Negative Cost Mastercard Gift Cards at Vons, Safeway & Other Brands: Details, Analysis & How to Scale

Negative Cost Visa Gift Cards

Vons, Safeway and other related brands that use the “just for U” rewards program are offering a digital coupon giving $15 off instantly with the purchase of $150 or more in Mastercard gift cards.

Key Terms

• Limit one (1) offer per Household.
• Club Card required.
• While supplies last.
• Expires 1/9/2016.

How to Load

To load the digital coupon to your account, simply log-in to “just for U” and navigate to the coupon section. The Visa gift card coupon can be found in the “Special Offers” category. Click to add it to your card and you are all set!

Analysis

These stores sell variable loads Mastercard gift cards issued by U.S. Bank. These cards do work to load Bluebird/Serve at Walmart, however the process isn’t straightforward. They work normally at the MoneyCenter kiosk, however you do need to perform an extra step when loading at a register. For more info on the loading process, see: Beginner’s guide to buying & liquidating Visa & Mastercard gift cards.

Math

In my opinion, the best use of this coupon is purchasing a $500 variable load Mastercard for $5.95. This would result in a $9.05 profit plus any credit card rewards.

• Cost: $505.95
• Instant savings: -$15
• New Cost: $490.95
• Profit: $9.05

This deal is very good for meeting minimum spend requirements or at least knocking out a portion of them. It is also fantastic if you have a card that earns bonus points in the grocery store category.

Scalability

While this coupon is limited to one use per account (or household as the terms say), don’t forget that every person can have their own account. I’m not sure if using your friend or family member’s phone number at checkout is a violation of the terms if they live in a different household, but if not then you can see if they’ll load the coupon if they aren’t going to use it. Again, check the program terms to avoid issues.

Conclusion

I really like deals like these which provide an instant discount since you can purchase, load and move on without having to wait for a rebate to come. For some with access to multiple loyalty accounts this could be a really great opportunity, while for others it still could be a nice way to pickup a chunk of spend at at a negative cost.

HT: Doctor of Credit

Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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