How I Save Money on Flights by Buying Airline Gift Cards

I don’t love to spend money on flights, which is a major reason why I got into points and miles.

But there are definitely times when redeeming miles doesn’t make sense: when there aren’t saver-level awards, when the cash price is low, or when I can’t find redemptions that fit my schedule.

In these cases, I’ll choose to pay money for my flights — but that doesn’t mean I’m necessarily going to be paying full price. Let’s talk about how and when airline gift cards can be a good idea, plus tips for making sure you get the best bang for your buck.

Buy Gift Cards From Wholesale Retailers

The easiest way to save money is by buying gift cards from wholesale retailers such as Costco or Sam’s Club. This is because they’ll pretty regularly stock discounted gift cards — and Southwest Airlines happens to be the most popular option.

Sometimes, they’ll even offer extra discounts. In the example below, you can save an additional $20 off a $500 gift card, dropping the price to $429.99.

Buying Gift Cards From Resale Websites

If you don’t have a membership to one of these clubs — or you can’t find the gift card you’d like — you can also check out gift card reselling sites such as GCX.

Unlike us, some people don’t like to travel, so when they get gift cards they’re not able to use, they sell them to these websites. The sites then resell them for a profit, but you can still buy them for less than face value.

Now, saving 5% on a Delta Air Lines gift card isn’t a huge deal, but every little bit can help.

Buy Gift Cards With Retailer Promotions

Finally, stores will often have promotions allowing you to score discounts on your purchases, including gift cards. Amazon, for example, currently has a promotion allowing you to save 40% on your purchase when redeeming as little as 1 Membership Rewards point.

Although this particular promotion maxes out at $40 in savings, you’re still getting a great deal on your gift card purchase.

Target often offers promotions that let you save a percentage off your purchase or earn cash rewards when you spend a certain amount. Plus, even when there isn’t a sale, the Target Circle™ Card (debit or credit version) provides a 5% discount on all purchases.

How To Maximize Your Savings and Protections

Many travel credit cards provide complimentary travel insurance, but to qualify, you typically need to cover the full cost of travel expenses with the card, which excludes payments made with gift cards.

There are some cards, however, that require that you only charge a portion of your fare to qualify for most insurance. This is largely true for the Chase Sapphire Reserve^®, which offers industry-leading travel coverage such as trip delay insurance, lost and delayed luggage protection, emergency medical or evacuation insurance, and travel accident insurance, even if you’ve only used the card to pay for a portion of your flight expenses.

That said, Chase recently changed trip cancellation and interruption insurance terms specifically, now requiring full payment to qualify for protections. If you purchased a portion of the airfare with a gift card and the rest with your eligible Chase credit card, you wouldn’t be eligible for that coverage. You may be better off purchasing a separate travel insurance policy in those instances.

Final Thoughts

If I have to use cash to pay for a flight, you best believe I’m still thinking about ways to maximize what I’m spending. If you’re looking for discounted airline gift cards, check out Costco, Sam’s Club, gift card resellers, or promotions from merchants like Amazon and Target for extra savings.

The information regarding the Target Circle™ Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.