How to Save Money in Germany with Gift Cards

Gift cards aren’t just for gifting — they can be a great way to save money when shopping at your favorite stores, though they do require a bit of planning ahead. Cashback websites and loyalty programs often sell gift cards (normally 10-100€ value) at a discount, either as a permanent offer or as part of special promotions. By buying a discounted gift voucher and redeeming it at full value, you can make your purchases more cost-effective. The discounts usually range between 5 and 10%, but I have seen promos with as much as 15% cashback! That’s a good amount of money to be saved with just a little bit of pre-planning.

To take advantage of this strategy, you should be a user of Payback and/or Shoop cashback platforms. I recommend using both if you do any shopping in Germany at all — Payback is great for in-store shopping (like dm and Edeka) and is an exclusive Amazon partner, while Shoop is a powerhouse for online shopping, offering cashback at most major online stores. The cashback calculation at Shoop is also more straightforward, and they have a nice welcome bonus (currently 10€) when you sign up. Read my in-depth guides to Payback and Shoop to learn more about these platforms and how they can help you save money. 

Payback, Germany’s biggest loyalty program, isn’t just for collecting points — it’s also a great tool for buying gift cards with a discount. There are two ways to use Payback to get these extra savings:

Buying Gift Cards with a Coupon

The first way to save is by purchasing a gift voucher on the Payback website with a Payback points multiplier coupon. Here’s an example:

• You buy a 100€ Amazon gift card using a 20x points coupon

• Instead of the usual 1 point per €2 (equivalent to 0.5% cashback), you earn 1,000 Payback points (equal to 10€)

• That’s an instant 10% savings on your purchase!

To find these offers, go to your Payback coupons, filter to see "Payback Gutscheine," and activate the coupons you’d like to use. Then click through to the Payback gift card store to buy your voucher.

Redeeming Payback Points for Gift Cards

Another way to maximize the savings potential of gift cards is by buying with with your Payback points. In fact, this is one of the best ways to spend your Payback points effectively! The key here is to never buy gift cards at full price — that would defeat the purpose. When browsing the available gift vouchers in the “Punkte einlösen” section on Payback's website, always look for the red labels which indicate special offers. You can often find deals where you buy a gift card with a points multiplier, earning extra cashback. An example of a promo available right now is a 25€ Google Play gift card with a 40x points multiplier, which would work like this:

• You redeem 2499°P (24.99€ worth) of Payback points for a 25€ Google Play gift card

• With the 40x multiplier, you earn 500 Payback points, equivalent to 5€ back

• That’s an effective 20% discount on your redemption!

Payback offers a variety of gift vouchers for many major retailers, making it easy to save in stores where you already shop. You can buy Amazon gift cards, as well as vouchers for Zalando, IKEA, H&M, MediaMarkt, Douglas, Otto, Decathlon, Lieferando, TKMaxx and many more. To stay updated on which gift cards are currently on offer, subscribe to the Payback newsletter for updates on the latest deals.

Another great option is the Wunschgutschein, a flexible gift card that you can buy now and decide later where to spend it. It can be redeemed at over 500 different stores, including Amazon, Zalando, IKEA, H&M, MediaMarkt, Douglas, Otto, Decathlon, and many more. This means you don’t have to commit to a single retailer when making your purchase — this makes it a good choice if you want to keep your options open or give a gift to someone else. Look for Wunschgutschein deals on Payback to maximize both your flexibility and savings: currently, there is a 10x coupon available, meaning you get 5% back on any of these shops when using this voucher.

Shoop, Germany’s best cashback platform for online shopping, works similarly to Payback when it comes to gift cards, but uses direct cashback percentage instead of points. They call it "Sofort-Cashback" (instant cashback), meaning you get money back in your cashback account instantly when purchasing a gift voucher . Here are some examples of cashback rates Shoop offers:

• Zalando gift card – 4.8% cashback

• H&M gift card – 5.4% cashback

• Foot Locker gift card – 6% cashback

• ASOS gift card – 4.8% cashback

To take advantage of these deals, visit Shoop’s gift card section and buy your voucher through their platform. Shoop’s partner store selection is much smaller than Payback’s, and Shoop does not offer Wunschgutschein. However, the advantage is that you don’t have to wait for promotions to get these cashback rates — they are always available. This makes Shoop a great option if you are planning to shop at one of the stores they partner with and don’t want to monitor deals. I'm not aware of Shoop running any specials with increased cashback on gift cards (reply and let me know if you've seen any!), but perhaps they will also take a page of Payback's playbook in the future.