Here's how to stack Target's latest promotion with Q4 bonus categories
Katherine Fan is a former senior travel features reporter at The Points Guy who covered everything from personal finance to travel and aviation.
Nov. 09, 2019
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3 min read
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Holiday shoppers, rejoice: Target's offering 5% off of digital gift cards, up to $25 off of $500, as reported by Frequent Miler. This may not seem like a huge discount, but will still take the edge off of larger purchases such as kitchen appliances or video game systems. If you regularly shop at Target, purchasing a gift card now also allows you to shop with the funds at a later date, when you might be able to stack additional coupons and discounts or scour the post-holiday clearance sales.
We usually recommend shoppers use the Target RedCard if they hold either the debit or credit card version, in order to take advantage of the automatic 5% off. But for this 5% promotion that effectively matches the RedCard benefit, it makes more sense to pay with a credit card like the Chase Freedom (No longer open to new applicants), which is offering 5x for checking out with PayPal this quarter, or the Discover it Cash Back, which is currently offering 5% cash back on Target.com (on the first $1,500 in purchases each quarter in rotating categories, enrollment required). Both of the cards mentioned will offer bonus points on the first $1,500 in qualifying purchases between October 1 and December 31.
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What you need to know:
- Digital gift cards are only valid if purchased directly from Target.com
- The offer is valid for up to $500 in Target GiftCard purchases — $25 maximum discount — per household on Target.com
- The 5% offer applies to email and mobile delivery of Target gift cards only, and cannot be used toward physical gift cards
- The minimum card amount is $10
- This bonus doesn't extend to any other gift cards issued by Target or other retailers including Visa or MasterCard
- The promotion will not count toward reloads of previously purchased gift cards
- If you're using the Chase Freedom, you'll only qualify for the 5x bonus category if you pay for the digital gift card via PayPal, which Frequent Miler successfully tested in conjunction with the 5% promotion
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Featured image by Corbis via Getty Images
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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- For a limited time, earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets
- Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Gas Stations, Air Travel and Hotels
- Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Annual Hotel Savings Benefit
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Apply for Citi Premier® Card
at Citi's secure site
TPG Editor‘s Rating
Go to reviewCard Rating is based on the opinion of TPG‘s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
Rewards Rate
| 3X | Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets |
| 3X | Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Gas Stations, Air Travel and Hotels |
| 1X | Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases |
Intro Offer
For a limited time, earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account openingEarn 80,000 ThankYou® points60,000 pointsAnnual Fee
$95Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO© Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.670-850Excellent, Good
Why We Chose It
The Citi Premier’s 3 points per dollar spent across a wide range of popular categories is one of the more lucrative offerings in the world of points and miles. The Citi Premier comes with a $95 annual fee and is currently offering a solid sign up bonus of 80,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months. It also has some valuable transfer partners to make the most of your rewards. Add in access to Citi Entertainment plus a $100 hotel credit for any single-stay hotel booking that exceeds $500 or more, excluding taxes and fees, booked through the Citi travel website, there are few reasons why the Citi Premier should not be in every traveler’s wallet.Pros
- Earns 3x points on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel and hotels.
- $100 annual hotel savings benefit (on single hotel stay bookings of $500 or more, excluding taxes and fees, booked through thankyou.com)
- Points transfer to 16 airline programs, from JetBlue to Virgin Atlantic.
- World Elite Mastercard benefits, extended warranty, damage and theft protection.
Cons
- $95 annual fee
- Lacks travel protections that other travel rewards cards come with
- For a limited time, earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets
- Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Gas Stations, Air Travel and Hotels
- Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Annual Hotel Savings Benefit
- 80,000 Points are redeemable for $800 in gift cards when redeemed at thankyou.com
- No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases