How to Buy Gift Cards With Cash Back Rewards Cards
Learn which gift-card types earn cash back, where bonus rates apply, and which fees erase rewards.
You can buy gift cards with a cash back rewards card online or in person the same way as any other purchase. When the charge posts as an ordinary purchase, you earn cash back on the gift-card amount, but check retailer and issuer rules first, according to Capital One's guide to buying gift cards with a credit card. Cash back rewards cards return a set percent of eligible spending as cash, points, or miles.
Gift cards fall into two types: closed-loop cards for one merchant and open-loop network cards usable anywhere that network is accepted.
Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on November 03, 2026.
Which gift cards can you buy?
Closed-loop cards work only at the named store or restaurant group. Open-loop Visa or Mastercard prepaid cards work anywhere that network is accepted, minus any activation fee. Most stores let you pay for either type with a credit card at checkout or online.
Some retailers limit gift-card quantities, set daily totals, or block certain payment types, so check store rules before you load a large order.
Where do rewards add up?
Rewards follow how the store codes, not what is in the cart. Experian notes that buyers target bonus-category sellers such as grocery, drug, gas, and office-supply stores when the purchase posts as an ordinary purchase. That makes gift-card racks at everyday stores useful for planned gifts.
A grocery-store gift card for your own later shopping can earn the store's normal grocery rate, while a specialty merchant card bought at a drugstore earns the drugstore rate.
Which card rules cut earnings?
Card terms decide what counts. Chase reports that Ink Business Cash earns 5% cash back on up to $25,000 per anniversary year at office-supply stores plus internet, cable and phone services, in Chase's Ink Business Cash guide. By contrast, American Express Blue Cash Everyday and Blue Cash Preferred agreements state eligible purchases do NOT include cash equivalents including gift cards, excluding them from supermarket bonus rewards, in the Blue Cash Everyday card agreement.
Some issuers may also treat open-loop prepaid cards as cash advances or cash equivalents, which can trigger a fee, higher interest with no grace period, and no rewards.
How do fees change the math?
Open-loop cards add a purchase or activation fee on top of face value. Capital One notes that a $100 card with a $6 fee can wipe out 2% cash back, so compare net reward before buying. Closed-loop cards usually have no fee, so the printed rate is closer to the real return.
A 2% card earns $2 on a $100 merchant card with no fee, but only a small net gain on a fee-loaded prepaid card.
How to buy without problems?
Gift cards are for gifts, not payments: no real business or government agency will tell buyers to pay with a gift card, according to the FTC's gift-card scam guidance. Keep the card and receipt and report misuse to the card company and the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
- Confirm the store accepts credit cards for gift cards and note quantity limits.
- Confirm with your issuer that gift cards earn rewards and will not code as a cash advance.
- Choose no-fee merchant cards when possible and save the card and receipt.
- Use gift cards for gifts and planned spending, not to pay someone who demands payment by gift card.