I like coconut water. I really do. That’s why I headed to my local Safeway this week to stock up. Nature’s sports drink- refreshing, ultra-hydrating, mixes well with rum (okay, not really), kids like it…what’s not to love?
Typical Miles and Points Behavior 
This week, until October 8th, Safeway is giving away $10 off grocery coupons with the purchase of certain gift cards. $500 variable load Visas ($5.95) included. So for $11.90, I get 2023 United miles using my Chase United MileagePlus Select Visa (2x category bonus) and a whole lot of FREE coconut water. That, or I get 10 16.9 oz. packs of Vita Coco for the incredible price of $1.19 (beating Costco) and 2023 miles for FREE. Extreme couponing? Better than free manufactured spend? I guess it all depends how you look at it. Either way, that’s the deal with the coconut water.
100% Savings
There are lots of different angles you could use to make the best of this promotion. I’ve been using the coupons all week for…groceries (imagine that) and buying a $500 gift card as a separate transaction before continuing with my regular purchases. There are also lots of other things you could buy at Safeway for an even $10, and I actually got $.26 back in change (Shhhhh) for one purchase that didn’t quite add up (damn coupons). Now that the promotion is winding down, I’m taking advantage of the deal to stock up on non-perishables as well. Be warned you will end up paying a CRV or similar deposit fee for anything that comes in a bottle or a can and unfortunately the coupons don’t work for alcohol (we tried). It may also exclude liquid dairy (YMMV).
There’s Lots of Stuff at the Grocery Store for $10
Another strategy is to mix things up with a cash back earning card. I’ve been alternating using my mileage cards with the American Express Blue Cash Preferred that earns 6% cash back on groceries (up to 6k per year) to help cover some of the costs; a $1,000 gift card purchase nets just over $48 cash back which can be reinvested towards more manufactured spending.
Finally, a few pieces of miscellaneous information and tips in case you decide to head out for some shopping yourself. Gift card purchases do not earn gas rewards (unfortunately), and you may want to be mindful or repeated purchases of the same amount (like 5 in a row of during a single store visit). While Chase is accustomed to my erratic spending behavior, Amex is not, and I managed to set off a fraud alert during a similar promotion over the summer. I guess that’s one more reason to mix it up a little bit. After all, there are lots of great cards out there that earn category bonuses at the grocery store!
Happy Shopping!
What’s the craziest thing you’ve done for miles and points lately?
p.s. I DO NOT earn affiliate commission on any of the credit cards I talked about. I simply shared via personal experience, because that’s what I do. That said, Chase no longer offers the MileagePlus Select VISA, which is really sad because it’s an awesome card (if you have one, keep it). For more information about my I love this card (and the other MileagePlus cards which are still offered) be sure to check out my earlier posts on Chase Choices and I how I use the cards to buy discounted revenue tickets on United.