Cash Rewards

Plenty of stores are offering a 'cash' reward system now... Gymboree, The Children's Place, Gap, Old Navy, Kohl's and more...

Essentially, if you spend a certain amount during the 'earning' period, you get a voucher to redeem during the 'redemption' period. This is great for the store because they entice you to come back and spend more, but many people forget when to redeem the reward or lose it. I recommend picking 1-3 favorite stores and getting very familiar with their program so you make the most of it.

I set a reminder on my phone and tried out the Gap, TCP and Old Navy systems recently and felt I did well, but I'm still learning with them. First rule is not to buy anything you don't need or is within your budget to buy to because you like it. This is to either earn or redeem the rewards. If you earn the rewards and can't use them, then give them to someone or sell them. What goes around comes around.

I also plan ahead and consider what kind of discount the reward is offering and restrictions. If it's $10 off a $40 purchase, that's only 25%. If it's $25 off a $50 purchase, that's 50%. Can you use a coupon with it? Can you purchase via a cash-back site like Ebates or Upromise? Can you get a discount gift card? If you think the final discount will be worthwhile, then look for a discount gift card once you've earned the reward so you'll be ready once the redemption time comes. Favorite sites are CardCash.com and MonsterGiftCard.com.

So here is an actual example for Gymboree's Gymbuck redemption. I needed to spend $50 to earn it and will need to buy $50 to redeem it. Be sure to keep both purchases as close to that $50 requirement as you can. If you spend $70 and redeem $25 then that's not 50% off anymore.

Gymboree currently doesn't partner with a cash back site so I can shop in store or online. Remember any shipping charges if you shop online. I already had a discount gift card from Cardpool.com that I paid 16% less than it's value. Here's the breakdown of my savings.

Actual retail value of the items I chose was $301.65, but it was already on sale for $156.88. Before even using my Gymbucks, I was averaging a 48% discount. You can't combine a coupon with a Gymbuck so next I used my 3 Gymbucks that totaled $75 to bring my purchase down to $76.88. Now, I'm at 75% off the full retail price. I also qualify for free shipping by having a minimum $75 purchase. Remember that if you pay sales tax, this has also reduced your taxable purchase by 75%. Now I pay with my discount gift card (note: if you want to try this, be sure you understand the difference between a merchandise credit and true gift card). I still pay Gymboree $76.88, but I only paid out of pocket $64.60 which is a total of 79% discount.

Consider other benefits too. I paid the tax with my gift card so I saved 16% on the tax. I bought the gift card with a visa where I earn miles so I earned that reward. Gymboree also has points for every dollar spent to go towards a different reward and I earned those too. It takes some planning and self-control, but 79% off is worth it! It's a savvy way to save money by stacking different methods to save.