How to Stack Discounts: Sales, Codes, Cash Back and Gift Cards

A 20 percent sale is nice. A 20 percent sale plus a 10 percent code plus cash back is how people end up paying half price. "Stacking" means combining several discounts on one purchase, and most stores allow more of it than you'd think, as long as each discount comes from a different place.

Think of a purchase as having up to five layers. Each comes from a different source, which is why they can usually be combined.

1. The sale price. The store's own discount on the item.
2. A promo code. Entered at checkout; usually one per order.
3. A discounted gift card. Buy the store's gift card for less than face value (from a warehouse club, a promotion or your bank's offers), then pay with it.
4. Card rewards. Points, miles or cash back from the card you pay with, plus any card-linked offers for that store.
5. Cash-back or loyalty programs. Store loyalty points, or rebates from a cash-back program you join before you shop.

1. Find the item on sale. Check its price history first, so you know the sale is real (see How to tell if a sale is really a good deal).
2. Look for a promo code for that store that doesn't exclude sale items.
3. Start from your rewards program or cash-back link, if you use one, so the purchase is tracked. Some won't track if you used a different site's link in between.
4. Apply the code at checkout and confirm the total dropped.
5. Pay with a discounted gift card or a rewards card, or both, if the store allows split payment.

• Sale price + one promo code: commonly allowed, unless the code excludes sale items.
• Two promo codes: usually not, though some stores allow a percentage-off code plus a free-shipping code.
• Promo code + gift card payment: almost always allowed; a gift card is just a way to pay.
• Card rewards + everything else: always; your card issuer pays these, not the store.
• Price adjustments: some stores refund the difference if the price drops after you buy, within a set time. Check the policy.

• Chasing stacks on things you don't need. Fifty percent off something you won't use is still money spent.
• Ignoring return rules. Returns on stacked purchases may be refunded to the gift card, or the cash back may be reversed.
• Letting points expire. Loyalty points often expire after a period of inactivity.
• Buying gift cards from unofficial sellers. Stick to the store, warehouse clubs and well-known retailers.

A quick example. Headphones listed at $200 are on sale for $160. A 10 percent code takes off another $16. You pay with a store gift card you bought at 5 percent off, saving about $7, and your card earns 2 percent back, about $3. You've paid roughly $134 for a $200 item: a third off, with no single discount bigger than 20 percent.

Start with the first layer: today's best deals and promo codes by store.