Update: Unfortunately this offer is no longer available on the Barclaycard Shopping Portal.
Earn 6X on AMEX gift card purchases with your Barclaycard Arrival card (4X via the Barclaycard Shopping Portal + 2X on all purchases). Since the Barclaycard Arrival already earns 2X on all purchases (2.2% cash back, when redeemed for travel), you could earn 6 Barclaycard Arrival “miles” per dollar. As an example, say you purchased a $3000 AMEX gift card. You'd earn 18,000 “miles” which equate to $180 off any travel expense, plus get a 10% miles rebate of 1800 back in your account, the equivalent of $18. That's equal to 6.6% cash back. You can cash out AMEX gift cards using Amazon Payments. See Amazon Payments: Cash Out Gift Cards Bought to Meet Minimum Spend.
There are also various Ultimate Rewards Mall bonuses for February 2014. While I'm not focusing on Ultimate Rewards as much, after the United Award Chart Devaluation, I do look at bonuses that enable me to earn at least 5X points per dollar spent, and the Ultimate Rewards Mall can still be the most lucrative bet when you're able to buy gift cards for 5X using your Ink Bold or Ink Plus, then get an additional Ultimate Rewards Mall bonus on top of that.
To get the full bonus below, you must have an Ink Bold or Ink Plus card and use this card to buy the store's gift card at an office supply store, such as Office Depot, OfficeMax or Staples, then click through using the Ultimate Rewards Mall and pay with the gift card. I recommend that you put at least a small amount of the purchase on your Ink Bold or Ink Plus credit card, to maximize your chance of earning points even for the part of the purchase using the gift card. And note that there is a small risk of not getting the points, so before you buy a huge amount this way, you may want to do a trial run with a smaller amount first.
Also note that in general gift card purchases are NOT eligible for points–only actual merchandise.
1. 15X Points for Kohl's
15X: 5X from Kohl's gift card + 10X Ultimate Rewards Mall
Get 15X Ultimate Rewards points after you purchase a Kohl's gift card at OfficeMax or Staples then going through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall for a further 10X. There's currently a clearance sale at Kohl's
2. 10X Points for Marriott
10X: 5X from using purchasing a Marriott gift card at Staples with your Ink Bold or Ink Plus, + 5X Chase Freedom Ultimate Rewards Mall bonus. Note that you must have a Chase Freedom card to see 5X for Marriott; Marriott is only 2X in the Ink Bold/Ink Plus and Sapphire Preferred Ultimate Rewards Mall.
3. 10X Points for Gap, Macy's, JC Penney, Sephora
10X: 5X from buying a Gap, JC Penney, Nordstrom, Gap gift card + 5X Ultimate Rewards Mall
Get 10X Ultimate Rewards points by purchasing gift cards with your Ink card for 5X points, then going through the Ultimate Rewards Mall for a further 5X. Note that you can use Gap gift cards at any of the Gap group brands, including Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. Also note below where you must log into the Ultimate Rewards Mall with a specific card to see the 5X bonus.
Gap: Staples, Office Depot / Log into Ultimate Rewards Mall using Chase Freedom to see 5X
Macy's: Staples, Office Depot / Log into Ultimate Rewards Mall using Chase Sapphire Preferred, Ink Bold or Ink Plus to see 5X
JC Penney: OfficeMax, Staples
Sephora: OfficeMax, Staples, Office Depot
4. 9X Points for Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's and Banana Republic
9X: 5X from Bloomingdale's gift card + 4X Ultimate Rewards Mall
Get 9X Ultimate Rewards points by purchasing Bloomingdale's gift cards with your Ink card for 5X points, then going through the Ultimate Rewards Mall for a further 4X.
Where to buy the gift cards:
Nordstrom: OfficeMax, Staples
Bloomingdale's: Staples, Office Depot
Gap: Staples, Office Depot
5. 8X Points for Lowe's, Home Depot, Bloomingdale's
Get 8X points total if you first buy gift cards for 5X using your Ink card, then go through the Ultimate Rewards Mall for a further 3X.
Where to buy the gift cards:
Lowe's: OfficeMax, Staples
Home Depot: OfficeMax, Staples
Do you plan to take advantage of 6.6% cash back on AMEX cards or any of these Ultimate Rewards Mall bonuses?
Related Posts
Barclays Arrival Card: Top 10 Tips to Maximize Rewards from the 40,000 Bonus
Amazon Payments: Cash Out Gift Cards Bought to Meet Minimum Spend
Meet Minimum Spend on Credit Cards: Top 20 Tips
Need Award Booking Help? Our fee is as low as $75 per ticket if you book your hotel or cruise through us.
If you enjoyed this, join 200,000+ readers: please follow TravelSort on Twitter or like us on Facebook to be alerted to new posts.
Become a TravelSort Client and Book 5-Star Hotels with Virtuoso or Four Seasons Preferred Partner Amenities!
Disclaimer: Note that some cards in this post offer credit to me if you’re approved using my links. The opinions, analyses, and evaluations are mine. This content is not provided or commissioned by Chase, American Express, Citibank, US Bank, Bank of America, or any other company. They have not reviewed, approved or endorsed any of my articles.