I don't know which card that was used to buy the $240 gift card, but it seems like the time and cost involved to avoid to write a check negated any of the points earned, especially if there were activation costs for the VGC, cost for the money order, time lost going to get a MO, cost of any fuel used to transport to those places. I can't see how this process saved any time or money - from a glance it looks like there was a net loss here. I understand using something like Plastiq to earn points on purchases that would normally not earn them - but it takes a few seconds online and if you get enough value from the points earned, will offset the fees. In this case, I don't possibly see how there could be a net gain.