How to Buy Discounted Gift Cards and Save Money on Every Purchase You Make

Last updated: September 27, 2026

What if you could take 10% or more off your grocery run, your next dinner out, or even a Disney vacation without clipping a single coupon? Discounted gift cards let you do that. Here at Deal Drop Today, we’re always looking for savings that work for everyday shoppers, and this is one of our favorites because it’s so simple. You buy a gift card for less than its face value, then spend it like cash at a store you already shop at.

In this guide, we’ll cover where to find the best deals, how much you can realistically save, and how to stack savings. We’ll also cover how to avoid the gift card scams that cost shoppers hundreds of millions of dollars every year.

Why Discounted Gift Cards Are One of the Smartest Ways to Save

Gift cards are already a big part of how Americans shop. According to the National Retail Federation, shoppers were projected to spend $29 billion on gift cards during the 2025 holiday season. Forty-three percent planned to buy at least one, and gift cards ranked as the second-most popular holiday gift.

Older shoppers lead the way. NRF found that 53% of shoppers aged 65 and older planned to buy a gift card, the highest of any age group. That compares with 49% of shoppers aged 55 to 64 and 45% of those aged 45 to 54. If you already buy gift cards as presents, paying full price for them leaves money on the table.

The key idea is simple. A $100 gift card spends exactly like $100, no matter what you paid for it. If you bought it for $85, you just saved 15% on everything you buy with it. Unlike most coupons, a gift card usually works on sale items, clearance items, and nearly everything in the store.

How Buying Gift Cards Below Face Value Actually Works

Sellers usually offer discounted gift cards in one of two ways. Retailers and warehouse clubs buy cards in bulk from brands and pass some of the savings along to members. Resale marketplaces let people sell cards they don’t want, and buyers pick them up for less than face value.

Both options can save you real money. The trick is matching the source to what you plan to buy. Warehouse clubs tend to have bigger discounts on restaurants and entertainment. Resale sites carry a much wider range of brands, including big-box retailers and everyday services.

One rule of thumb before we dive in: only buy a gift card for a place where you’d spend the money anyway. A 20% discount at a store you never visit doesn’t save you anything. It’s just extra spending.

7 Places to Find Discounted Gift Cards

1. Costco. Members can typically find gift cards at 10% to 30% off, according to 2026 guides from Cleverly Frugal and Savings Grove. Restaurant bundles are especially popular and often sell about $100 in value for $79 to $85.
2. Sam’s Club. Members typically see 5% to 25% off, and Sam’s Club has a standing “Extra Savings Gift Cards” section advertising up to 25% off. From May 1 to 3, 2026, it sold a $500 Disney eGift Card for $450 as an online Instant Savings doorbuster. That’s a straight 10% off a Disney trip.
3. CardCash. This resale marketplace sells discounted gift cards for more than 1,300 brands, including Chipotle, Home Depot, Airbnb, Uber, Starbucks and Target. It advertises up to 33% to 35% off, but The Krazy Coupon Lady notes the usual discount is 5% to 15% off face value.
4. Raise. Raise works much like CardCash, and it also lets you trade cards you don’t plan to use. That makes it useful for buying cards and for getting value out of ones you don’t want.
5. Grocery store promotions. Many supermarkets run gift card promotions from time to time, such as bonus fuel points or store credit when you buy certain cards. These aren’t direct discounts, but the value adds up if you already shop there.
6. Restaurant bonus card offers. Around the holidays, many restaurant chains give you a bonus card when you buy a gift card. A common example is a $10 bonus card with a $50 purchase. Read the fine print, because bonus cards often expire quickly and may have blackout dates.
7. Credit card and bank reward portals. Some rewards programs let you redeem points for gift cards at a better rate than cash back. Others offer limited-time discounts on specific brands. Compare the value per point before you redeem.

Resale discounts change daily based on supply and demand. A popular coffee chain’s cards may be only a few percent off, while a less popular retailer’s cards might be discounted more. Treat any percentage you see as a snapshot, not a guarantee.

How Much Can You Really Save? Real-World Examples

Here’s what that looks like in dollars. Say your family eats at the same casual restaurant chain twice a month and spends about $60 each visit. That’s roughly $1,440 a year. If you buy discounted gift cards through a warehouse club restaurant bundle at $80 for $100 in value, you’d pay about $1,152 for the same meals. That’s $288 back in your pocket.

Bigger purchases save more. A family who grabbed the Sam’s Club Disney deal in May 2026 paid $450 for $500 of Disney spending. Across a multi-thousand-dollar vacation, a few of those cards add up to real savings. The Disney Tourist Blog tracks these deals closely because they only come around a few times a year.

Small everyday purchases add up too. If you spend $150 a month at a home improvement store and buy cards at 7% off through a resale site, you’d save about $126 a year. That isn’t life-changing on its own. Do the same with a few other stores you use often, though, and you could save hundreds of dollars a year.

How to Stack Discounted Gift Cards With Other Deals

Stacking is where you get the biggest savings. A gift card is just a way to pay, so it usually doesn’t stop you from using other discounts. That means you can layer several savings on the same purchase.

• Pay with a rewards credit card. If you buy discounted gift cards with a card that earns cash back or points, you earn rewards on the purchase too. Pay the balance in full so interest doesn’t wipe out your savings.
• Wait for a sale. Use your gift card during a store sale. On a $100 item marked 20% off, paying with a card you bought at 15% off means you spend just $68. That’s 32% off the original price.
• Add coupons and loyalty rewards. Most stores still accept coupons, promo codes and loyalty points when you pay with a gift card.
• Use cash-back apps and shopping portals. These usually still pay out when you check out with a gift card, but confirm the terms first.

Here at Deal Drop Today, we call this the “savings sandwich.” One small discount rarely feels exciting, but three or four together can turn an ordinary purchase into a great deal.

Gift Card Scams: What Every Shopper Needs to Know

Now for the serious part. Scammers love gift cards because they work like cash and are hard to trace. Federal Trade Commission data reported by TheStreet shows consumers filed more than 41,000 fraud reports involving gift cards and prepaid cards in 2024, with $212 million in losses. Losses in 2025 were expected to be about the same.

The FTC’s consumer advice page states the most important rule plainly: “Only scammers will tell you to buy a gift card… and give them the numbers off the back of the card.” No real government agency, utility company, tech support team, or legitimate business will ever ask you to pay that way.

In April 2025, the FTC also warned about offers of “discounted” phone, TV, or internet service that ask you to pay with gift cards. Those offers are always scams. Real discounted gift cards are something you buy for yourself from a trusted seller. They are never a way to pay a stranger.

If you think you’ve been scammed, contact the company that issued the gift card right away. Tell them the card was used in a scam and ask whether they can freeze or refund the money. Then report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The faster you act, the better your chances of getting money back.

Watch Out for Card Draining at the Checkout Rack

Another threat has nothing to do with phone calls or emails. It’s called card draining, and it happens right on store shelves. Thieves take gift cards off the rack, peel back the scratch-off strip to record the codes, reseal the packaging, and put the cards back.

Once a shopper buys and activates one of those cards, the thieves spend the balance, often before the recipient ever opens it. According to reporting by ProPublica and TheStreet, the scheme has hit Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreens, and Kroger. Organized rings have reportedly drained more than $1 billion.

The problem has reached the courts too. Target and Walmart have both faced class-action lawsuits from customers whose gift card balances were stolen. So even a full-price card from a big-name store isn’t guaranteed to be safe.

Your Safety Checklist for Buying Discounted Gift Cards

The good news is that a few simple habits prevent most problems. Based on guidance from the FTC and the Better Business Bureau, go through this checklist every time you buy.

1. Inspect the packaging. Look for tears, bent cardboard, glue residue, or stickers covering the original packaging.
2. Check the scratch-off strip. Make sure it hasn’t been scratched, peeled, or replaced, and that the PIN isn’t already showing.
3. Take cards from the back of the rack. Cards at the front get handled more and are easier to tamper with.
4. Buy from trusted sources. Stick to the card issuer, well-known warehouse clubs, or established resale marketplaces with buyer protection.
5. Check the balance right away. As soon as you buy, confirm that the full value is on the card.
6. Keep your receipt. It proves you bought and activated the card, which you’ll need if something goes wrong.
7. Consider digital cards. eGift cards delivered directly from the issuer or a reputable club never sit on a store shelf, so they can’t be tampered with there.

When you buy discounted gift cards from a resale site, check whether the site offers a balance guarantee. Reputable marketplaces typically refund you if a card has a lower balance than advertised, but how long that guarantee lasts varies. Use the card soon after buying so any problem shows up while you’re still covered.

Never buy from strangers on social media or classified sites offering cards at 40% or 50% off. If a discount looks too good to be true, it almost always is. Those cards may be stolen, already drained, or fake.

Don’t Forget the Gift Cards You Already Own

Before you shop for new discounted gift cards, check your wallet, junk drawer, and email inbox. A 2024 Bankrate survey of 2,373 U.S. adults found that 43% of Americans have at least one unused gift card, voucher, or store credit. That’s about $27 billion in unused value nationwide.

The average unused balance was $244 per person, up from $187 in 2023. Households earning $100,000 or more held the most: 55% had at least one card, with an average of $348. Among households earning under $50,000, 35% had one, averaging $180.

If you find an old card, there’s good news. Under the federal Credit CARD Act of 2009, most retail gift card funds can’t expire for at least five years from the date the card was activated. That birthday card from a couple of years ago is probably still good. Some states have even stronger protections.

Think of it this way: the cheapest gift card is the one you already have. Saving 15% on a new card doesn’t help much if a $244 balance is sitting unused in a drawer.

Smart Strategies to Get the Most From Discounted Gift Cards

• Plan around big expenses. If a vacation, home project, or holiday shopping trip is coming up, buy cards ahead of time when good deals appear.
• Watch for seasonal promotions. Warehouse clubs and restaurants often roll out their best gift card deals around the winter holidays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and big sale weekends.
• Trade cards you won’t use. Platforms like Raise let you trade unwanted cards so their value doesn’t go to waste.
• Keep a simple tracker. A note on your phone listing each card, its balance, and where it’s stored keeps money from slipping through the cracks.
• Don’t overbuy. Only buy what you’ll realistically spend in the next few months. Discounted gift cards tie up your cash, and a store could close or change its policies.

Are Discounted Gift Cards Good Holiday Gifts?

Yes, and now is a great time to think about it. The holiday shopping season is just around the corner, so buying discounted gift cards now lets you check people off your list for less. Give someone a $100 restaurant card you paid $80 for, and they still get the full $100 to spend.

Think about how you present it. Physical cards from a warehouse club bundle make perfect gifts. A card from a resale site may arrive as a code or as a previously owned card, so confirm the full balance is there before you give it.

If you have older relatives who give a lot of gift cards, share these tips with them. NRF data shows shoppers 65 and older are the most likely to buy gift cards, so a few percent off their holiday list can add up fast.

Final Thoughts: Start Small and Save Consistently

Buying discounted gift cards is one of the easiest money-saving habits you can build. Start with one or two stores you shop at every month and find a trusted source, like a warehouse club or an established reseller. Use the cards on purchases you’d make anyway. Stack them with sales and rewards, and the savings grow quickly.

Just stay alert. Inspect every card, keep your receipts, check balances right away, and remember that no legitimate company will ever ask you to pay with a gift card. Here at Deal Drop Today, we’ll keep tracking the best deals so more of your hard-earned money stays with you.

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