Mid October Laboratory News

37

image_thumb4Its been just slightly over a month since I last posted a Frequent Miler Laboratory update (see “The Latest Laboratory News”), but there are a few interesting new nuggets I want to share…

 

 

 

Groupon

In August I relayed a report from a reader who succeeded in double dipping at Groupon.  He went through TopCashBack to buy a Groupon gift card, and then went through TopCashBack again to use the gift card.  Both times he received 5% cash back.  The Discover card portal, though, has been offering 15% cash back, so I asked readers if anyone was willing to try a double dip there.  A reader who goes by “Frequent Grouponer” gave it a shot… 

FrequentGrouponer received the full 15% cash back for purchasing a Groupon gift card, but no cash back when using a gift card.  He tried a variation in which a portion of a Groupon purchase was made with a gift card and the rest with a Discover card, but only the part made with the Discover card was given cash back. 

So, where does that leave us?  It looks to me that the trick is to buy Groupon gift cards via the Discover portal, and then use them through another portal like TopCashBack or the Ultimate Rewards Mall (which currently offers 5X to Sapphire cardholders).

Triple dip future: Occasionally Groupon has deals for discounted merchant gift cards.  Wouldn’t it be cool to triple dip: 1) Buy a Groupon gift card via the Discover Portal (15% back); 2) Redeem the Groupon gift card in order to buy a merchant gift card via the Ultimate Rewards Mall (5X, plus the Groupon discount); and 3) Go through the best available portal to the given merchant to use the merchant gift card…

Crate and Barrel

Jeanne at Heels First tried out the classic double dip through the Ultimate Rewards Mall.  She bought a Crate & Barrel gift card and then used it.  Success!  Jeanne receive points for both purchases!  Crate & Barrel currently offers 3X through the Ultimate Rewards Mall (which becomes 6X with this technique).  Or, you could try the double dip via uPromise, which currently offers 5% cash back for Crate & Barrel (which could then become 10%).

PetCo

IrishTiger bought a PetCo gift card at a discount via eBay, and then went through the Ultimate Rewards Mall to PetCo to use the gift card.  IrishTiger received 7X points for the purchase!  Note that PetCo is now down to 5X in the mall.  Check GiftCardGranny.com to find the best current discounts for PetCo (and other) gift cards.

RiteAid

We have two bits of news about RiteAid:

  • A reader named Rich successfully upgraded a RiteAid gift card, in store, by using it to buy a Shell gift card! 
  • I succeeded in buying a $500 Vanilla Visa card with a credit card (this should be of interest to people with credit cards that give bonus points at drug stores)

Walgreens

I’ve been busy at Walgreens:

  • I successfully upgraded Walgreens gift cards, in store, by using them to buy a $500 Vanilla Visa card. 
  • I succeeded in buying a $500 Vanilla Visa card with a credit card (no surprise given the bullet above!)
  • I tried to buy a Vanilla Reload card with a credit card at two different locations, but the register rejected the very idea of it in both cases.

 

Experiment Suggestions

Do you have any experiment ideas you’d like me (or other readers) to try?  Let us know!

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