12% risk-free tax-free return in 3-months

[LOL!]

That's 48% annuallized. My spouse figured this out:

Kroger sells gift cards at a 10% discount for groceries. So buy a gift card for $1000, get $1100 of groceries. Use your cash-back credit card for the gift card purchase. Our cash-back card is 2% back on groceries. That's 12% right there. No taxes due, no risk.

My wife bought a gift card to test it out. All the normal discounts, coupons etc still apply when you buy groceries. Just pay with a gift card.

There is a limit of $1200 gift card purchase on this offer which is about 3 months worth of groceries for us.

 

[Khan]

That's 48% annuallized. My spouse figured this out:

Kroger sells gift cards at a 10% discount for groceries. So buy a gift card for $1000, get $1100 of groceries. Use your cash-back credit card for the gift card purchase. Our cash-back card is 2% back on groceries. That's 12% right there. No taxes due, no risk.

My wife bought a gift card to test it out. All the normal discounts, coupons etc still apply when you buy groceries. Just pay with a gift card.

There is a limit of $1200 gift card purchase on this offer which is about 3 months worth of groceries for us.

I bought $1200 (maximum allowed) of Kroger gift cards for the free $120; bought it with my Kroger credit card for max cash back and gas credits.

The deal ends 31 July, and you need a Kroger club card (or whatever it's called).

 

[samclem]

That's a good deal, I think I'll go for it. Still, I don't quite get the 42% annual yield. If you saved 10% on your groceries, that's just 10%. And, to be a stickler--if you'd used the same 2% cash back credit card to buy the groceries without buying a gift card, you'd have gotten 2% cash back--on a LARGER amount.

Now--can I use the gift card to buy a gift card? We'd be talking about some real savings soon!

 

[bentley]

uhm....After all the discounts are applied, are they still higher than walmart/sams?

just curious.

 

[Spanky]

I think the return is only 11.8%.

 

[OAG]

We did it back in May (one of the first to get the direct deposit). Told them we got the deposit and they asked, how much. We got the $1,200/$1,320 worth of cards. Still working off the first one (4 cards at $330 each). BTW they NEVER expire. We only shop mostly the weekly insert "deals" and the Kroger store is about a mile away (versus 8 miles for Wal-Mart). At the rate we are working it off they should last about a year - I call it "prepaid" food (10% return, as I figure it).

 

[Bestwifeever]

That's a great plan if you shop at Kroger--and besides weekly sales, they probably have house brands, don't they (no Krogers near us)? Too bad you can't freeze the food prices for a year, too!

 

[ziggy29]

This works if you only buy sale items at Kroger. At least here in parts of Texas where Kroger is around, they tend to be 10-15% higher than other competition (Wal Mart, HEB, et cetera), so I'd do most of my regular shopping at HEB and load up on sale items at Kroger with this gift card.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I did this with a local grocery store and the stimulus check. They dont offer discounts on their regular gift cards unfortunately.

A free 10% boost wasnt too hard to take. Too bad more vendors dont offer discounted gift cards...

 

[Frugality_of_Apathy]

I guess if you were going to spend $1100 there anyway it;s a as much of a deal as any other "rewards card" or the like. Maybe you'd also be interested in my plan to Double your money by buying international stamp vouchers in the netherlands for 50 cents on the dollar and then exchanging them here for 100% profit in a mere two months? It's Ponzi approved!

 

[TN_INVEST]

My local Kroger has very good prices.

 

[Khan]

We did it back in May (one of the first to get the direct deposit). Told them we got the deposit and they asked, how much. We got the $1,200/$1,320 worth of cards. Still working off the first one (4 cards at $330 each). BTW they NEVER expire. We only shop mostly the weekly insert "deals" and the Kroger store is about a mile away (versus 8 miles for Wal-Mart). At the rate we are working it off they should last about a year - I call it "prepaid" food (10% return, as I figure it).

I do most of my shopping at the local Kroger.

Also: the gift cards don't expire or charge fees.

 

[d]

Too bad more vendors dont offer discounted gift cards...

my grocer recently added a kiosk with many gift cards (including home depot) ... when purchased with a 5% rewards credit card, they become discounted gift cards.

 

[al_bundy]

$1200 in 3 months? i spend less at Whole Foods with my wife

 

[LOL!]

$1200 in 3 months? i spend less at Whole Foods with my wife

Good for you! We force most of our kids to eat at the neighbors' homes, but a few of them straggle in every now and then and want some food. I think the teenagers have figured out that they can eat 3 dinners daily if they hit different houses at the right times.

 

[Art G]

Is it Kroger or Tom Thumb or Albertson's that also gives you cash back from gas sales for using the card? I believe one of them also sells gift cards you can use at Lowe's or Home Depot, so you can get free gas by going to the grocery store before going to Lowe's to make your purchase.

 

[samclem]

Is it Kroger or Tom Thumb or Albertson's that also gives you cash back from gas sales for using the card?

Kroger does that. Unfortunately, they don't have a gas station near us. I don't know about the Lowes/HD cards, I'll have to look for that there.

 

[OAG]

my grocer recently added a kiosk with many gift cards (including home depot) ... when purchased with a 5% rewards credit card, they become discounted gift cards.

Our OTHER local grocery store (Giant-Eagle) sells lots of gift cards. If you buy one you get $0.20 off (for EACH $50 you buy in card(s)) of a gas fill up at their gas station (Get-Go) and if you use their little key fob store card you get another $0.03 off of a gallon. So what I try to do when I need gas is go there and buy a $50 card for some upcoming birthday or other event with my PFCU VISA Card and then head to the Gas Station (Rebates: $.03 + $.20 + (about $.13 rebate from PFCU)) total rebates on a tank of gas $0.38 per gallon - It also helps now as I just checked Gas Buddy and our gas prices have fallen to a low of $3.54 a gallon (86 Octane) here in Central Ohio.