I’m gonna show you how you can spend $60 plus tax to get $195 in gift cards to Target or Amazon or Walmart.
Sounds impossible, right? — It’s not, and I’ll show you step by step how to do it. I’ll even explain later as to why I’m telling you how it’s done.
Basically, you’re going to buy a cell phone bundle for the crazy low price of $59.98 plus tax, then you’re going to sign up for the rewards program that’ll give you points that you can spend to get gift cards to dozens of places like Target, Walmart, or Amazon.
Following these steps, you’ll get 2 brand new cell phones, each with one year of service, and almost $200 in real gift cards to over 50 different places you know (like Applebee’s and Domino’s, too) for just $59.98 plus tax.
Easy Steps:
Step 1) Buy this cell phone 2-pack for $59.98 (plus tax) at QVC
These brand new cell phones come with 1 year of service. It’s not an unlimited plan, but it’ll work for a backup phone that’s mostly on WiFi. Look at it like this: even if none of the other stuff below actually works (spoiler alert: it does), you’re still getting two new cell phones with a year of service for $30 each, and they’ll even unlock after 60 days if you want to use them on a different plan with another company.
Step 2) Activate 1 of the phones at Tracfone
When the phones arrive, you’re going to activate one of them first at https://tracfone.com/activate. — You definitely want them on separate accounts. — For our purposes, it doesn’t matter if you get a new number or port in an existing one. If you’re getting a new number, Tracfone pretty much only asks for the zip code where you’ll be using the phone most and an email address. They don’t even ask for a name.
Step 3) Sign up for Tracfone Rewards
At the end of the activation process, it’ll ask you if you want to sign up for the Tracfone rewards program. You can either do it right then or you can just go to Tracfone Rewards afterwards. The important part is that you sign up after you activate the phone. When you do, you’ll get 1000 points (worth $10 in gift cards).
Step 4) In your Tracfone Rewards account area, use one of these referral codes
When you tell Tracfone that someone referred you to them, you get 5000 more points (worth $50 in gift cards). You have 14 days from when you activate your phone to give them a referral code, and which code you give them matters. More details on that below.
Step 5) Find your referral code so you can be the referer on the second phone
In the Tracfone rewards area, click the “My Dashboard” link in the top right area and it’ll show you your own referral code. It’s in the format of ####-####. Take note of it, so that you can be the referrer on the second phone.
Step 6) The next day, have your friend/spouse activate the second phone
Wait until the next day then activate the second phone at https://tracfone.com/activate. Make sure your friend/spouse/roommate uses a different email address so that it’s under a new account.
Step 7) Sign up for Tracfone Rewards with the second account to get 1000 points
Just like before, when the second phone signs up for Tracfone rewards, it’ll get 1000 points (worth $10 in gift cards).
Step 8) In the second phone’s rewards area, use the first phone’s referral code
For the first phone, you used the referral code provided above. Now, for the second phone, use the referral code linked to the first phone. When you input that code as the referrer for the second phone, the first phone will get 7500 points (worth $75 in gift cards) and the second phone will get 5000 points (worth $50 in gift cards).
Step 9) Wait for the points to become spendable
Tracfone won’t let you spend the points instantly. You have to wait for them to mature. For the 1000 points you got after signing up, you can spend those after 11 days, but the referral related points need 61 days to mature. For the referral points, too, the service of the referral account and the service of the referee account have to both be active at that 61 day mark. That’s not a problem for you because the phones come with one year of service each, and you used the code I provided above, which will still be active as well. If, however, you use a random code you find online, that service might not be active at the end of the 61 day period.
That it! You spent $60 and got $195 in gift cards plus 2 new phones, each with a year of service!
Now, I said I’d tell you what I get out of all this. Well, I have a lot of fun working the system, and I really like sharing deals, but getting gift cards is nice, too. For this to work, you need a starter referral code, and the one above is mine or a friend of mine’s. When you use it to start the process, it’ll get 7500 points (worth $75 in gift cards). If you don’t use it, you won’t get the 5000 points. It’s a bit of I’ll scratch your back when you scratch mine, so I hope I’ve proven helpful and we both benefit.
It’s important to note, too, that Tracfone can sometimes be a bit unusual, but with a little patience, it typically works out. For example, a few months ago, referrals stopped showing up for about three weeks, then they magically started again and all the backlog was credited. Spending points on gift cards was also removed as an option for a period of about four weeks after that, then it reappeared with almost no changes from how it worked before. The steps I’ve written here have worked for me and lots of others, and it should work without a hitch for you, too. At the bare minimum, you’re getting 2 new cell phones, each with 1 year of service, for less than $30 each. No matter how you slice it, that’s still quite the bargain.