amex Offer and then use it during the Gap Cash dates. Here is the math:
- Cost of 1st purchase: $150
- Gap Cash Earned: $75
- Cost of 2nd purchase: $150 ($75 in Gap Cash + $75 on Amex Card)
- Total merchandise purchased: $300
- Total out of pocket $150 ($225-$75 in credits.)
So you charge $225 to your Amex credit cards and end up with $300 in merchandise. Of course, Amex will pay you back $75 as well, so your final cost is $150 for $300 in merchandise. You can’t combine Gap Cash with other “coupons”, so your actual savings might not be as high.
Conclusion
If you are planning to purchase gift cards to resell, keep in mind that you must actually go into a store and purchase them which could be tedious. I would also buy the cards sooner rather than later, considering the recent downward momentum on purchase rates of these cards. Overall I think this deal will work out well for a lot of people.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the old king of travel rewards cards. Right now
bonus_miles_full
Learn more about this card and its features!
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
I got the $25/50 Gap coupon from Staples today when I was there using their 110% price match on a printer. Then I went to the Gap and used my Amex offer to buy a $75 GC. After lots of looking two of my kids found some clothing totaling over $50. I have to say their clothes are expensive and since this is back to school season I think their sales are pathetic. I’m a Kohl’s (stack multiple promos) shopper normally. Anyway, I used the $25/50 coupon and paid with my GC. I thought the final total was high (but for those who shop with kids you will understand it’s distracting). Some of what I bought was on sale and when it was rung up it originally rang at the sale price, but when the cashier took off the Staples Gap $25/50 the sale items revert to their normal presale prices and the $25 discount is spread over all the items. This can actually result in your paying MORE for a sale item with the coupon than you would have without it. I think my $25 discount from the coupon ended up being about an $11 discount. I returned it all and it was credited back to my GC. I’ll save the gift card for an occasional Old Navy trip. Also, the Staples Gap coupon can be used online. It says enter code STAPLES at checkout. Valid 8/11/15-8/25/15. I think the coupon is very misleading because the only thing it says is “certain restrictions and exclusions apply…………See http://www.staples.com/GapXStaples for details and exclusions.”
Is not GapGash kind of marketing scum? GapCash does not work like Kohl’s Cash. U cannot use it unless u spend some actual $$ along?
Does GAP sell 3rd party giftcards? Anyone know?
No
Thanks for sharing. How to get a $25 off a $50 GAP at Staples?
Do we have to have a hard copy of the coupon to be able to get that discount, or just tell the cashier to use the code STAPLES?
Please advise and thank you in advance!
$75 on Amex Card <- why? Couldn't you charge the $75 to any credit card? Also, why purchase a giftcard if it doesn't meet the GAP Cash requirement?
You could purchase $150 worth of clothes and spread those charges to 2 Amex cards. Each card would then earn a $25 credit and you would get $75 in Gap Cash. The $75 in Gap Cash only works on purchases of $150 or more, meaning you would spend the Gap Cash plus another $75. You might as well use a 3rd Amex card to purchase a gift card so you get the 3rd $25 credit since the Amex deal will be done by the time you can use the Gap Cash.
I know the entire thing is incredibly complicated. Their rules kind of stink. Either way, you do end up spending $150 out of pocket for $300 in merchandise.
Thanks for the clarification!!
I was just at Staples and received a coupon for $25 off a $50 purchase at Gap. Coupon Code: STAPLES
(Valid 8/11/2015 – 8/25/2015)
Another possibly stackable 25 off 50 promotion from gap, the dates won’t stack with the GapCash though.
http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/marketing/gap/index.html
The AMEX Offer expires on 9/7. The GapCash can only be used between 9/16-9/21.
Cost of 1st purchase: $150
Gap Cash Earned: $75
Amex Credits Earned: $50 (two $25 credits)
Cost of 2nd purchase (9/16-9/21): $150 ($75 in Gap Cash + $75 on Amex Card)
Amex Credits Earned: $0 (offer expired)
Total merchandise purchased: $300
Total out of pocket $175
Thanks for catching that. You could purchase a gift card during the Amex Offer and then use that along with the Gap Cash and still get the 50% off, but I’ll make sure to update the post.
Good idea. Thanks!