I previously discussed how I Got $165 Worth of Stuff at Sears / Kmart for $37 using Shop Your Way (SYW). You can use SYW deals to get free stuff if you use the points to buy stuff you'd need anyway.
Here are the steps you can use for free stuff ;
1. Sign up for SYW. Its free.
2. Find a good cashback deal for Sears & Kmart. You can use Cashbackmonitor.com Right now Discover Deals offers 5% back for either store and eBates offers 3% as examples.
3. Look around the Kmart and Sears sites to find something you need or would buy normally that is a good price. Household stuff you buy regularly like paper towels or soap might be a safe bet at Kmart. You can also find good deals on clothing at Sears. Make sure you can either pick up the item in store conveniently or that they offer shipping.
4. Watch the weekly member deals at Sears and Kmart for 100% points items. You'll want to find something that is useful to you in some way. Don't worry about the prices paid since the plan is to get this stuff for free after the points. The promotional points usually expire in a relatively short period (30 days commonly) so you'll need to use them quickly.
5. Once you've found something worth getting for 100% at either store you can buy it. If you want shipping then look to buy >$35 to take advantage of free shipping. Use the cashback deal from step #2 as well for extra cash back.
6. After you've bought the 100% points items from step #5 you should get your points.
7. Take your points from 6 and use them to buy an item you identified in step 3.
Lets run through an example...
1. I'm already a SYW member.
2. I would use the Discover deal for 5%.
3. I will buy some of the paper towels at Kmart. They are $8.99 for 8 rolls which is a competitive price.
4. I see various phone accessory items at Kmart and Sears right now. Among the list of 100% points items I might want a car charger for $14.99 and battery backup for $12.99. Thats $27.98 and it looks like both qualify for free shipping.
5. I go to Discover Deals and follow their link to get 5% cash back. I then go to Sears and buy both items with my Discover credit card.
6. I get credited $27.98 in points that will expire in 30 days.
7. I go through Discover Deals use the $27.98 in points plus and $7.98 with my Discover card I buy 4 of the paper towel packs for $35.96.
I spent $35.96 on my Discover card. I will get $2.15 cash back. Thats a net cost of $33.81. I get 32 rolls of paper towels, a car charger and a phone USB backup battery. You'd also get SYW some points from the paper towel purchase to use on a future purchase.
Note thats just an example to illustrate how it works.
Keys to making it work well :
1. Make sure you identify stuff you need and would buy anyway at Sears and Kmart for good prices. If those paper towels are 25% cheaper at Winco then this isn't such a good deal because you should just buy them at Winco.
2. Don't bother unless the 100% points items in the weekly deals are something you want, or can make some use, gift to someone, or resell. I don't need or want a phone backup battery personally. I don't know anyone really who'd want it as a gift and I doubt I could resell for much. So I wouldn't actually buy that item myself.
3. The SYW program also has pretty frequent promotions with coupons and free points deals. You can try and combine those with the basic strategy above. Whether or not deals can combine will vary and I'm not sure what rules they apply for that.
Additional things to consider:
If you find a particularly compelling deal at the weekly deals that isn't 100% points back but still a great buy then it might be worth doing. Depends on what they're selling and if you need it or not. For example, they've got Nutribullet 8 piece sets for $79.99 with $20 points back. That $79.99 seems to be the standard price and the $20 is basically 25% off. If you're looking to buy one of these anyway then this is a good deal for you.
--This article may contain referral links which pay this site a commission for purchases made at the sites.
January 31, 2016
How To Get Free Stuff From Sears and Kmart SYW Weekly Member Deals
January 29, 2016
Best of Blogs for Week of January 29th
Every Friday afternoon I share some of the more interesting or notable posts that I have seen in the personal finance blogs and other sources for the past week
DQYDJ shares a nifty calculator that shows Who Makes Up the Workforce, by Year and Age? 1962-2015
DoughRoller has a basic comparison of tax software with Comparing The 5 Best Tax Software Programs
--
January 28, 2016
Craigslist & Zillow Rental Comps for January 2016
After checking rental comps on Rentometer.com I've decided to stop using that service. Their data seems stagnant (at least for 3 of 5 of our properties.) I'm going to now instead use Zillow.com and Craigslist.com to check rental comps.
Here's the Zillow :
Zestimate | |
A | $1,500 |
B | $1,400 |
E | $1,675 |
Here is Craigslist :
sample | median | 10% floor | |
A : 3 bed house | 31 | $2,000 | $1,300 |
B : 3 bed house | 59 | $1,450 | $900 |
C : 1 bed apt | 87 | $620 | $525 |
D: 1 bed apt | 171 | $700 | $495 |
E : 3 bed house | 33 | $2,200 | $1,500 |
This is the first time I'm checking rental comp from these sources so theres no previous data to run comparisons on.
For Zillow I just check the Rent Zestimate figure for the single family homes.
Checking comps on Craigslist is much more involved. I have to pull up the housing search, center the property and search for the number of bedrooms. Then I also limit it to similar style properties (houses vs apartments) and designate if we do or don't take pets. Then I have to do a little trial and error to see where the median and bottom 10% rent levels fall. I look at the total number of properties for rent and then find the price level below which 50% and 10% of the listings fall. For example if there are 59 units then I try and find the price point where ~30 are above and blow for median and then about 6 units are below for the bottom 10%.
--
January 26, 2016
TopCashBack Friend Referral Bonus is $20.16
If you have any friends that could benefit from joining TopCashBack then you can get $20.16 by referring them.
Follow my referral link to find out how.
If you aren't a member then check out their site. Its pretty competitive with other cashback shopping portals like Ebates.
--This article may contain referral links which pay this site a commission for purchases made at the sites.
Current Discounts & Cash Back Deals at Discover Deals - January 2016
Below is the current list of offers for Discover Deals shopping portal. I just did a copy and paste of all the offers listed and then reformatted it a little bit to sort by merchant name.
This list changes over time and is likely to become out of date before too long.
1800Flowers.com | 20% off for Valentine's Day |
Ann Taylor online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Athleta online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Atlantis and More Bahamas Resorts | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Aveda online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Azamara Club Cruises® | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Barnes & Noble online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
BestBuy.com | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Bliss online | Earn 15% Cashback Bonus |
Bloomingdale's online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Bumble and bumble online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
CB2 online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Celebrity Cruises | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Cheryl & Co. | 20% off your purchase of $49 or more |
Claire's | 20% off one regular priced item |
Columbia online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Cookies by Design | 15% off your purchase |
Darphin online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Dunham's Sports | 20% off one regular-priced item |
Edible Arrangements | 15% off your total purchase |
Enterprise | Save 5% plus a free upgrade |
Expedia | $50 off $500 Flight + Hotel package |
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Fannie May | 15% off your purchase |
Finish Line online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Fruitbouquets.com | 15% off your purchase |
FTD online | Earn 25% Cashback Bonus |
GNC online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Gymboree | 20% off $40+ |
Hertz | Save up to 25% + $5 off per day, up to $30, on your car rental |
Hobby Lobby | 40% off one item |
Homedepot.com | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Icing | 20% off |
Karisma Resorts | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
L.L.Bean online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Lancome online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
LivingSocial online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Lobster Gram | Free shipping on purchase of $150 or more |
Lord & Taylor online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
National Car Rental | Save up-to 25% and get a free weekend day |
Norwegian Cruise Line | 10% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
priceline.com | Save up to 60% with Express Deals® hotels |
Regent Seven Seas Cruises | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Royal Caribbean International | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Saks Off 5th online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Sam's Club | Get a gift card worth up to $25 |
Shoes.com | Earn 15% Cashback Bonus |
ShoeSource | 10% off Payless |
Toshiba online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
UGG online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Van Heusen | Save $10 on purchase of $60 or more |
Viking River Cruises | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Zales online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
1800Baskets.com | Earn 20% Cashback Bonus |
1800CONTACTS.com | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
1800Flowers.com | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Abt.com | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
ACE Hardware online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Advance Auto Parts online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Anthropologie online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Apple online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Auntie Anne's | Buy any flavor Pretzel Nuggets, get a free pretzel |
AutoZone online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Avalon Waterways® | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Avis | $25 off a weekly rental |
Avis | Free upgrade |
Avis | Free weekend day |
Avon | 10% off your purchase of $40 or more |
Backcountry.com | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Banana Republic online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Bass Pro Shops online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Bath & Body Works | Save 20% online |
Bed Bath & Beyond online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Blue Nile | 10% off jewelry |
Bobbi Brown Cosmetics online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Brookstone.com | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Budget | $15 off weekend rental |
Budget | $20 off a weekly rental |
Budget | Free upgrade |
buybuy BABY online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Carnival Cruise Line® | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Carter's babies and kids | 20% off your purchase of $40 or more |
CheapOAir.com | $25 off Service Fees on flights for 2+ passengers |
Chuck E. Cheese's | $29.99 for a large 1-topping pizza, 4 drinks and 50 tokens |
Clinique online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Coach online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Crate & Barrel online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Crazy 8 | 20% off your purchase of $40 or more |
Crystal Cruises® | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Cunard Line® | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Dell | 10% off PCs, tablets, and more |
Dell Home online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Dell Small Business online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Dillard's online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
drugstore.com | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Eddie Bauer online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Estee Lauder online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Express online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Foot Locker online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
GAP online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Globus® | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Godiva online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Groupon online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Guitar Center online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
H&R Block online | Earn 20% Cashback Bonus |
Hard Rock Resorts Caribbean | 10% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Hard Rock Resorts Mexico | 10% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Holland America Line® | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Home Decorators Collection online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Hotels.com | Save 5% on select hotels |
Hotwire.com | $20 off Hot Rate® Hotel booking of $100 or more |
HP.com | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
HSN online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
J.Crew Factory online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
J.Crew online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
JCPenney online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Jo Malone London online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Jockey outlet stores | $10 off a purchase of $50 or more |
Jos. A. Bank online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Kiehl's online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Kmart online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Kohl's | $10 off a purchase of $30 or more |
Kohl's online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
LAB SERIES online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Lands' End online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
LEGO online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Levi's online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
LOFT online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Macy's online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Magazines.com | Earn 25% Cashback Bonus |
Microsoft Store online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Motherhood Maternity online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
MSC Cruises | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Neiman Marcus Last Call online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Neiman Marcus online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Nike.com | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Nordstrom Rack online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Nordstrom.com | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Oceania Cruises | 10% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Office Depot® Office Max® online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
OLD NAVY online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Orbitz.com | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus on Prepay Hotels |
Origins online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
OshKosh B'gosh | 20% off your purchase of $40 or more |
Overstock.com | 5% off your purchase |
Palace Resorts® | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Panasonic online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
papajohns.com | 25% off |
PersonalCreations.com | Earn 20% Cashback Bonus |
petco.com | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
PetSmart online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Pier 1 Imports online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Prescriptives online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Princess Cruises | 10% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
ProFlowers online | Earn 25% Cashback Bonus |
PUMA online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Puritan's Pride | $10 off $50 purchase |
QVC online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Ralph Lauren online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Saks Fifth Avenue online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
Sam's Club online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Samsung online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Sears | $25 off a Kenmore® appliance purchase of $499 or more |
Sears online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Sephora online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Shop.NHL.com | 10% off |
Smashbox online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Starbucks online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Sweet Tomatoes | 15% off entire check |
The Body Shop online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
The Limited | 40% off a $75 purchase |
The Limited online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
The New York Times Wine Club | Sampler Club for $59.95 |
The North Face online | Earn 10% Cashback Bonus |
The Popcorn Factory Popcorn Factory | 20% off your purchase of $49 or more at |
The Sports Authority online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Timberland Factory Stores | 10% off $100 |
Tory Burch online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Trafalgar | 10% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
TurboTax | Save up to $20 |
Ulta Beauty online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Under Armour online | Earn 15% Cashback Bonus |
Universal Studios Resort | 5% Cashback Bonus through Cruise & Vacation Desk |
Vacation Weddings | 5% Cashback Bonus |
Vera Bradley online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Victoria's Secret online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Vision Direct online | Earn 15% Cashback Bonus |
Vitamin Shoppe | $10 off $50+ purchase plus free shipping |
Walgreens online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
Walgreens.com | 30% off contacts + free shipping |
Walmart online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
White House Black Market online | Earn 5% Cashback Bonus |
--
January 24, 2016
Rental Comp Data for January 2015 ... I No Longer Trust Rentometer Data
I've been tracking comp data for our rentals via Rentometer.com roughly quarterly when I remember. I'm however now about to give up on Rentometer. The last time I checked was August and the data I looked up today is completely unchanged for 3 of our 5 properties.
Here's the January 2016 data :
A | B | C | D | E | |
2bed | 3bed | 1bed | 1bed | 3bed | |
house | house | apt | apt | house | |
10% | $766 | $766 | $374 | $409 | $1,014 |
20% | $865 | $847 | $411 | $450 | $1,099 |
median | $1,000 | $976 | $490 | $565 | $1,225 |
80% | $1,245 | $1,153 | $555 | $609 | $1,424 |
90% | $1,345 | $1,233 | $592 | $650 | $1,509 |
# prop | 34 | 35 | 34 | 35 | 35 |
dist | 0.5 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.4 |
Properties A, C & E are exactly the same in all points compared to August and that can't be valid. I know for a fact that rents for the areas that A & E are in are going up pretty fast.
I'll probably switch to using Zillow.com and/or Craigslist..com Zillow just gives their Rent Zestimate which is just a single dollar estimate of rental value. But it doesn't seem to handle the mult-plex properties too well since it doesn't seem to cite rents for individual apartments. It works well enough for the single family homes though.
Zestimate numbers today for the SFH are :
Zestimate | |
A | $1,500 |
B | $1,400 |
E | $1,675 |
Plus I can get a lot better filtering on Craigslist so it will be better. It takes a lot longer to do such comp checks on Craigslist however which is why I've liked to use the simple / easy test on Rentometer.
--
January 22, 2016
Best of Blogs for Week of January 22nd
Every Friday afternoon I share some of the more interesting or notable posts that I have seen in the personal finance blogs and other sources for the past week
MyMoneyBlog shares Vanguard Mutual Fund Expense Ratio Change History
Going from 0.9% to ~0.2% doesn't seem like a huge leap but it could add up to ~20% more money over 30 years.
TheBigPicture discusses risk with Crashes, Terrorists, and Sharks, Oh My!
The Simple Dollar tells us How to Save Money with a Video Gaming Hobby
--
January 15, 2016
Best of Blogs for Week of January 15th
Every Friday afternoon I share some of the more interesting or notable posts that I have seen in the personal finance blogs and other sources for the past week
MyMoneyBlog shares the Investment Returns Ranked by Asset Class 1996-2015
as created by Callan associates
MMB also lists Five Ways To Get a Free Credit Score (No Trials!)
The Simple Dollar lists Six Basic Personal Finance Facts People Should Know (but Constantly Get Wrong)
--
January 14, 2016
Is AAA Life Insurance a Good Deal?
I received an offer in the mail to buy AAA group life insurance. The rates are pictured to the right.
$300k of coverage rates :
18-34 year old male (non-nicotine user) for $31.24 per month.
40-44 year old female is $31.57
50-54 year old male nicotine user at $266.92
70-74 year old female at $416.34
I went to Term4Sale.com to get some example quotes and this is the cheapest option from A+ rated insurers :
20 year old male for $14.70 a month
34 year old male at $15.66
40 year old female $17.82
44 year old female $25.93
50 year old male nicotine user $182.86
54 year old male nicotine user $266.85
74 year old female gave no options available.
Pretty much across the board, the AAA group rates are higher for the age groups I looked at.
Of course the quotes on Term4Sale are based on good health so your exact rate may differ depending on the details. The AAA insurance offering does say they don't require an exam and they only as a few basic health questions. AAA does also have options for people in their 70's which I didn't find on Term4Sale.
It pays to shop around for this kind of thing.
--
January 12, 2016
ShopYourWay Deals for $10 or $15 Back and 100% Points Items at Sears
ShopYourWay Everwhere site features several merchants that can get you $15 back in the points during the month of January after you spend $15 or more.. Partners include : Groupon, Fandango, Dollar Tree, Diapers.com, Old Navy, Office Depot, Staples, Carters, GameStop, REI, Petco, Petsmart and others. If you had any thing to buy at these merchants then using the SYW portal will get you some free extra points.
This week they also have $10 back on Chaps, Rakuten, Vans & Liz Claiborne brands with ShopYourWay when you spend $10. Thats in the weekly new brands deal. Offer good for 1/10 to 1/16 only.
For the $10 and $15 deals the terms say that : Purchase requirement before taxes and after gift card payments and other discounts and must be made in a single transaction. and Points may take up to 45 days to be awarded to member account.
See the SYW Weekly Member Deals for all the discounts.
This is kind of like a free after rebate deal but you get the purchase price refunded in points. The points do however have a relatively short expiration date. Generally they have free ship to store but ship to home availability may vary. The 100% back items bought at Sears can also be stacked with other cashback portals. Discover Deals gives 5% back at Sears for example.
If you're interested any of these SYW deals then make sure you've got a good use for points at Sears or Kmart. Buying phone cables to get free points and then not having anything good to use for those points isn't going to save you money in the end. Also be aware of the expiration periods for the points deals.
--This article may contain referral links which pay this site a commission for purchases made at the sites.
January 10, 2016
I made $2469 and 3 Hotel nights in Credit Card Rewards Total for 2015
We did pretty good on our credit card rewards this year. Total rewards were $2469 and enough points at IHG for 3 hotel nights.
Here is the list of cards, rewards and spending :
bonus | total | spend | |
Amex blue | $200 | $215 | $1,370 |
Usbank Cash+ | $100 | $139 | $1,226 |
Fidelity | $384 | $19,178 | |
SallieMae | $773 | $24,271 | |
Costco | $49 | $5,033 | |
Citi Premier | $500 | $550 | $3,452 |
Chase freedom | $218 | $2,812 | |
Chase IHG | 3 nights | $1,024 | |
Discover | $141 | $3,308 | |
$2,469 | $61,674 |
In total I got 4% back on the spending on our cards. Plus the 3 nights of hotel points is worth a good $300 to $600 which we'll use eventually.
I signed up for 3 cards in April. Amex Blue Cash, US Bank Cash+ and Chase IHG
Then later on in June I got a Citi ThankYou Premier card with 50k bonus points.
I tried my best to maximize 5% categories on the cards. We use Salliemae for its 5% at Amazon, grocery & gas. But those categories max at $750, 250 and 250 of spending respectively each month. Other than that I used the US Bank Cash+ for its cell phone 5% category. The Chase Freedom, Discover and Citi Dividend cards all have rotating 5% promotional categories each quarter. I didn't get a ton off those in general. However in Q4 Chase had 10% back on Amazon so I maximized that one.
With $61,674 total spending I could have gotten $1233 if we'd just used the 2% cash back Fidelity Amex. So the extra work of juggling cards and signing up for bonuses more than doubled our rewards.
We did spend a lot. $61k is a lot of money to put on credit cards and most people aren't going to be spending that much. On the other hand the best return was on the new card bonuses and you don't need to spend a ton to qualify for those. If you spend more like $1000 a month you could have signed up for the same cards I did and ended up making around $1000 total rewards and bonuses.
--
January 8, 2016
Best of Blogs for Week of January 8th
Every Friday afternoon I share some of the more interesting or notable posts that I have seen in the personal finance blogs and other sources for the past week
The Big Picture shows us The Biggest Public Company in Every US State
The Simple Dollar tells us that For-Profit Colleges Aren’t Worth the Price
Doughroller reports the new 2016 Federal Income Tax Brackets, Deductions, and Exemption Limits
--
$20 eBay Gift Card Credit For Free Using $100 for $95 Deals
UPDATE 4/28/16 : eBay is no longer allowing you to buy their gift cards using gift cards.
Today eBay has a deal to get a $100 gift card for $95. That doesn't seem to spectacular as its only 5% off. But... you can use gift cards to buy this. AND... you can do it again next time they have a deal... and again... and again.. By doing this you can make $5 in eBay gift card balance every time they have such a sale. So far as I've done it 4 times on Dec. 23rd, 27th, 29th and now January 8th. My original $95 is now worth $115. As long as they keep doing it there is no reason I can't keep getting $5 free every time.
I found the deals posted on Fatwallet. Todays deal is posted there. If you watch Fatwallet you'll see the $100 for $95 deals posted. It only then takes a minute or two to go buy a card.
Of course you do have to start with $95 and you've got to have a reason to want credit at eBay. They do have a variety of gift cards from other merchants (Target, Home Depot, Sears, etc) to buy so that could be a good use for you if you don't want to buy merchandise at eBay.
--