Guide: How To Earn Rewards Points With Gift Cards And Credit Cards?

There are dozens of gift cards for many businesses, and members of the Facebook group are big fans!

Gift cards are important in many situations:

• Unlocking welcome bonuses
• Collect many more reward points (like 5 points per dollar at Walmart)
• Using an American Express card almost anywhere

If you prefer the video version, here it is! Otherwise, keep on reading.

We love this strategy because it allows us to accumulate more points! First, check which category you earn the most points in with your credit card.

For example, the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card gives you 6 TD / $1 Rewards points for grocery purchases and 2 TD / $1 Rewards points for other purchases. A $100 purchase at Simons will :

Once you’ve used this clever strategy several times throughout the year, you’ll earn points much more quickly. So travel paid for with points or big cash rebates arrive at full speed!

The points hunter is generally someone who keeps a close eye on his budget and is able to forecast his spending over the coming months, mainly on his credit cards. It’s all part of their strategy.

In this case, gift cards are valuable allies for quickly unlocking credit card bonuses.

Here, for example, is a typical budget for one month:

Thus, by planning expenses over the next 2-3 months – and having the cash to “advance funds” via gift cards – it is possible to unlock credit card bonuses more easily.

It can also be handy a few weeks before the deadline to unlock the bonus if you see that the 3 months won’t be enough!

In addition to earning welcome bonuses, it’s best to learn when to use the right credit card at the right place in order to earn more reward points or cash back!

For example, instead of using your American Express Cobalt^® Card directly at an SAQ branch(1 point per dollar), you could buy SAQ gift cards at your Metro / Super C grocery store or Couche-Tard/Circle K convenience store (5 points per dollar)!

Thus, your purchase at SAQ with a gift card will have earned you 5 points per dollar instead of 1!

This applies to a wide range of retailers; in fact, all those for which you can find a gift card in your grocery store, gas station, convenience store or pharmacy:

• Walmart
• Netflix
• Shell
• Home Depot
• Hudson’s Bay
• Canadian Tire
• and much more!

Below you’ll find out which credit card to use where to get more reward points!

American Express cards are increasingly accepted, especially by small businesses.

Some stores continue not to accept them, such as large grocery chains (Maxi, some IGAs, etc.). At this point, something exists: Rakuten.

Rakuten allows you to get cash back for your online purchases. But the site also contains a section dedicated to gift cards(not accessible from the mobile application)!

If you are not a member of Rakuten.ca, sign up via our referral link to get a $5 credit after a $25 purchase!

Many businesses are accessible through the card offered on Rakuten.

For example, since Maxi or Provigo do not take American Express, you could purchase a gift card for these grocery stores on the Rakuten.ca site. While earning a cash back!

You can then use your American Express card (via Paypal) to get yourself a Maxi gift card for example.

That way, you use your American Express card indirectly at Maxi 😉

There are different categories of businesses in Canada offering gift cards that can be purchased with credit cards:

• Grocery stores (Metro, Super C, IGA, etc.)
• Gas stations (Esso, Shell, Petro-Canada, etc.)
• Drug stores (Pharmaprix, Jean Coutu, Uniprix, etc.)
• Convenience stores (Couche-Tard)
• Home improvement centers (Home Dépôt, Rona, Home Hardware)
• Office Supply Centres (Staples)

And for each of these categories, there are different credit cards to earn points! We will give you our best credit card choices for each category.

To purchase grocery store card with a credit card , turn to one of these 5 credit card :

The first two American Express card can be used at most Metro, Super C, IGA and Safeway grocery stores.

They will offer 5 points per dollar, a return of approximately 5% on all grocery store gift card purchases.

You can read our detailed comparison on these two credit cards here.

If you shop elsewhere, you’ll want to consider the National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard^®, which gives you 5 points per dollar spent on groceries when you purchase gift cards.

Or switch to the CIBC Dividend^® Visa Infinite* Card or Scotia Momentum^® VISA Infinite* card, which will give you 4% cash back on all gift card purchases at a grocery store.

Finally, you’ll earn 5 points per dollar with the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card, corresponding to a return of approximately 3.5% on travel purchases made with your points.

To purchase gas station card with a credit card , turn to one of these 6 credit card :

All gas stations accept American Express credit cards. Here, the choice of a card will vary depending on the type of rewards you prefer to have.

If you prefer to earn Marriott Bonvoy points by purchasing your gift cards at gas stations, we recommend you use either:

• American Express Business Edge™ Card (3 points per dollar, equivalent to 3.6 Marriott Bonvoy points)
• the Marriott Bonvoy^® Business American Express^®* Card (3 points per dollar)

If you prefer to earn travel points by purchasing your gift cards at gas stations, we recommend that you use either:

• Scotiabank Gold American Express^® Card: 3 points per dollar
• American Express Cobalt^® Card: 2 points per dollar

Finally, if you prefer to earn cash back by purchasing your gift cards at service stations, we recommend that you use either:

• CIBC Dividend^® Visa Infinite* Card: 4% per dollar on gas station purchases
• SimplyCash^® Preferred Card from American Express Card: 4% per dollar on gas station purchases

To purchase gift cards in drug stores with a credit card, you will turn to one of these 3 credit cards:

Most drugstores accept American Express credit cards.

If you prefer to collect Membership Rewards points when purchasing your gift cards at drugstores, we recommend using the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card: 2 points per dollar of purchases.

If you prefer to earn cash back by purchasing your gift cards at pharmacies, we recommend using the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card or Tangerine World Mastercard.

You can choose the “Drugstores” category among the categories offering 2% cash back.

To buy gift cards in convenience stores such as Couche-Tard, Macs, Circle K, 7-eleven with a credit card, one will turn to one credit card:

The American Express Cobalt^® Card is recognized as one of the best credit cards in Canada.

When you buy your gift cards in convenience stores with this credit card, you will get 5 points per dollar:

Walmart gift card can be purchased at Couche-Tard convenience stores! A sneaky way to get 5 points per dollar for Walmart with the American Express Cobalt^® Card.

Including for medications at Walmart pharmacies!

To purchase gift cards at home improvement centres with a credit card, two credit cards shou;d be used:

You can earn cash back when you purchase your gift cards at home improvement centers using the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card or Tangerine World Mastercard.

You can choose the “Renovations” category among the categories offering 2% cash back.

To purchase gift cards at office supply stores with a credit card, two credit cards should be used:

You can earn travel points by purchasing your gift cards at office supply stores using:

• American Express Business Edge™ Card: 3 points per dollar (or the equivalent of 3.6 Marriott Bonvoy points)
• BMO Rewards^® World Elite^®* Business Mastercard^®*: 4 points per dollar (or the equivalent of 2.68% in travel points)

Now you know which credit card to use in the right place to buy gift cards. Now, don’t forget your gift cards when you go shopping!