Earn $5 for Keeping Track of Your Gift Cards With Gyft
While I might strive for the minimalist lifestyle, it’s something I will probably never achieve because I like my things too much. Even my wallet is full, what with gift cards, credit cards and rewards cards … not enough cash, though!
But I just learned how to minimize what’s in my wallet — and score a free $5 gift card at the same time. Instead of carrying all your gift cards around in your overstuffed wallet, store them online using a site called Gyft (yes, it’s spelled correctly). Want to follow my lead?
How Gyft Works
Having all of your gift cards in one place (not your wallet) makes it easy to check your balances and keep track of your cards. If you’re shopping online on your computer or tablet, simply open your Gyft account to check whether you have any gift cards to use.
You’ll be able to access your gift cards on the go using Gyft’s app for iOS and Android — eliminating the frustration of forgetting a gift card when you go shopping, losing track of a gift card (and the hard-earned cash it represents), or simply having to carry around an entire stash of gift cards. It’s a great way to keep your discounted gift cards in one place if you’re trying to stock up for a big purchase.
If you decide you won’t actually use one of your gift cards, it’s no problem — you can easily give it to a friend.
Buy New Gift Cards Through Gyft
Want to pick up a gift card for a friend — or maybe for yourself, perhaps as a way to meet credit card spending minimums?
When you buy gift cards through Gyft, you’ll earn points toward future purchases. If you pay with Bitcoin, you’ll earn three points per dollar you spend, or two points per dollar with Paypal, and one point with all other payment methods.
For every 100 points you earn, you receive $1 a future purchase. It’s not a lot, but it’s nice to get a reward for a purchase you’d make anyway — especially if you also make that purchase using a credit card that offers cash back or travel rewards.
Gyft offers gift cards from over 200 well-known retailers and restaurants such as Amazon, Best Buy, Gap, Starbucks, Target, Home Depot and the Cheesecake Factory.
Even better: When you sign up for Gyft, they’ll give you $5!
How to Get Your Free $5 Gift Card from Gyft
Right now, Gyft is giving new members a free $5 gift card, one per household. All you have to do is sign up and purchase a gift card valued at $15 or more. It was super simple — here’s how I got my free $5 gift card.
Go to Gyft.com, click the “sign up free,” button and choose Facebook, Google or email and you’re done! After I signed up, I immediately received a promo code valid for $5 credit toward any card in their store. The promo code is non-transferable and expires in 24 hours, so don’t forget about it and miss out.
I went to straight to the Gyft gift card store. I planned to buy a Starbucks gift card, but unfortunately when I looked through the store, I had to choose between gift cards for $10 (too low to qualify for the freebie) or $25 (more than I wanted to spend). I thought about purchasing the $25 card, but opted against it because I wanted to get the best value. Yes, getting a $25 Starbucks gift card for $20 is a great deal (that’s 20% off), but getting a $15 card for $10 is an awesome deal (33% off).
I became suspicious that Gyft only offered $10 or $25 cards, thus forcing everyone to buy something more expensive to redeem their $5 credits. I’m glad to say that wasn’t the case, and I saw lots of $15 cards for other retailers. I suspect that with the popularity of this promotion, the site ran out of some of the most popular $15 gift cards and they’ll be available again when the stock is replenished.
I opted for a $15 Barnes & Noble gift card, applied my $5 promo code, paid $10 (Gyft accepts Paypal, credit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay and Bitcoin) and boom, I had a $15 gift card, ready to use online or in stores.
Using My Gyft Gift Card
I downloaded the Gyft app (available on iTunes or Google Play) and added my Barnes & Noble gift card to my “Gyft wallet.”
When I’m ready to go shopping, all I have to do open the app and click on the stored gift card. A virtual card with a UPC will pop up, and the cashier will scan the UPC for payment. That’s all there is to it.
Now I’m just waiting for a discount coupon to come my way so I can combine it with my discounted Gyft card to maximize the savings. In the meantime, I’m breathing a sigh of relief that my wallet is no longer bursting at the seams.
Your Turn: Have you used Gyft? What do you think about keeping your gift cards online instead of in your wallet?
Affiliate Link Disclosure: We have a serious Taco Bell addiction around here. The affiliate links in this post help us order off the dollar menu. Thanks for your support!
Kim is an only child (explains a lot), psychologist, former big fish in a little pond, happily married entrepreneur, who is a huge believer that living richly and being frugal is not an oxymoron. Join her soon to launch “different kind of” personal finance blog, MoneyUndertheCushions.com.
