BJs appear to have changed their gift card purchase policy again

[Rob1872]

Now that we are in the 4th quarter and Discover has their 5% cash back on warehouse club purchases, I went to go buy Disney gift cards from BJs. However, the website would not let me purchase them without a membership.

(A few years ago I was buying 15 $100 gift cards at a time. Last year, they had a limit of 3 gift cards per purchase, so I was doing 3 $100 and 3 packs of three $50 gift cards, and then a month later doing the same thing to get $1500 worth. For all of those transactions, I never had to be a member to purchase the gift cards online.)

I ended up purchasing an online only membership for $10, so I still only paid $722 (+ $10 membership = $732) for $750 face value, and next month I'll do it again; plus I'll get $36 back in Discover cashback bonus each time. So it is still a good deal, just a few more steps needed. (Last year was extra special because Discover was doubling the cashback bonuses for the first 12 months of having the card.)

 

[lklgoodman]

Thanks for the info. We don't have BJ stores where we live so we aren't members, but I had bought Disney cards from them online. We have Meijer stores where I live and can get good deals on gift cards from them, so guess I'll just get them from Meijers.

 

[g_ppetto]

We have BJ's and Sams Club in our area. Sams Club had the better deal - $142.98 for a $150.00 pack of three $50 cards. BJ's was more expensive - $146.99 for the same pack. I haven't looked online, yet.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

It has been this way for several months now, sadly. I use Sam's usually any way but they've been out for about a week now... trip is in a month!

 

[g_ppetto]

It has been this way for several months now, sadly. I use Sam's usually any way but they've been out for about a week now... trip is in a month!

We had the same problem where the local Sams did not have the cards, even told me they were discontinued. We're fortunate there are multiple Sams in the area. Other stores had the cards and eventually the local store was re-stocked.

BTW - I checked online and Sams has a $500 digital card for $484.98.

Good Luck!

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

We had the same problem where the local Sams did not have the cards, even told me they were discontinued. We're fortunate there are multiple Sams in the area. Other stores had the cards and eventually the local store was re-stocked.

BTW - I checked online and Sams has a $500 digital card for $484.98.

Good Luck!

Thank you! I'm waiting specifically for the $150 cards to come back in stock online where the discount is the best. I have about $270 worth of Walmart gift cards to buy them with so fingers crossed they come back soon. I still have about 3 weeks until I absolutely have to order. Only need that last $300 for our food while at WDW (everything else is paid off).

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Thanks for the info. We don't have BJ stores where we live so we aren't members, but I had bought Disney cards from them online. We have Meijer stores where I live and can get good deals on gift cards from them, so guess I'll just get them from Meijers.

What discount does Meijer usually have?

 

[crazylady]

What discount does Meijer usually have?

I think mine were 10% off but that seems like alot. You pay full price and get the 10% back as a coupon basically to use at anoetan time. So it does require two trips to the store.

 

[lklgoodman]

What discount does Meijer usually have?

It's part of mperks rewards. It's not an ongoing reward, but every few months they have a deal in which you get $5 mperks for every $50 in gift card that you buy. I know you can't buy Amazon or Meijer gift cards, but you can buy Disney plus a lot of different stores/restaurants. Limit of $500 of gift cards can be bought, so I usually buy a Disney one for $500, use it to pay for our cruise and then use the $50 in mperks to pay for my grocery bill. I do almost all of my grocery shopping at Meijer's so it helps. They just had the gift card deal a couple of weeks ago, they should have it a few more times before Christmas.

 

[lklgoodman]

I think mine were 10% off but that seems like alot. You pay full price and get the 10% back as a coupon basically to use at anoetan time. So it does require two trips to the store.

Doesn't have to require 2 trips to the store. I buy my Disney gift card and then go do my grocery shopping. I usually have the $50 reward in my account by the time I get done with my shopping. They say it will take 2 hours to get the reward, but I've found that it doesn't. I do go somewhat early in the morning when the store isn't busy, so I usually don't have much of a wait to pay for my stuff. I can see if you go at a busy time, it would be a pain to buy the gift cards and then go back to pay for groceries though.

 

[TrishaK]

I just checked the Sam's site, and also saw the $500 gift card option (no smaller values were available). It was disappointing because I'd get more of a discount by purchasing them at Target. I was hoping for more from Sam's!

And if you purchase from Sam's online by utilizing the Southwest Rapid Rewards system, you earn additional points in your RR account. I'll have to just keep checking and see if there's any changes.