Target Gift Card Offer Analyzed
Today is the big day! As I covered previously, Target is offering 10% off gift cards today. So what is the best way to maximize this generous promotion? Let’s take a look.
The Offer
One for them, one for you. 10% off Target gift cards today only.
Buy Target Gift Cards
Key Terms
- Limit 1 transaction per guest and max discount of $30.
- Gift card redeemable starting 12/05/16 at 10am CT.
- Discount does not apply to TargetTM Visa®, Mastercard®, or American Express® gift cards or other retailer prepaid cards.
- Quantities limited; no rainchecks.
- Terms and conditions apply to gift cards.
15% Off
To start, this sale basically gives you 15% off everything at Target online. You get the 10% discount on gift cards and then you can use a Target REDcard for an additional 5% off. Target has their Credit REDcard, but if you want to avoid a hard credit inquiry you can also get a Debit REDcard which is tied to your bank account. I use a Debit REDcard and it works well. I don’t recommend getting an Amex REDcard (the old REDbird) since there doesn’t seem to be a way to load these in-store any longer.
When shopping in-store you will need to pay the entire balance of your bill with the REDcard in order to get the 5% discount. Online it works a bit different. As long as your shiny REDcard is linked to your online account then you will get the 5% discount and you can pay with gift cards.
Buying the Cards
As you can see from the terms there is a limit of $300 in discounted gift cards per guest. This is not evenly enforced and could vary by store. Additionally some people have been able to get around this by going to multiple stores. If you are buying online, I wouldn’t try to skirt the limit by creating multiple accounts. That could get you banned.
Using Gift Cards
The nice thing about Target is they love apps. They have their Cartwheel app that gives you discounts in-store and they also have their regular Target app as well. Once you get your gift cards you can load them to your account online and they will be there when you checkout. You can also login to your account on your Target app to use the cards in-store. There is no reason to carry around multiple gift cards if you don’t want to.
Reselling
If you have a bulk relationship with a gift card reseller, see if they will purchase Target gift cards from you. I know that companies I work with are offering 91%+ for these cards which amounts to a tiny profit. I’ll be keeping my cards for personal use, but this could be a nice way to generate spend.
Conclusion
This is a great one day per year deal and one that I will do my best to maximize. Target is one of my favorite stores and I welcome the opportunity to save 15% off everything online, even if I am limited by the amount of gift cards I can buy.
Are you purchasing Target gift cards at 10% off today? Share your experiences in the comments!
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From the Target website:
5% discount does not apply to the following:
Prescriptions, Target Clinic® services and Target Optical® eye exams
Target gift cards and prepaid cards
Previous purchases
Target credit account payments, Target Debit Card cash back and cash advances on the Target Visa Credit Card
Target Commercial Interiors® purchases
Gift wrap and shipping and handling charges on Target.com purchases
Where otherwise prohibited by law
edit: formatting
Correct. The REDcard doesn’t apply towards buying Target gift cards. You buy them at 10% off and use your favorite rewards earning credit card. You then redeem the GCs online and get an additional 5% off if the REDcard is linked to your account.
Now I see your point! Didn’t realize the other 5% comes from using the GC online during checkout!
Thanks a lot for your explanation!
How long does it take to set up the Red debit card?
Thanks.
What’s your plan to get around the $30 limit?
Multiple transactions tend to work. I saw people being allowed to buy cards in 2 or 3 transactions earlier today.
The discount is not cumulative. You only get 5 percent off on the portion you pay for with red card. And you don’t get the red card discount when you buy target gift cards (you do when you buy other gift cards) so I would advise not using a target red card to buy target gift cards.
I never said to purchase the Target gift cards with a REDcard. If you are shopping online you DO NOT need to pay with the REDcard in order to get the 5% discount if you use gift cards. All you need is the REDcard linked to your online account.
You state: “To start, this sale basically gives you 15% off everything at Target online”.
Well, not really. This sale does not give you 15%, it only gives 10%. The 5% was always available. The sale only facilitates 15% (or to be exact only 14.5%). So I understand Noelle saying what he did.
We don’t need to argue over wording. If that sentence was the only thing written in this post then you might have a point, but it was explained within the context of 5% REDcard plus 10% from these cards. This sale does give you 15% off whereas without it you get 5%. I appreciate your comments and you do have a point with the 14.5%. Thanks!
I purchased 300 target gc last year, only used on bf, I rather not prepaid my $$$ for 10% discount this year