25% off at Walmart if you use your AMEX

Yes, I know, this is not a Costco-related post. But smart shoppers who are Costco fans are generally Walmart shoppers as well. There are a lot of opinions about Walmart and its employment practices, impact of stores on other retailers, etc, but one cannot beat their prices on most goods. So if you're anti-Walmart, ignore this, otherwise take advantage of this deal!

It's a deal that's been around a while, if you troll the forums of slickdeals, fatwallet, or other deal sites. If you enroll your AMEX in this Walmart promotion and spend at least $40 in 2 separate transactions at Walmart, you will get a $20 statement credit within a few days in your AMEX account. In other words, spend $80 at Walmart for only $60, a 25% savings.

If you're like us, and can't think of $80 worth of goods to buy, buy 2 gift cards of $40/each and spend it as you need it! You can enroll multiple AMEX cards in this promo, and get the $20 credit. I bought two $40 gift cards on Sat, and the $20 credit posted today!

Skeptical? Read the fatwallet posts for testimonials of others who have received this credit. The fine print does mention that it's not valid for gift card purchases, but it does work, and there's no way that AMEX will know that your $40 purchase was for a gift card.

Sign of the ultimate Costco Fan & gift card update

I'm seriously thinking of buying >this.

Tally of gift cards: Three $500 gift cards, two $200 gift cards sold at a profit of ~$10/gift card. One $500 gift card purchased at a 17% discount, one $100 gift card purchased at a 9% discount. IF YOU ARE READING THIS AND SHOP AT COSTCO, YOU HAVE TO GET IN ON THIS DEAL. I WILL HELP YOU SAVE 15% ON YOUR COSTCO PURCHASES.

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Starbucks gift cards Costco's best seller?

Might the new Starbucks gift cards (Five $20 cards for $79.95) be the best seller at Costco, overtaking the mighty Kirkland brand bath tissue?

It does make for a great gift if you have a Starbucker to give a gift to.

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Update on buying gift cards on eBay

Last week I wrote about using live.com's cashback promotion to purchase Buy-It-Now items on eBay. A primary target for this are Costco cash cards, b/c most people can burn through a $500 value card in a few months. The fact that you are saving $70-80 and are actually paying ~$420 is a major bonus. The only catch is you have to wait 60 days for the cashback.

Anyways, I've now sold 2 $500 Costco cash cards, 1 $200 Costco cash cards and probably have made about $10-$15/transaction for a total profit of $30-$40. This includes subtracting eBay fees, paypal fees, shipping fee (a stamp) and adding in the fact that I'm using my Costco AMEX to buy the gift card, thereby getting the 1% cashback on the card, and adding to my 2% for executive membership (see details in this post).

On the buy side, I've purchased a
$100 Bed Bath gift card (paid $110, $27.50 cashback, $82.50 final price)
$100 Costco card (paid $130, $39 cashback, $91 final)
$50 Lettuce Entertain card (paid $45, $11.25 cashback, $33.75 final)
$100 Ruth Chris card (paid $91, $22.75 cashback, $68.25 final).

Take advantage of this while you can! If you want, you can try it by buying one of my Costco cash cards. Someone you can trust to deliver a card, and we both benefit!

**If you are reading this through a feed aggregator, email, facebook, or anything else, please click here to go to the original blog (costcofans.blogspot.com) and click on a few of my ads!

Starbucks & Godiva gift cards at Costco

Another great feature at Costco are discounted gift cards, either to local retailers, or national chains. We've used the $100 value for Asha salons for $79.99 numerous times, and know a few people who've taken advantage of the McCormick & Schmick gift certificates.

New news on the discount gift card front (from October's Costco Connection magazine) is that Costco will soon be offering five $20 Starbucks cards for $79.99, and two $25 Godiva cards for $39.99. So if you are a Starbucker, here's your chance to save some $$ on your habit!