Welcome to Saving Money with Andrew!
I tend to accumulate gift cards. Whenever I see a discounted gift card for a service or store I frequent (DoorDash, Best Buy, etc), I pick it up. And, like most of us, I receive a lot of gift cards as gifts.
My top two gift cards tips:
Don’t forget them!
It’s basic, but most of us do it. Billions of dollars of gift cards go unused each year. There’s a term for this—breakage. In 2020 alone, Starbucks earned $180 million from gift cards that were never used.[1]
I try to use gift cards as soon as I can so I don’t forget about them. If the retailer allows you to add a gift card to your online account, do that as quickly as possible.[2]
I also track my unused giftcards in a Google Sheets spreadsheet and set a recurring reminder to make sure I haven’t forgotten about them.[3]
If you don’t use it, sell it (or regift it)!
Typically, if I haven’t used a gift card in over a year, I assume I’m not going to use it. Most often, I sell my unused gift cards at Raise (not an ad, I’m not compensated by them). You won’t get full value, but 70-90 cents on the dollar is far better than a worthless gift card on the shelf. Alternatively, regift the card if you’d rather not sell it.
Also—Free (and Reimbursed) COVID Tests
Starting Wednesday, you can order up to four free at-home tests from the official US government website at Covidtests.gov.
In addition, as of last Saturday, the federal government has adopted rules requiring private health insurers to reimburse for at-home COVID tests up to $24 per two-pack, up to eight tests per person per month. Unfortunately, these rules only apply to tests purchased on or after January 15th.
I’m less than pleased with these rules:
The Omicron surge is well underway and tests have been in short supply for weeks. If you found tests before January 15th, you’re out of luck.
This reimbursement policy does nothing about the real problem, which is the extreme difficulty of actually finding tests.[4]
If anything, reimbursing eight tests per month per person is likely to exacerbate existing shortages, as I’m sure some people will buy the maximum and stockpile (or, even worse, purchase them for resale).
But, if you do buy tests after the 15th, you should definitely contact your health insurance company to find out how to submit claims.
And now…Andrew’s pick(s) of the week:
For those readers hooked on Wordle like me, here are some great Wordle strategy tips.
Planet Money visits the Treasure Hunt Bin Megastore, where resellers battle to buy “liquidated pallets of returned goods” every week.
Finally, RIP Bob Saget! I enjoyed this nice Bob Saget story.
I hope this has been helpful. If you liked it, please share it on social media! Also, please send me your feedback, requests, and success stories.
[1] To be accurate, each year Starbucks estimates (based on historical experience) the share of gift cards that will never be used and is able to recognize a portion of this as revenue.
[2] Among many others, Amazon, Target, and DoorDash let you do this.
[3] Some good tips on setting reminders.
[4] I use NowInStock to set email alerts, which has been extremely helpful for finding tests.
In case you haven’t found how to play more than one wordle a day…. Wordle.berknation.com