Buy Discounted Gift Cards with Raise to Save Money

Raise is an online marketplace where real people buy and sell gift cards at prices below their face value. If someone received a $50 Applebee's gift card as a gift but never eats there, they can sell it on Raise for, say, $42. The buyer gets a $50 card for $42 — saving $8 — and the seller gets some cash back from a card they would never have used.

This creates a win-win situation. As a buyer on Raise, you can find gift cards for stores you shop regularly — think Target, Amazon, Best Buy, Starbucks, Gap, or Lowe's — at 3% to 25% below the amount printed on the card. The discount varies by store and how eager sellers are to unload their cards.

Gift cards on Raise come in two forms. Electronic cards are delivered immediately to your email or Raise account — you get a card number and PIN you can type in at checkout online or show the cashier on your phone screen. Physical cards are mailed to you and take several days to arrive. Electronic cards are faster and more convenient for most purchases.

Raise verifies every card before listing it for sale, and they offer a money-back guarantee: if you buy a card and the balance is wrong or the card does not work, Raise will replace or refund it within a defined window (check current policy on their website). This protection makes buying from strangers much less risky.

Raise is available as a website (raise.com) and as an app for iPhone and Android.