Desperate shoppers are snapping up hundreds of discounted gift cards amid rising cost of living

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Desperate shoppers are snapping up hundreds of discounted gift cards in a bid to save money amid rising cost of living – but are they worth it?

  • Desperate shoppers are snapping up discount gift cards in bid to save money
  • The shoppers say they use the gift cards to do the shopping or by petrol
  • The cards are 10% off however users still have to shoulder the activation fees

By Belinda Cleary For Daily Mail Australia

Published: | Updated:

Desperate shoppers are snapping up Mastercard gift cards for 10% off as the soaring cost of living continues to impact the average household budget.

But some people are calling the deal a ‘waste of money’ and argue buying $1250 worth of the the cards to bag a $93.50 ‘saving’ is excessive.

Most people against the idea of hoarding the cards said they would consider the deal if the store waived the $4.50 and $6.30 activation fee for each one. 

But some people are calling the deal a ‘waste of money’ and argue buying $1250 worth of the the cards to bag a $93.50 ‘saving’ is excessive

Most people against the idea of hoarding the cards said they would consider the deal if the store waived the $4.50 and $6.30 activation fee for each one

Most people against the idea of hoarding the cards said they would consider the deal if the store waived the $4.50 and $6.30 activation fee for each one

The fierce debate raged on after the deal was posted on the Markdown Addicts Australia Facebook Page on Tuesday.

Poll

Would you buy the cards on sale?

  • Yes, what a great deal! 11 votes
  • No, the savings are too small to bother! 34 votes

Thousands of people revealed they had already snapped up five of the cards – the maximum available per transaction.

‘I almost wet my pants when I saw this. I buy a few thousands worth and just use them over a few months,’ one woman said.

While another revealed she doesn’t usually worry about these deals but the sale landed on payday – so she swapped her grocery money for the pre-loaded cards. 

‘All the money I used for these gift cards was sitting there to be used over the month for groceries so I actually put an extra $56 into my grocery money by doing it this way,’ she said.

Others said they would love to snap up some of the cards but found they had all been sold out. 

How much are the cards using discount? 

For the $100 cards there is a $4.50 activation fee. So the total cost of the card is $94.50.

For the $250 cards the activation fee is $6.30. The total cost of the card is $231.30. 

‘I saw one woman grab like twenty of them and pay in separate transactions, there were none left,’ one man said.

‘I have been to both of my local Coles and got one $100 one, the rest were long gone,’ said another. 

The people against buying up the cards said it doesn’t make sense to tie all your money up for such a low return.

‘You spend all your money on gift cards, then you can’t activate them for at least four hours – and have to pay to do that. Not worth it.’ 

‘I barely have a spare $40 left each week – how is everyone affording to spend hundreds hoarding gift cards?’ one woman asked.

Others explained they aren’t ‘hoarding’ them, merely swapping their cash which is to be used for groceries for the cards and effectively saving on ‘every shop’.

The discounts are only available in-store.