Caffeine Free

Before Starbucks appeared on every corner, you couldn’t get coffee down my throat.  Now that it’s all posh and popular, I time out my mornings so I can make sure I have time to get my fix before I have to be at work.  Yes, it’s a total rip-rip off. I pay $3.70 for about 10 cents worth of product.  But still, I must have it. In my defense, I’ve cut down my double tall iced non-fat lattes to once (okay, maybe three times) a week.  I always fund them with my registered Starbucks gift card.

It’s almost Christmas and you’re probably going to get a couple Starbucks gift cards as gifts. Register them! You can even combine the value of all your cards onto one card. Even better, you can download the Starbucks mobile app and you don’t even need to carry the plastic cards anymore.  You will always have your card with you, even if you’re only carrying your phone. So evilly convenient.

There are levels to this program.  Any average Jane can become a “registered” member. Those who earn five stars level up to Green. And those of us who are addicted (and earn 30 stars in 12 months) level up to Gold.

There are multiple benefits to registering your Starbucks card for the My Starbucks Rewards program.

• Birthday presents! Starbucks wants to reward you just for being born.  You receive a free drink or food item on your birthday. The drink is any size, any price.  Even these weird ass concoctions. Get crazy with it! (All levels)
• Free drinks and food!  You receive one star per transaction. When you earn 12 stars, you get a free drink or food item. (Gold Level) As I said, you get one star per transaction. If I’m feeling extra cheap, I break my order into multiple transactions when I’m ordering more than one drink. I have no shame.
• Free refills! Get brewed and iced coffee and tea refills at no charge during your visit at a single participating store. (Green & Gold Levels) You can sit in Starbucks and pretend to look important on your laptop all day long and keep refilling that cup at no charge!  This is actually great in the summer when you want to chug iced tea all day as you stroll the outdoor mall. Just keep going back to the same store for your first purchase and your refills.
• Discounts! Opt to receive emails or texts when you sign up. They send coupons and deals a couple times a month for stuff like $1 off, BOGO, & free shipping.  If you download the app, they just kind of magically appear. (Gold Level)
• Lost or stolen card replacement! If some bitch ever steals your card (or you happen to misplace it) you can get a replacement card with your restored value. (All Levels)
• The Gold Card! Once you’ve leveled-up to Gold, Starbucks prints your name on your very own gold foiled gift card and mails it to you. If you actually use it (I think I shredded mine), you’ll enjoy the priceless benefit of not having to tell the register person your name when you order! There you go. I just saved you some breaths and some money!!!

More free giftcards

Several years ago I joined MyPoints. It’s kind of like a mall, with links to several retailers on their site. If you click through the MyPoints site and make a purchase at one of their 1242 retailers (Macy’s, Old Navy, Best Buy, iTunes, etc.) you earn anywhere from 1-25 points per dollar.

You save up your points for gift cards. You can start redeeming (for the more useful gift cards) at 1600 points. Gift cards range from $10-100 for places like Target, Amazon, Macy’s, Pottery Barn, Starbucks, PF Changs, and “more than 75 merchants”.  I rarely redeem for less than a $50 gift card, because the redemption value is usually discounted for higher value gift cards (Example: a $25 Macy’s gift cards costs 3450 points and a $50 Macy’s gift card costs 6450).  I’ve earned about $850 in gift cards since joining.

I will warn you that they send a lot of email. You can limit how much they send but they use your e-mail address to match up the purchases you make and award your points, so use the same e-mail address you’d use with the retailer. They also send emails that have a 5 point offer just for clicking on a link, so don’t completely shut them down. You can earn 20 points clearing your your emails as you stand in line at the grocery store by clicking their links.

If you have an extra minute when you’re shopping online, this is my favorite site for stacking or double-dipping. My usual method is to go to MyPoints first and find the retailer where I want to shop. I click their link and it takes me to the retailer’s site.  I then close that window (It makes them think I’m shopping through their site and sets the points earning process in motion). Then I open a new window and scope out which of my credit cards is offering the best cashback rewards for the retailer where I’m shopping.  I use my credit card mall’s link to shop and finalize my purchase.

There. I’ve just earned points through MyPoints AND my credit card’s cashback program! I’ve doubled up on my gift card earning and I’m awesome.

It actually does pay to Discover

If you’re an online shopper like me, you should think about getting a Discover Card.  It used to be the joke of the credit card world.  I went to so many places that would tell me “Oh, we don’t take Discover.”  It was rather embarrassing.  But Discover has come a long way in the past few years.  And now there’s Shop Discover.

A decent list of retailers are included in their Shop Discover mall.   If you link to the retailer’s site from there, you have cashback earning potential of 5-20%. And that’s on top of whichever discount codes or sales you use on the retailer’s site.  Some current examples: Macy’s (10%),  Best Buy (5%), 1-800-Flowers (20%).  If you’re good at stacking,  this is just another wonderful layer.

Discover also offers five to six different categories per year that earn an additional 5% cashback bonus for online and in-store purchases.  Like gas stations, movie theaters, restaurants, hotels, and ONLINE SHOPPING.  Yes, an additional 5% cashback on your online shopping!!  They do that bonus Oct-Dec.  AND if you’re shopping through the Shop Discover mall, the 5% bonus is on top of the regular cashback for the retailer.

You can redeem your cashback for retail and travel gift cards, statement credits, Discover gift cards, direct deposit and charitable donations.  On many of the retail gift cards, you get an extra bonus.  I can currently redeem $80 cashback for a $100 Banana Republic card or $80 cashback for a $160 for Universal Orlando Resorts certificate. Many are available as an e-Certificate or a mailed gift card.

My Discover Card has no annual fee so they’re basically paying me to shop.

Free gift cards anyone?

No, this is not one of those spam e-mails that gets auto-diverted to your trash.  I’m taking about the best iPhone/Droid app ever, ShopKick.

When you walk into specific stores (Target, Macy’s, JC Penney, & AE, just to name a few) you get “kicks”.   And when I say walk in, I mean walk in and sometimes just walk near the front door.  A sensor in the store emits a noise that your phone’s microphone detects and that’s how you’re awarded the walk-in kicks.  Every store has a different walk-in kicks level and some days there are no kicks to be had.  There are usually item scanning kicks available.  Also, some stores offer kicks for purchases you make when you link your Visa or Mastercard.

This app is amazing.  I’ve had it on my iPhone since January 2012.  As of this moment, I’ve earned $497.51 in gift cards.  And these are real (well, virtual) gift cards for stores you will actually want to shop at like Coach, Target, Macys, Best Buy and a lot more.

You redeem your kicks for gift cards within the app and most are available as soon as you redeem your kicks.  I’ve redeemed kicks for Sports Authority gift cards as I’ve stood in line at the store with my $100+ Asics in hand.  Asics on which I didn’t spend a penny, thanks to ShopKick.

The app is free and is very easy to use. You just have to remember to use it.  Click the link above to sign up!