Originally Posted by
radonc1
May I ask a question about the dynamics here??
I have been following this thread for a long time but since I cannot participate due to geography, I have not considered how the cards that are advertised are being utilized, which is my question.
People are buying the selected GCs (for example this week it is Apple cards) for the boost in rewards points that one gets. But what do you do with the cards? I can understand that if they are VGCs, then the usual MSing parameters apply, but what about Apple or Happy cards. Are they used organically??
Or is there some secret sauce that I am missing.??
Certain Happy Cards can be used to purchase other gift cards that aren’t usually available for a discount - or at least not much of one. Bed, Bath &Beyond and Lowe’s sell GCs. 3 or 4 years back after a strong Happy Card promo at Giant (maybe 8x) I converted $1200 or so to Disney GCs prior to a Disney trip.
The cards that can be converted at Lowe’s are now difficult if not impossible to find - Happy Holidays with a physical card. They’ve mostly switched to online redemption for an e-gift card which can’t then be used to purchase a different GC. This had already happened sometime prior with whichever Happy card could be used in the same way at Home Depot.
I value a Giant point at 1.6 or 1.7c when actually used for gas as opposed to groceries since my fill-up (limited to 20 gallons) is usually 16 or 17 gal. Add that to my 3x TYP in my usual card of choice and at an 8x Happy promo we’re close to an 18% or greater discount on Disney cards (not taking into account opportunity cost of using a different card with travel bonus while actually at Disney). I was very satisfied with that.
i’ve done the same with some other cards that aren’t normally available at Staples or OD for a chase ink 5X.
So anyways, a long way of saying that Happy Cards are sometimes worth the effort.