This last weekend we spent about $100 at Home Depot to make three raised beds in our backyard (see my raised bed tutorial here). It was something we’d planned to do – so earlier this week when I stopped into Safeway, I picked up a $100 Home Depot gift card. By purchasing a $100 Home Depot gift card at Safeway – I earned 10 cents off per gallon on gas – just with this gift card, which saves me approximately $1.20 – $1.50 per fill up.
Last month when I earned $436 from the local kid’s consignment sale and used $200 of it to buy a Lowe’s gift card for my mother-in-law (since she bought most of the clothes we sold) – I purchased it ahead of time at Safeway. That earned me 20 cents off per gallon or about $3 a tank! Plus any additional discount from buying my groceries!
This may not seem like much, but I think buying the gift cards ahead of time at Safeway can’t hurt. They have gift cards for everything – Amazon, American Express, many of the stores at the mall, Fandango, Regal, Lowes, Home Depot and more. With a little planning ahead, you can pick up the gift cards ahead of time at Safeway and earn discounts on your gas!
For those of you who would rather use a credit card to earn miles or points – remember you earn those when you buy the gift card at Safeway (if you use you card). In some ways it’s double-dipping!
Now it’s not saving you anything on gas if you’re buying gift cards for places that you wouldn’t shop at otherwise. For example, don’t go buy a $50 Olive Garden gift card if you weren’t already planning to go there for dinner – it would be much cheaper just to make spaghetti at home. But if you use this promotion as a tool to purchase things you’ve already budgeted, it can be a great way to save a little on gas, which doesn’t seem to be getting any cheaper.
And don’t make a separate trip to go buy a gift card, or go out of your way – you’ll probably use more gas than you’ll save.
A lot of other stores offer similar programs when you spend money using your shopping card. For example, Fred Meyer and QFC also offer gas discounts or cash rewards that you earn quarterly based on how much you spend in store (must reach a minimum $500 quarterly to receive the coupons in the mail). They also have a huge selection of gift cards.
How are you saving on gas these days? Here’s this week’s list of Safeway’s deals.
This post was NOT sponsored by Safeway, I’m just a fan. š
Patrice says
I’ve been doing this, too. Two months ago the Safeway cashier informed me I qualified for a special promotion to receive 30 cents off per gallon. So I purchased $700 in Sears gift cards (to buy a new mattress), and other gift cards, too. I’ve been saving $1 a gallon ever since. I’m planning a trip to Pullman this week-end, and I have the Safeway gas stations in Moses Lake and Pullman all mapped out. This special promotion ends April 30.
Brenda says
Patrice,
Check your email!
I also am doing the special promo for 30 cents off and just got an email today from Safeway stating that they were extending the special for 2 more months, but it will only be 20 cents off this time.