WEAK...I didn't see this thread until today (June 5th). Oh well.

SegaRob said:Staples is great for cashing out GCs. Almost every week there is something FAR or better. The only problem is that their GCs don't work online which is really lame.

You can place an online order using the in-store kiosk, then pay at the register using your gift card.

I redeemed $100. This is terrible news...
5% cards are dying quickly.

mttatkns said:ThePessimist said:mttatkns said:The 10k $100 gift cards are now the best redemption option. If you don't have use for them, sell them. The best fixed rate (non-auction and non-trade) I've seen is $84 for an Amazon gift card or $80 for cash on Chili's gift cards through PlasticJungle.
Does TYN offer Amazon GCs? I don't see them under retail cards.

It's really too bad that some of the retailers my wife frequents often (e.g. Kohl's, Target) don't offer $100 GCs.No TYN does not offer Amazon GCs (though I believe they used to). What I am saying is you can sell a Chili's gift card and receive an Amazon GC in exchange.

They used to, you had to search for them as they didnt appear as regular items. Too bad they took them off they were the best redeption.

I do not have any student loans but have redeemed thousands of dollars in SLR. I get the check in my bank's name (Wachovia) and deposit it in my checking account. They never gave me any problem whatsoever .

madcowdisease said:WEAK...I didn't see this thread until today (June 5th). Oh well.

SegaRob said:Staples is great for cashing out GCs. Almost every week there is something FAR or better. The only problem is that their GCs don't work online which is really lame.

You can place an online order using the in-store kiosk, then pay at the register using your gift card.Yeah, but that doesn't save me a trip to the store. Besides that, I've never seen an in-store kiosk in any of their NY stores.

Thanks for the heads up. Redeemed $100 on the last day before the cut off. This may be the end of TYP for me, since my Citi card stopped giving me 5% grocery/gas rebates a couple of months ago. It is all flat 1% now. It was a great ride while it lasted.

slc39 said:I uploaded a spreadsheet (in the quick summary)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rKW-dYeyzFBBW4s3d_QgRjw

that outlines the CashBack percentage value you get for each dollar spent on a Thank You card

(e.g. you can see that a 3x TY points card nets you a 1.8-2.4% max return if you are going for straight cash).

Of course, you get 1 for 1 dollar values back on flight points and (after a certain point level) gift cards. However, those suck because that means you sacrifice the rewards you would have gotten by charging it onto a credit card.

Caveat - Don't EVER use the ThankYou points for iffy travel plans. One of the beautiful benefits of charging a plane ticket onto a credit card is if the airline goes bankrupt (and this has happened), you have a lot less hassle getting your money back. An extreme example, but there are others, of course. In any case, you're giving up leverage in airline disputes if you use ThankYou points.

Wow, that's awesome. Thanks for building that chart. It was really helpful.

could someone make the spreadsheet available without a login please?

it's asking me to sign in with my google account.

czarandy said:That's only 5% at most, and really more like 2% if it's somewhere like Staples. That's much better than the cash options.

Have to agree with you on that. Here's an example.

Suppose I have the following cards:
- a 5x ThankYou card that I only spend on 5x stuff (e.g. MTVU card for restaurants)
- a 5% CashBack card for Bed Bath & Beyond
- a 3% CashBack card for Macy's
- a 1% card for everything else

If I wait to cash in my ThankYou points for a $750 check, my actual TY CashBack percentage is 3.99% (not 5%)

If I cash in for a $100 Bed Bath & Beyond gift card, then my actual TY CashBack percentage is 4.75%

If I cash in for a $100 Macy's gift card, then my actual TY CashBack is 4.85%
(higher than Bed Bath & Beyond since I am giving up less potential rewards points)

If I cashed in for some other retailer's $100 gift card (that I'd normally only get 1% CashBack on using the 1% CashBack card), then my TY CashBack percentage is 4.95%

(CashBack percentages are from the spreadsheet)

Note: I picked these retailers at random to use as examples.