Discounted restaurant gift cards/certificates?

[ellyn2000]

I'm looking for a site where one can purchase chain restaurant gift cards/certificates at a discount. When I was a member of Priceline Savings Club there was a $5 discount on a $25 card. I can't find anything like that now. Anyone have any ideas? I'm looking for things like Rainforest Cafe, Planet Hollywood, Applebees, etc.....Thanks in advance.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

There is a rewards program called BabyMint.com that offers rebates in the range of 1%-10% for giftcard purchases. You need to earn $25 in rebates before you can cash out. They can either deposit you refund in a 529 account of your choice or send you a check for the amount. Redemptions are done on a monthly basis.

I cannot vouch for how good the program is at crediting or sending the checks. I asked about it on the Rewards Board because I want to buy several giftcards for the holidays and this looked like a way to get something back. I still haven't joined or ordered my GCs yet. Maybe someone here on the Budget Board has some input on this program?

Another program is ClubMom.com. You can order GCs thru them and you are credited "points" based upon your purchases. Credits range from 3/$ to 15pts./$. ClubMom also charges a S&H fee to send the GCs. You can trade your points in for GCs. 2,000 pts = a $10 GC.

There are a few other programs that charge a monthly membership fee to join and they might give a better rebate but there have been mixed reviews of those places.

 

[kelleigh1]

If you purchase the Entertainment book, you can then purchase gift cards online at a 10% savings, which really means $50 gift cards for $45. They don't offer any other denomination.

www.entertainment.com

And the book has some great coupons in it too. I think it was well worth the $30 price because I've already saved when booking our rental car for Disney.

 

[javaj]

I'm looking for a site where one can purchase chain restaurant gift cards/certificates at a discount. When I was a member of Priceline Savings Club there was a $5 discount on a $25 card. I can't find anything like that now. Anyone have any ideas? I'm looking for things like Rainforest Cafe, Planet Hollywood, Applebees, etc.....Thanks in advance.

Check out this thread on fatwallet, it is pretty long, but it is the most updated info I know of for 20% off gift cards:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?start=0&catid=24&threadid=468926

I use Passport to Fun (fees are now very high, but I was grandfathered in with a low monthly fee) and Everyday Values Gold (I'm pretty sure there's still a sign up for Everyday privileges gold which is a similar program -- you'll have to check that fatwallet thread).

Edited to add: I think this is the sign-up page for Everday Priv Gold:

https://www.everydayprivilegesgold.com/global/scripts/secure/Promo.asp?

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

From Everyday Privileges Gold's website:

Try the service with the first month, for $1. Your membership will be extended automatically for an additional eleven months at the $139.99 annual membership fee, and automatically renewed annually at the then-current fee, billed to the credit card you provide unless you call toll free during your 1 month trial to cancel. You can call any time to cancel and get the unused portion of your then-current annual fee returned.

!!!!
That's $12.73 per month just to be a member and it gets billed all at once! You would have to order 25 cards just to break even!

I suggest that anyone interested in this program should Google the name "Triligiant Corporation" before they give up any CC info. There are a lot of negative things said about them and several states have filed lawsuits against them.

Buyer beware.

 

[javaj]

From Everyday Privileges Gold's website:

!!!!
That's $12.73 per month just to be a member and it gets billed all at once! You would have to order 25 cards just to break even!

I suggest that anyone interested in this program should Google the name "Triligiant Corporation" before they give up any CC info. There are a lot of negative things said about them and several states have filed lawsuits against them.

Buyer beware.

The program really works for me, although I wouldn't say it is for everyone. I've had it for almost a year.

I didn't realize they switched to a yearly fee -- I'm paying 10.99 per month, but I definitely order more than 2 gift cards per month. So I'm more than breaking even And I get 4 $10 gas rebates a year -- not much, I know, but that's just an extra $40 per year for me. If they make me renew at the yearly rate, I'd probably still do it.

I've never had a problem with them, we use a lot of gift cards (Target, Dillard's, Safeway, Amazon, Home Depot, etc) so we really benefit from it. I'm sure this program isn't for everyone, so read the TOS carefully if you're thinking about it!

 

[LynnTH]

I too signed up for a couple programs (thanks to the links from Fat wallet) I have been with these programs in the past and if you use the giftcards on a regular basis it can be a good deal. I signed up for At Home Rewards, which is $9.95 a month (with one month free) and they then offered me the Today's Escapes Progam, which is also $9.95 a month (with one month free). I use them mostly for Target, Kohls, Gas Cards, Home Depot, Sears, Circuit City, Red Lobster, Olive Garden. I just purchased $600 worth of gift cards to use for Christmas Shopping at a cost of $480 to me I think that this is a great deal and then I will wait for some great sales to use them on and save even more. Most programs you can only get 4 of each vendor per month - max 20 per vendor per year. So, I plan on staying in for a while at least until after the holidays. I'm going to shop at these stores all the time anyway and it is nice to get 20% off right at the start. You do have to read the fine print on all these programs and myself I would only join ones that have a monthly fee and not a yearly one.

 

[ellyn2000]

Thanks so much for the help. I'm going to try the link to fatwallet and then go from there.

 

[ncbyrne]

For anyone who has the Entertainment book. The restaurants w/10% off are Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, and Smokey Bones. $1 s/h