With the holiday season upon us and many people looking for ways to save money, we’ve got just the ticket. Now, I don’t know about you guys, but personally I’d rather get gift cards to stores of my choice than someone trying to buy me something I won’t use or won’t like. I know some folks tend to think that gift cards are impersonal and require very little thought on the giver’s part. But, while that may be true, I think of it as saving the person undue anxiety they would have spent trying to figure out what I want. Just give me the card and I’ll do the rest.

So, with that in mind, I went looking for ways to save money on gift cards. I enjoy finding sales and hate paying face value for anything…why should gift cards be any different. With that in mind, let’s look at the top 6 ways to save money on gift cards!

6.) Auction Sites

Sites like e-bay are great places to get gift cards and you can usually get them for less than face value. Of course, you’ll want to make sure that you verify the legitimacy of the card first. Routine check of the seller’s ratings and so forth should help with that. Make sure you ask about hidden fees like non-activity fees before you purchase it. While the idea is to spend less money, you don’t want to be ripped off in the process.

5.) Retailer Add-Ons

During the holidays, retailers are trying to get you to spend as much money as possible…after all, they want their Christmas bonuses, too. Usually they’ll sweeten the pot by offering add-ons. For example, some places will give you $25 for purchasing a gift card for $100. Usually these apply to your higher dollar gift cards, like the $100, as opposed to $25; however, you’re still getting more than you paid for.

4.) Volume Discounts

If you plan to give everyone on your list the same gift card, then perhaps buying in bulk would be the wisest course. Usually retailers will cut you a break depending on the amount you spend, but watch out! Some places don’t give you a break until you’ve spent quite a bit upfront. If you want to go this route, contact the retail store of your choice and ask about their volume discounts.

3.) Grocery Points

You can buy your gift cards directly from the merchant of choice, but you can also purchase many of them at your local grocery store. You’ll be paying face value either way; however, if you’ve got a rewards card that gives you percentage points back for purchasing at a grocery store, you’ll be shaving off some money on the purchase of that card.

2.) Frequent Flyer Miles and Points

If you’re just racking up those miles and points, you might as well use them. You can often exchange them in for gift cards to participating merchants and this way you’ve spent no money on the gift cards at all…just your points. If you travel a lot, you’ll earn the points back anyway, so why not save yourself a little money come holiday time?

1.) Specialized Gift Card Sites

Sites like Citydeals.com offer plenty of gift cards with some pretty steep discounts from many of the most popular retailers. Make sure you check the restrictions, though. Some may require minimum balances, purchases, or tack on gratuity when used. If there are such restrictions placed on the card, be sure you let the person you’re giving the card to know. There’s nothing worse than to think you have a certain dollar amount only to watch that be chopped into pieces because of hidden fees. They won’t thank you for that.

Hopefully these were helpful and will certainly give you some ideas on how to save money this holiday season. What other tips can you offer on saving money when buying gift cards?

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