How to earn reward points with gift 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.

A good points & miles hunter is generally someone who follows his budget closely and is able to plan his expenses for the next few months, especially those made on his credit cards. All this is part of his 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 store(1 point per dollar), you could buy SAQ card at your local Metro / Super C grocery store or Couche-Tard 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 businesses; 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.

Nevertheless, some businesses still do not accept them, such as large grocery chains. But there’s a solution: 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’re shopping elsewhere, then the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card or Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card will give you 4% on all grocery store card purchases.

Finally, you’ll earn 5 points per dollar with the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite card, which equates to a return of approximately 3.5% for 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:

• the American Express Business Edge™ Card (3 points per dollar or the equivalent of 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:

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

Finally, if you prefer to earn cash back or AIR MILES Reward Miles by purchasing your card at gas stations, we recommend that you use either :

• CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card: 4% per dollar of gas station purchases
• AIR MILES^MD* American Express^MD Platinum Credit Card: 1 mile per $5 in gas station

To buy card at pharmacies with a credit card , we will turn to one of these 2 credit cards :

Most drugstores accept American Express credit cards.

If you prefer to earn AIR MILES miles by purchasing your card at drugstores, we recommend using the AIR MILES^MD* American Express^MD Platinum Credit Card: 1 mile per $5 in purchases.

If you prefer to earn cash back by purchasing your gift cards in drugstores, we recommend you use the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card or the 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:

La Carte CobaltMC American Express est reconnue pour être l’une des meilleures cartes de crédit au Canada.

En achetant vos cartes-cadeaux dans les dépanneurs avec cette carte de crédit, vous obtiendrez 5 points par dollar:

Walmart gift card can be purchased at Couche-Tard convenience stores! A sneaky way to earn 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 by purchasing your gift cards at home improvement centres using the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card or the Tangerine World Mastercard.

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

Pour acheter des cartes-cadeaux dans les magasins de fournitures de bureau avec une carte de crédit, on se tournera vers deux cartes de crédit:

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 World Elite Mastercard for Business: 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 to:

• get a welcome bonus from a credit card more easily
• earn points faster with credit card purchase categories
• use an American Express card almost anywhere