A few readers note that Safeway recently implemented a change blocking the purchase of all gift cards (Visa, third-party, Safeway) when paying with a Safeway/Albertsons store gift card. Previously the registered allow the use of Safeway gift cards or e-gift cards to buy Visa or third-party or Safeway physical gift cards, though cashiers often blocked it.
You can still use a Visa/MC/Amex gift card to buy a third party gift card as those function like an ordinary credit card functions (update: this might not work anymore).
Hat tip to reader RM
MCGC are also blocked on purchases of MCGC
It appears they have also blocked VGC´s and MCGC´s from paying for third party GC´s as well.
I tried paying for a $50 Zift Zillions of Gifts GC with a VGC (Pathward-InComm) and it failed both via credit and debit.
This is in Northern CA.
Yeah it only takes off the $7.95 fee on GCs now. Was buying safeway GC with the amazon shop with points deal and using them on MCGC. Was getting around $2k-$3k yearly doing this. Now im stuck with $2500 safeway GC
How many Amazon accounts did this involve? Safeway sounds like it was a liquidation angle here but the volume of shop with points deals you did sounds like the real accomplishment.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
On a similar note, i dont think you get rewards anymore for third party gift cards like Best Buy or Target, like before, when entering your rewards number.
Got rewards on Target this weekend.
Wow. I really missed out not knowing about this. I would have punished the hell out of it at a local backwater Safeway that wouldn’t have cared in the least.
Used to get Safeway gift card from capital one shopping, and convert that to visa/mc.
So cap one rewards was 90% cash for me.
Now cap one rewards doesnt have Safeway or any other good options and Safeway venue also gone .
I was able to do this once after arguing with the manager for like 30 minutes. Only one time in life time.
Pretty sure trotting over to stop these transactions and then yelling at the customer and clerk was the only thing in the manager’s job description at my old store. What is their purpose in life now?
lol! Those dummies do not understand the phrase, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”
Had no idea this was even possible.But on a similar note, is there any venue that still allows gc to gc purchase? I only knew Amazon for a long time which they shut down a while back.
Sears if theres still any around you
Bummer, but I haven’t had a source for discounted Safeway/Albertsons cards for a while. I used to purchase third-party gift cards quite a bit when I could get Safeway cards for an 8% discount from the AARP rewards site. The terms always said no third party gift card purchases but I discovered by accident that the register allowed it. I always mixed it in with normal grocery purchases to make it less obvious.
I’m really disappointed that AARP stopped selling discounted Albertson’s and Kroger gift cards. I keep hoping that they’ll eventually return, but it’s been a while now so they probably won’t. Guess I need to try to find another source for discounted grocery gift cards
They had the Albertson’s 20% ($15 for $12) last month so they still do it, just fewer and farther in-between. And they sell out fast.
And I seem to recall that when AARP does these 20% off flash sales they only let you buy one gift card at that discount. Still true? Hardly worth it to save $3 on one $15 card.
Flash sales are one per account. Extra Credit sales (which is what these were) are five per account.
I’m glad I dropped AARP after Carnival gift cards disappeared. Sounds like it’s going further down hill.