What are the current best VGC deals?

A guide to the best VGC deals locally and online
When trying to decide what the best deal is always remember to do the math for your particular situation. If you don't have a 5X earning card at Office Supply stores, that may not be your best option than say, if you could earn 4X at a grocery store on your other card.

Since card multipliers can vary wildly, the best way to list the deals is likely on a cost-per-point basis - assuming 1x - and then putting the additional multipliers later to show how much better the deal may indeed be from person to person.

This is of course subject to change on a minute's notice. Please feel free to edit with new deals.

 Date of last update : 10/17/2016

Local In-Store Deals
The best deals we can find in physical stores in South Louisiana. Remember, all base cpp (cents-per-point) calculations are done on a 1x earning card with [additional calculations in brackets].

#1: +1.45 cpp - Five Back Visa Gift Cards [+5.59cpp on 5x]
Cost : $6.95

Denominations : Variable from $20 up to $200

Issuing Bank : Metabank

PIN for Debit Use : Last 4 of card number

Where to Buy : Office Depot, Office Max, Lowe's, Winn-Dixie (debit only)

Why is this deal a good one? : Because no matter how you spin it, as long as you redeem the additional 5% back by purchasing a GC at CVS you will always be profitable. The profit margins on any card that can earn you 5x at Office Supply (Chase Ink Plus/Cash, American Express SimplyCash Business) or at a hardware store (Discover IT quarterly bonus) make the card preposterously good of a deal. For more info, read the write-up here.

#2 TIE -0.98 cpp: One Vanilla Variable Visa Gift Card (OVVGC) [-0.19 cpp at 5X]
Cost : $4.95

Denominations : $25 to $500

Issuing Bank : Bancorp

PIN for Debit Use : Any 4-digit pin of your choice during first use

Where to Buy : CVS, Walgreens, Dollar General, (Update: 10/29/16 Rite Aid no longer allows gift card purchase with credit cards)

Why is this deal a good one? : Consider the purchase of a OVVGC (or it's brother, the VVGC below) to be the maximum you ever pay for a VGC in-store. Never pay more than 1cpp. These cards are incredibly easy to find/purchase and look more "official" than some other gift cards. Is this a stellar deal? Nope. However if you have a card that gives you bonus at Pharmacy (American Express Blue Cash cards) you can turn the math around quite nicely in your favor.

#2 TIE -0.98 cpp: Vanilla Visa Gift Cards - Variable Denomination (VVGC) [-0.19 cpp at 5X]
Cost : $3.95 to $4.95

Denominations : Variable from $50 to $500

Issuing Bank : Bancorp

PIN for Debit Use : Any 4-digit pin of your choice during first use

Where to Buy : CVS, Walgreens, Dollar General, (Update: 10/29/16 Rite Aid no longer allows gift card purchase with credit cards)

Why is this deal a good one? : See above. This is your base deal. But again, if you have a card that gives you bonus at Pharmacy (American Express Blue Cash cards) you can turn the math around quite nicely in your favor.

#3 -0.98 cpp: Walmart Visa Gift Cards [no multipliers!]
Cost : $4.94

Denominations : Fixed and Variable up to $500

Issuing Bank : Green Dot Bank

PIN for Debit Use : Last 4 digits of card number

Where to Buy : Walmart

Why is this deal a good one? : Well, they're one penny cheaper than other VGC but the real bummer is that no cards we know of give any sort of multiplier for Walmart purchases, and that possibility makes these cards inferior to OVVGC/VVGC in our opinions. Only advantage is that these, unlike the Vanillas, can be liquidated to MO at the Walmart Money Center.

#4 -2.475 cpp: Dining Everywhere Visa Gift Cards [-0.495 cpp on 5x]
Cost : $4.95

Denominations : Variable from $20 up to $200

Issuing Bank : GiftCardMall

PIN for Debit Use : Last 4 of card number

Where to Buy : Office Depot, Office Max, Winn Dixie (debit-only)

Why is this deal a good one? : Again, another case where unless you have a category bonus earning card, don't do this deal. However this beats the Metabank VGC (but still lags far behind the Five Back VGC) as the cheapest option for VGC at Office Supply stores - but not the most lucrative. Go after these once you've completely eradicated all supplies of Five Backs.

#5 -3.36 cpp: Metabank Visa Gift Cards [-0.67cpp at 5x]
Cost : $6.95 for $200 card, less for $100/$50 varieties

Denominations : Fixed $25 up to $200 [you should only use the $200 for MS]

Issuing Bank : Metabank / GiftCardMall

PIN for Debit Use : Last 4 digits of card

Where to Buy : Office Depot, Office Max, Whole Foods, Lowes

Why is this deal a good one? : Unless you have a card that grants you a category bonus at the stores in question - it's not a good deal at all. It's an atrocious deal. However, if you have a card with bonus at office supply stores, grocery stores, or hardware stores that turns this deal on its side and becomes highly lucrative. If you really want to try and max out your earnings, register your CC at the Hawaiian Airlines Marketplace and add an extra 1x Hawaiian Miles on top of your CC earnings (potentially 6x!)

Online Deals
The best deals we can find online from our computers. Remember, all base cpp (cents-per-point) calculations are done on a 1x earning card with [additional calculations in brackets]. For our purposes we will include the Cash Back portals used as well.

# 1 +0.05 cpp: GiftCardMall.com Visa Gift Cards [+0.15 cpp at 3X]
Cost: $5.95 for $500 Denomination

Best Deal: $1500/transaction max to qualify for free shipping. Simply buy 3x $500 GC for a total cost of $1517.85 Shipping (best deal) : $0 for whole order (DOES NOT come with tracking number)

Cash Back from Portal: 1.25% (Yazing, SimplyBestCoupons, TopCashBack),so $18.75 cash back

The Math! : $17.85 in costs - $18.75 in cash back = +$0.90 in Profit!

Issuing Bank: Metabank / GiftCards.com / BlackHawk Network

PIN for Debit Use: Last 4 digits of card

Why is this deal a good one? : For one, it's profitable. Not by much, but it's profitable. MS at no cost or at a profit is the holy grail of this game. Though still not the most profitable deal we have, if you have the Citi AT&T Access More Card - it's not currently available for new sign-ups but you can still product-change an older card to it - earns 3x TYP at GiftCardMall.com meaning that each $1500 order you pump through, you will make $0.90 in cash back to offset your cost AND earn a whopping 4500 TYP. If you have the AT&T Card and any interest in travel via TYP, this is a deal you really should be using.

#2 -0.44 cpp: GiftCards.com Visa Gift Cards [no multiplier!]
Cost: $6.95 for $350-500 Denomination

Best Deal: $2500/transaction max including all fees. Structure as follows - buy 4x $500 VGC + 1x $450 VGC. Total comes out to $2492.20

Shipping (best deal) : $7.45 for whole order (comes with tracking number)

Cash Back from Portal: 1.25% (Yazing, SimplyBestCoupons, TopCashBack),so $31.15 back

The Math! : $42.20 in costs - $31.15 in cash back = $11.05 total cost

Issuing Bank: Metabank / GiftCards.com / BlackHawk Network

PIN for Debit Use: Last 4 digits of card

Why is this deal a good one? : Compared to the in-store purchases up above, this isn't by any stretch the best deal. However you can order these from the comforts of your home so if time crunches are your enemy, this is not a bad deal. There are no cards that we know of that will categorize GiftCards.com purchases as any bonus category. Consider this a decent way of meeting minimum spend in one quick swoop from the comforts of your couch if you have no AT&T Card. If you have the AT&T Card, why aren't you buying from GiftCardMall?

#3 -2.89 cpp: Staples.com Visa Gift Cards [-0.58 cpp at 5x]
Cost: $6.95 for $200, $8.95 for $300

Best Deal: $300 cards. Total comes out to $308.95

Shipping (best deal) : Free for all orders over $14.99

Cash Back from Portal: None.

The Math! : $8.95 in costs - $0 in cash back = $8.95 total cost

Issuing Bank: Metabank / GiftCardMall.com

PIN for Debit Use: Last 4 digits of card

Why is this deal a good one? : It's probably not. True, you can earn your 5X Office Supply store bonus here and you have the ability to buy them from your couch (max of $2000/order including fees), but other deals above clearly dwarf this deal (FIve Back, Dining Anywhere).

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