Okay, I know Amex gift cards are a sore topic with the REDbird demise and all, but a deal is a deal so here goes…
The Offer
- Purchase $150 or more in American Express gift cards and get a $15 instant discount with coupon.
This offer is showing in the Just for U part of your Safeway/Vons account. I’m guessing the coupon is attached to your Safeway/Vons card and the discount will come off automatically, but I’m not entirely sure how Just for U works as I don’t shop in those stores. Assuming it’s attached to your store card then it probably won’t be possible to use the offer more than once. But the Terms say, “one coupon per transaction” which would sound like it could be used more than once. [UPDATE: Reportedly, it’s not so easy to use it more than once.]
Amex gift cards come with a $5.95 fee and you’ll be able to get the $150 Amex gift card for $140.95. Or you can buy a $500 Amex gift card for $490.95. This could be useful if you have a credit card that earns bonus points at supermarkets.
This offer would probably also be available at Pavilions and any other member of the Safeway chain stores.
The Fine Print
- One-time store coupon
- Expires 5/19/15
- Expires one week after issue
- One coupon per transaction
Our Verdict
This could be a nice way of racking up grocery store spend. Of course, you’ll have to have a way to liquidate the Amex gift cards. You can use them for regular spend, but it’s quite a hassle. Still, at a 6% discount this is a good deal.
If the deal can be repeated then it would be possible to buy many of these in $150 denominations and lock in 6% off all future purchases wherever Amex cards are accepted.
While your at Safeway/Vons, don’t forget the other Just for U Offers which are still available (here and here).
Remember also that you can lock in 5% off future purchases by buying Amex gift cards under the recent Amex Offer which was released.
HT: amhenn and bc3000 on Fatwallet
In my experience SW cashiers who run the self-check can override the $500 limit. Mine routinely do and it is why I choose self-check.
Yeah yeah.. Rub more salt to the insult.. 🙂
I’ve had no issues buying $1000+ at Safeway with a CC with manager approval. Why are you trying to avoid the manager? I usually just buy the GC at the guest services desk since they don’t need to wait for someone else to come over for an override.
(Bay Area, CA)
With that said though, I currently don’t have another way of liquidating Amex GCs quickly anymore (other than Kiva, but that’s not quick at all) so I am sad to sit out on this one. 🙁
Yeah, AGC are getting tough to deal with.
As I stated, it’s YMMV with Safeway and credit cards. This is a known fact, especially in the Bay Area (I’m including data from others, not just my own). If you’ve never encountered issues with your store, consider yourself fortunate. No matter hard you try to establish relationships with certain people or managers, some stores simply are a no-go
.
I believe this offer is a one time thing and cannot be repeated in future transactions.
For example, if you look at the gap $5 off $25 offer you’ll notice the offer is listed at the top in bold as “offer type: unlimited.” This amex gc offer is listed as “offer type: one-time.”
Also worth noting all the gc offers (sephora, gap, amex etc) use the same “purchase must be made in one transaction” despite the fact that some are only one-time use.
As far as manager approval goes, you want to keep your total purchase at or below $499.99. It’s always a YMMV thing with Safeway and ccs. Don’t expect to always buy with a cc without issue. Best to get to know which cashiers will and will not care about the payment method. I personally buy a few groceries and I’ll do $450 in vgc so that it’s not obvious that I’m trying to avoid the manager coming over. If you go in and buy just a gift card for $494 to get your total at $499.95 I think it’s going to cause curiosity at the very least.
Thanks for clarifying.
Conspiracy theorists of all countries unite! You could almost think that firms like Topcashback or Safeway do this on purpose to add insult to our injuries (or they need to get rid of their stock as these AGC are pretty much useless now).
Does anybody know what exactly the CC rules are for Vons? I think they need manager approval for anything >$499.99? Is that hard policy or something each cashier/manager can make up on her own discretion?
That is hard policy I believe. I’ve been to at least 8 Vons/Safeway buying GC. It’s always the same, look for a manager running the checkout line if possible or go to the customer service counter and wait for one. They’re the only ones with the magic cards on a string.
Other stores, like Albertson’s here out West are completely lax. Any cashier, even the one running the self check out line can do it. Plus their customer service dept will do it as well.