Update: I’ve adjusted this post to reflect the fact that the cash back rate hasn’t increased for GiftCards.com but rather GiftCardMall.com.
Yesterday I wrote about finally receiving my first cash back payout from iConsumer, which took about four months. Some people commented with their own negative stories of their transactions not being tracked or other reasons for why their Giftcards.com purchases were ineligible for cash back.
If you’re in this boat, you’ll be glad to know that Yazing has been more reliable in terms of tracking giftcards.com purchases and responding to inquiries about unpaid purchases. This is especially relevant now that both cash back portals have increased their giftcards.com payouts to 1.5%.
Yazing’s Faster Payouts
The great thing about Yazing is that it takes them just around 30 days to pay out cash back earnings. That’s super fast compared to iConsumer’s 90+ days. This is about as fast as cash back portal payouts get and the reason why I’ll continue using Yazing for giftcards.com orders.
When you’re churning large amounts of gift cards on a regular basis, the gift card and shipping fees add up substantially. Most of us float the cash until shopping portal payouts are issued months later, but being able to receive the funds a little over 30 days later is extremely convenient since it means you don’t have to float the cash spent on gift card fees for very long.
The Cost of Earning Points
For those of you wondering how the out of pocket cost turns out with the higher 1.5% cash back rate, here is a breakdown on a $2,500 gift card order (the daily maximum, with fees factored in):
Gift Card Fees: $6.95 x 5 = $34.75
Shipping fee: $7.45
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Total fees: $42.20
– Cash Back Earned: $37.50
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= $4.70 out of pocket for a minimum of 2,500 points or miles
Factor in liquidating fees and it still works out around 80% cheaper than buying gift cards at a local mall. Be aware though, that some people have reported arbitrary order cancellations. I’ve also gotten a report from a reader who got banned from giftcards.com.
I haven’t received a response about what may have caused the shut down (i.e. too many orders, too many different forms of payments, declined payments, etc.). I’ll provide an update when I get a definitive answer about this.
1.5% Cash Back at Gift Card Mall
Yazing recently increased the payout at Gift Card Mall to 1.5% Cash Back. Gift Card Mall charges a $5.95 fee per $500 gift card plus a $10 shipping fee. Just like the Giftcards.com cards, you can add names to these gift cards and there’s no $2,500 daily limit.
It’s important to note that not all Gift Card Mall cards will be PIN-enabled Metabank cards. Some will be issued by Sunrise Bank and thus PIN-less. So it’s a bit of a gamble and I wouldn’t recommend placing an order (large or small) unless you have an alternative for liquidating them.
For what it’s worth, I placed a $3,500 order a week ago and the cards arrived recently. All of them were issued by Metabank and PIN-enabled. Let’s break down the fees on a $2,500 order:
Gift Card Fees: $5.95 x 5 = $29.75
Shipping fee: $10.95
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Total fees: $40.70
– Cash Back Earned: $38.11
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= $2.59 out of pocket for a minimum of 2,500 points or miles
This is a great opportunity to stock up on points and miles (or maybe cash back) at a substantial discount. These days, I’m largely focused on cash back. However, when offers like this come around, it’s a great opportunity to bulk up on valuable points at a relatively low cost.
My Strategy
I try to rotate my cards and work in cash back too, but flexible currencies are my priority right now. At the moment, I don’t have any specific plans, but I would like to work in a trip to Cancun or Costa Rica in December.
For next year, I’m planning a trip to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East for my entire family. That will include my older sister and their brood. They’ve been collecting points and miles for a couple of years now. This will be their first big redemption and I want them to be seriously blown away.
All of this will require a lot of points and miles, not to mention advanced planning. I’m seizing every opportunity to reduce out of pocket costs while collecting valuable miles that will get us all where we need to go.
Is there any reason not to use topcashback which is one of the more popular ones and is also at 1.5%?
I used them in the past and they were pretty good about tracking (in my experience). I’m happy with the payout times at Yazing, so I’ll keep sticking to them, but you should use the one you feel comfortable with.
TCB is ok, but I thought they charged you when you take money out? Yazing just pushes the cash to your paypal account each month. Easy peezy lemon squeezy!
They just ask for a tip, which you aren’t obligated to pay. Agree – love the quick, easy payouts from Yazing!
I have the AMEX Cash Blue 5% at CVS, is there a reason this one can compete with it?
$1k => $50 – $10 fees = $40 out of pocket and if you go above to $2500, that’s $100. Do you think 2500 points are valued higher than $100?
Not at all. If you’re earning 5%, keep doing that. This, however, is a good option for cards that don’t have a bonus category.
I thought we cannot use them at walmart anymore. Am I right? How do you get around?
You can still use them for mo’s and bill pay (though some locations won’t let you split payments). It’s really a hit/miss situation.
Did you mean “Yazing increases cashback at GiftCardMall to 1.5”? Because Giftcards.com cashback has been 1.5 for a while now
For some reason I thought it was 1%, but you’re right – it’s 1.5%, with GCM increasing. I updated the post to reflect this.
Zak, right. I thought it was always 1.5%
Nothing new with the cash back rate of giftcards.com,
I need help. I need to meet some minimum spend of about $3000 for the Amex HH Surpass card. I would plan to redeem for MO at Walmart. But, specifically, what VISA card do I buy? There are questions about designs, and names on them, etc. I just want pin enabled card from Metabank. Please help, Anyone. TIA
For the ones from Giftcardmall, any design is fine. Just make sure you put your name on them.
I did put my name on the giftcard, but they emailed me and said these are not metabank cards. Your posts have said to get metabank cards. Did you know these were not metabank? I have emailed them and said to please cancel.
It’s a hit/miss – some of them are Metabank while others are issued by Sunrise. It’s why I recommended ordering a small number in case they’re not PIN-enabled (mine, thankfully, were).
Does someone know how to tell the difference between the pin-able and non-pinable Visa card sold in Giftcardmall? I was told not every designed visa card is pin-able. Sometimes they would ship non-sunrise/meta bank cards? I’d like to make my very first order from Giftcardmall.
I have ordered several cards from GCM and every single one was pin enabled. The issue isn’t whether they have a pin or not, GCM blocked me completely so be careful and don’t order too many at once
Thanks for sharing, Zak. The possibility of getting blocked is definitely worth mentioning. How many did you order before you got blocked?
3-4 order before none of my credit cards would go through. I even tried creating different accounts to no avail. Their security team will not divulge why you get blocked.
I just did one $500 card to see how it goes. There customer service says it will not be a metabank card though. Hmmmmmm.
Well, if not metabank pin-able card, how would you liquidate it? So I am more concerned about if GCM does ship the right card I need.
I’d cancel if you can.
I have had no luck with either giftcards or giftcardmall: every time I make a purchase (500 minimum), my transaction eventually gets cancelled. The frustrating part is that calling Customer Service is pointless as they refer to the security dept who no one can get in touch with!
Do you think it might be an issue with your card? I had a couple of Giftcards.com orders get cancelled because my card issuer declined the transaction. It was odd because it didn’t happen at check-in – I received a cancellation notice via email. When I called my bank to verify the transaction, it went through.
Ariana, It’s not an issue with the card when it comes to GCM. When I would place an order, they would successfully post a $1 pre-authorization on my credit card. I would then get an email couple of hours later stating “Your GiftCardMall order has been cancelled”. I think they are well aware of our hobby and place strict security measures to prevent repeat customers from placing too orders. I don’t know how many it too many because I’ve read that people get their very first order cancelled. I have given up on GCM all together, it’s just not worth the headache.
I’ve had my first order from GCM cancelled. Just not worth it.
Does Giftcards.com only issue pin-enabled, or are they like GiftCardMall.com and issue both pin/non pin enabled cards?
I have ordered from both giftcards.com and GCM and never received anything BUT pin enabled gift cards. GCM, you will need to call the number on the back and create a pin. Giftcards.com has an app that makes it convenient to set pin, check balance and view transactions.
From what I could tell reading data points online, GiftCardMall used to have Sunrise cards but has now switched to Metabank only. Before I did an order a couple of weeks ago I did call them, their rep did confirm their VGCs are only Metabank now. It was comforting to hear though I didn’t take it as a 100% guarantee. The cards did turn out to be Metabank.
I also went with Yazing after reading Ariana’s original feedback about it. After placing the order I was pleased to see them email me confirming the order had tracked and also stating the cashback amount to be earned. Wish all cashback portals did that. On the other hand, when I login to Yazing I don’t see an option to track the progress of the cashback (hope they improve that) though I am not worried about it, because again, the email they send is a confirmation. Great to hear they pay out in a month. It’s a pain when it gets delayed by months and/or you need a minimum cash back amount before the portal will send you the payout.
That’s strange because another reader says his recent order turned out to be Sunrise gc’s. Maybe it’s a regional thing? I agree on Yazing – they’re pretty good about tracking. I’m told they’ll be rolling out a dashboard in the future.
How is everyone able to put an order of $2500 @ giftcardmall.com ? My order gets cancelled (tried with $2000, $1500 ) and i got following email :
“Recently, you placed an order with us. Because your order appears to have been placed on our Gift site, due to CardAct compliance regulations and a difference in the terms and conditions, your order has been queued to be cancelled and a refund will be processed back to the Credit Card on file. The refund can take 1-15 business days depending on how your bank processes our electronic request. Typically, it does not take more than about 3 business days.”
When i talked some folks @BlackHawk Network they advised to purchase from IncentiveCardLab.com and to top it off they deleted my account from giftcardmall.com. This is my first purchase from giftcardmall but i find this very strange !!!
May be i should start with small order with new account and build the confidence before buying in bigger quantity !
Your order can’t be more than $2,500 with fees included. Try four cards for $500 and one for $450, to be safe. I don’t think IncentiveCardLab.com cards have PINs, so I’d give Giftcardmall a try (but try to keep your first order to $3k so it doesn’t get cancelled).
I’m new to MS. Everyone seems to be able to liquidate giftcards. I’ve tried at several places, including Walmart to no avail. Would someone be willing to email me and explain? jlynn8194 at gmail, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks.
The USPS MO’s are $1.20 per five hundred. I usually say I want to buy 2 MO with 2 different GC’s and I subtract the fee from the card, so I ask for a MO for 498.80. I have also been flagged at GiftCards.com, all of my orders have been canceled but I did manage to get 4 orders to go through in between this happening. I called and they said my name was on a list now and all orders will be canceled. I might try giftcardmall. If anyone has any tips, that would be great.
I see an error in my post, I tell the clerk at USPS I am using 2 different debit cards. Do not say GC.
Hello ,thanks for all the good advice. What is the best way to liquidate gift cards?
Justin
Money orders (see link in post).
Thank you. Where can we change the gift cards for money orders?
Regards,
Justin
Hello ariana,
Amex is offering gift cards with no fees until Sept.30,2016. with SPG cards Can money orders be purchased with those gift cards?
tHANKS
jUSTIN
Unfortunately not. 🙁
what is the limit on GC from GCMall and GC.com every month? so far i have been able to get 4k and 5k respectively. wondering if i should send a few more orders.
Is Yazing paying 1.25% or 1.5% on GC and GCM.com for yall? I’m currently seeing 1.25% for both.
Yes, currently they’re both at 1.25% (though that might change).