Maximizing Target Circle Offers
Target is a somewhat overlooked store when it comes to miles and points lovers. Most people know about grocery stores, office stores, gas stations and the like, but what about Target? You may be leaving a lot of value on the table leaving this tool out of your toolbelt. That is where maximizing Target circle offers comes into play. I’ll go over why I love this Target program, and how to best take advantage of these semi regular offers. Update 3/27/26: Last chance to rack up this offer if targeted. We were able to lock in our $50 discount a few days ago.
What Are Target Circle Bonus Offers
Target Circle offers are deals that will show up in your Target app / account from time to time. You may even have it pop up on the screen when performing self checkout in store. I am not talking about getting a $15 Target gift card if you buy a lot of Kleenex, or any of those standard deals. I am not even talking about getting Target Circle 360 for free, although it plays in the same area at least. No, I am talking about spending offers that are locked to your Target Circle account. You can check your account for Target Circle bonus offers any time at THIS LINK.
The Different Kind Of Target Circle Offers
Before we can get into maximizing Target Circle offers we need to discuss the difference between the two types of offers you will see.
Target Circle Awards
The most prevalent one is where you earn Target Circle Rewards, or Target store credit, after spending so much money 1 or more times.
Up Front Discount
The other kind that comes around less frequently is where you get a discount off of your purchase. This comes at the time off checkout, and is not offered up in Target Circle Rewards. This is the lesser of the two offers.
Why It Matters
You may be wondering why an automatic discount is worse than store credit essentially. It is because of what triggers one offer versus the other. The Target Circle Rewards offers can be triggered by buying 3rd party gift cards in store (not Target or Visa gift cards). While Target doesn’t have as
Target Circle Card Amps Things Up
If you really want to start maximizing Target Circle offers then the Target Circle card (previously RedCard) plays a huge role. Don’t worry, you don’t need to blow up your Chase 5/24 count – the debit Target Circle card works just as well.
You normally get 5% taken off automatically when using a Target Circle card. This is a bit different from what we are used to, where the rewards hit the account later. The good news is that the 5% discount is not calculated when they are tracking these offers.
For example, let’s say your offer requires $100 in spend. If you use your Target Circle card for the purchase then it will settle for $95. The program will count the $100 total before the payment discount towards the Target Circle Rewards bonus offer though. That means whatever the deal is you see below, it could be 5% better!
Recent Offer Details
Let’s get into the latest offers then, shall we. I’ll share my most recent offer(s) directly below. I’ll also share a historical list of previous offers lower below.
- Shop 4 times on qualifying purchases of $120 or more to earn $50 in Target Circle Rewards
It looks like they keep increasing my spend requirement each go around over here. Asking me to drop $480 at Target is no small feat, but getting $50 is a nice reward though. That is a 9.4% discount on some third party gift cards ($50 off ($480 + $50 in spend)). If I put the charge on my Target Circle card the discount rises to 14% ($50 + ($480 * 0.95 Circle Card discount) off ($480 + $50 in spend)).
Historical Offers
Here are some offers we have seen / had in the past.
- $20 reward when making 3 X $70 purchases
- $20 reward when making 3 X $60 purchases
- $15 reward when making 3 x $50 purchases
- $15 reward when spending $140
- $15 reward when spending $100
- $15 reward when spending $70
- $20 reward when spending $180
- $20 reward when spending $150
- $10 reward when spending $90
- $15 reward when spending $30
- $20 reward when spending $160
How To Maximize Target Circle Bonus Offers
Hopefully this post gives you a better understanding on how to maximize these Target Circle bonus offers. I get excited every single time a new one hits my account. It is a great to lock in a substantial discount at tons of places you probably already frequent anyway. Just realize that this is kind of like giving those stores / restaurants an interest free loan if you don’t use them right away. Make sure you know you can use them fairly quickly before diving in.
$10 reward when spending $90
Meh…
My offer is $10 off $60, with gift cards specifically excluded.
I bought a $50 Delta and $25 Chipotle gift card for mine and the $10 was in my target circle app once they shipped. Didn’t read the terms though (assume they are the same)