Raise - advice needed please!

[EvieBug]

Hi all -

Thanks to this board, we used Raise and the Target card strategy to purchase hundreds in Disney gift cards and save a bunch on our trip to WDW last year. Yay! Thank you!

What I liked about using Raise to buy Target gift cards was that I could immediately load the new card onto an existing card. I knew immediately that what I had invested in buying the Raise card was "safe" so to speak.

We are now in the process of buying a new home - and it occurred to me that maybe I could save some money by getting cards to places we will be visiting heavily while readying our current home and dressing our new home. Home Depot, Lowe's, Sears, maybe Best Buy, Bed Bath and Beyond, and other places like Kohls and so on.

What I don't know is if there is a way to load info onto an existing card, like we were able to do with Target. Does anyone know if we can do something similar and load the new card onto an old card to protect the investment? If not, is there another way to be sure we don't end up with an empty card? Are there any other strategies that would allow stacking or other ways to save more $? We could use all the help we can get since we will have to carry both mortgages for a bit (hopefully a very short bit!)

Thank you all so much - such a great wealth of knowledge here!

 

[kj2mom]

Sorry, can't help with the card loading but Raise does have a 100 day guarantee. I would just be sure to purchase the card(s) no more than 3 months before you think you will need them. I have also gotten into the habit of random checking card balances online if I have had them for awhile so I can contact Raise if something happens to the balance in that 100 day window.

 

[Lain]

It sounds like you're concerned about the discounted gift cards that you buy off Raise being drained.

As a practical matter, Target's mobile site no longer offers the option to combine gift cards. So you can't load Target gift card codes that you got from Raise onto an existing gift card anymore. I'm not aware of any other stores that ever allowed you to do this on your own. At least with Target, what some people have done is take the gift cards that they bought from Raise et al. to Target's guest services desk to buy and/or combine onto a new card. You might want to see if the other stores you mentioned would allow you to combine gift cards in person.

Like the previous poster also said, Raise has a 100-day guarantee that the gift card you bought contains the funds they advertised. So as long as you spend that gift card within 100-days of buying it, you are protected for the full value. However, if you transfer the funds off of the gift card that you bought from Raise and onto a different card, you are no longer protected by Raise's guarantee.

 

[EvieBug]

It sounds like you're concerned about the discounted gift cards that you buy off Raise being drained.

As a practical matter, Target's mobile site no longer offers the option to combine gift cards. So you can't load Target gift card codes that you got from Raise onto an existing gift card anymore. I'm not aware of any other stores that ever allowed you to do this on your own. At least with Target, what some people have done is take the gift cards that they bought from Raise et al. to Target's guest services desk to buy and/or combine onto a new card. You might want to see if the other stores you mentioned would allow you to combine gift cards in person.

Like the previous poster also said, Raise has a 100-day guarantee that the gift card you bought contains the funds they advertised. So as long as you spend that gift card within 100-days of buying it, you are protected for the full value. However, if you transfer the funds off of the gift card that you bought from Raise and onto a different card, you are no longer protected by Raise's guarantee.

Yes, that is my concern. I think I'm paranoid.

I did not know that Target no longer allows the combining - that is good information to know.

I guess I will just give it a few tries and see how it goes. Thanks!

 

[supersnoop]

At Target, Sears, and Best Buy, you can buy a gift card with a gift card. So, go in and use the mobile gift card to buy a physical gift card. The other stores you listed won't allow that.

 

[gottalovepluto]

We had a large Cheesecake Factory card drained and Raise refunded it in full. Just be prepared when you go to buy your stuff with a backup plan of how to pay for it if your gift card gets drained and you'll be fine. Just stay in the raise return window!

Personally, it was very awkward when the waiter came back with a manager who told us our gift card was empty, and annoying to contact Raise and wait for the refund, so I don't purchase anything that I don't immediately turn around and use anymore. It's just not worth the hassle. However if I were outfitting a house I would change my stance because you stand to save a lot of money. Also some of those stores used to offer credit card deals as well so you might want to look into that.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

I did a house remodel using a couple thousand in Home Depot gift cards. Never had an issue with any but used them all within 24 hours. Saved hundreds of dollars. My cousin did the same thing.

Just be sure to use them within the time frame. I purchased most everything online and picked up in store for the extra Ebates.