MONEY: Buy any $100 MasterCard gift card & get $15 off instantly at Safeway–MONEY MAKER!

I was strolling through my local Safeway and browsing Safeway’s JustForU savings app on the iPhone when I noticed that under the Coupon Center > Specials for this week, the $15 off any $100 MasterCard gift card deal was back! 

I quickly added it to my card and went to the cashier. Just like the last time when they ran the deal (with Visa cards last time), the discount was automatically applied once I had typed in my Safeway Club Card number (Safeway’s free-to-join loyalty program), and even showed up on the receipt just like last time.

With an activation fee of only $5.95, I was technically made $9.05 in profit for the transaction since the gift card is essentially a cash card. I was also using my favorite miles earning card–in this case, my Chase United MileagePlus Club Card since it gets me 1.5 United miles for every $1 I spend on it.

In the end, I came out with a $100 gift card and 136 United miles (which I value at about $2.72), and only was out $90.95 in actual out-of-pocket expenses. 

Oh, and I got my groceries done as well, of course. 🙂

Good trip to Safeway!

If you want to get in on this offer, make sure to download the Safeway app for iPhone and Android, and make sure to add the offer (Coupon Center > Specials) before making your purchase. You will need to sync your Safeway Club Card account to your app prior to loading the offer. 

Offer expires 5/21/2013. One-time per Safeway Club account.