If you’re planning to hit the stores — whether out of necessity or for holiday shopping — you might already be thinking about which credit card or affiliate platform to use to maximize your savings. But have you considered using a gift card? There are a few good reasons to:

• Gift card marketplaces like GCX or CardCash offer discounted gift cards for holiday spending — with savings ranging from 2% to 30% across over 800 brands.
• Discounts vary by brand but can be compounded with a cashback credit card of your choice, multiplying your savings at places you already shop.

Heads up: Buying discounted gift cards might be favorable to using affiliate platforms like Rakuten and a cashback credit card alone — but the two can’t be combined to triple your savings.

BTW: Gift cards might be a holiday staple, but you can also use these platforms in reverse — to sell cards. You might take a small haircut when selling to a marketplace, but that might be better than jumping through the hoops required to cash out small-dollar gift cards.