[Update] Free money: Stacking deals on negative-cost Virtual Visa Gift Cards

There are three promo codes that can be used to get 5% off virtual Visa gift cards from Giftcards.com.

Update 8/15/22: Reader jeph36 pointed out this morning that the code ENDOFSUMMER now shows up on portals. Unfortunately, the American Airlines shopping portal bonus ended last night. For what it’s worth on future promos, I decided to take my chances last night and place the order through AAdvantage eShopping using code ENDOFSUMMER while the portal promo was still in effect and the order successfully tracked. It’s also worth noting that you can now get 3% or 3x back via Rakuten.

GiftCards.com is offering 5% off on virtual Visa Gift Cards with coupon code EOS5, ENDOFSUMMER or SUMMERVISA. That should stack with a Citi Merchant offer for 1.5% cash back and probably either 6% cash back via the Capital One Shopping app (free for anyone to use) or 3x American Airlines miles and the current AA shopping portal bonus to come out nicely ahead of the game. That said, it may be worth waiting a day or two to make sure that the portals eventually list the coupon codes in order to remove any doubt as to whether the code is eligible for portal rewards.

The Citi Merchant Offer for 1.5% back did not post for many people.

The Deal

• GiftCards.com is offering 5% off on virtual Visa Gift Cards (up to $75 off) with the following coupon codes:
  • EOS5
  • ENDOFSUMMER
  • SUMMERVISA
• These deals should stack with 1.5% back via Citi Merchant Offer for those targeted and may also stack with shopping portal rewards.

Key Terms

• Maximum discount is $75 (max purchase is therefore six $250 cards)
• Keep in mind that most portals limit you to earning rewards on up to $2K in purchases per month.

Quick Thoughts

Virtual Visa gift cards in denominations up to $250 are available at GiftCards.com. The codes can be used for up to 75 percent off. The total cost for virtual Visa gift cards will be lowered by $150.

You're almost forty dollars ahead of the game before you consider any stacking opportunities.

If you have the Citi Merchant offer, you should get $21.91 back. If you click through the Capital One Shopping app and sync that offer to your Citi card, you can get cash back on gift cards. You are almost $150 ahead before you consider the rewards you get with your credit card.

3 miles per dollar is what you can get through American Airlines AAdvantage e shopping. When you spend $600, there is a portal bonus that will give you 2000 bonus miles. It would increase your mileage payouts to more than 6,000 miles. The base miles will not count as Loyalty Points for the purpose of earning elite status.

There are more points to think about.

• Shopping portal terms typically dictate that using a coupon code not found on the portal will invalidate cash back. In the past, when GiftCards.com has run these discount codes, we have seen a code hit the portals a day or two after the sale launches. Sometimes the code is the same and sometimes it is different. I’m not sure whether orders made before the code is added have typically paid out. Personally, despite the great potential deal here, I’ll probably wait a day or two to place an order (which is risking that the deal is dead, so you may prefer to buy now). That said, I heard that ENDOFSUMMER may be the better bet to come out on portals.
• Capital One Shopping is free and open to anyone (no Capital One credit card is required). However, they only offer 6% back in the app, not on the desktop version of the Capital One Shopping app (the desktop version only offers 3%). If you have a Capital One credit card, you can alternatively log in to your Capital One account and on your card account page, there is a link to shopping offers and I see 6% back at GiftCards.com in that offers section on desktop (though I think you will need to pay with a Capital One card if you go that route). It’s easier to just get the app on your phone and use whatever credit card you want.
• GiftCards.com typically only pays out portal rewards on up to $2,000 in purchases per month.

I will probably wait a day or two to place an order, but I will definitely do it if the codes show up. I might do it for American Airlines miles because I am just short of a useful level of status, but Capital One Shopping would be a better choice.

There is a song called "miles to memories."