I bought holiday gifts for 10 people this year for under $20 using my credit card rewards

Jen Glantz started doing the eight-minute phone call challenge with two of her best friends. 

In an effort to not overspend this holiday season, I decided to plan early and buy all my gifts by the end of November. After making a list of the 10 people I wanted to buy gifts for, I realized that I was about to spend more than $700.

Instead of pulling cash out of my savings account, I decided to part ways with 50,000 CapitalOne Spark Miles Select credit card miles.

Here’s how I budgeted them to buy gifts for the 10 people on my list this year.

1. I grabbed on-sale gift cards

There are a few people on my gift list who I find it hard to shop for. Instead of buying them something they might not like, I always get them gift cards to stores they frequent.

Since I’m able to cash in miles for gift cards with my CapitalOne card, I decided to buy them for three people on my list.

My miles could be redeemed for gift cards at retailers and restaurants available on their platform at a rate of 0.8 to 1.067 cents per mile, depending on the business.

When I went to browse gift card options, I noticed that some gift cards from retailers were on sale and offered 10% off. For example, a $200 gift card to Barnes & Noble might be 18,000 miles instead of 20,000 miles.

I used 13,500 miles in total and picked up three $50 gift cards, all 10% off.

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2. I converted my miles to pay for items on Amazon

I had picked out specific items for five people on my list that I could grab on Amazon. These gifts ranged from $15 to $100. Another bonus was that I could have these items shipped directly to me or to my loved ones for free as an Amazon Prime member. This saved me around $50 in shipping fees that I’d have to pay to send them myself or through another online retailer.

I lowered my balance even more by redeeming some of my CapitalOne miles to cover my Amazon balance at checkout.

I used 21,875 miles to pay for $175 worth of gifts. I crossed off another five gifts from my list.

3. I bought a ticket to a show as a gift for a friend

One of my friends is someone who loves experiences as gifts. Capital One miles can be redeemed for tickets to sports games, concerts, and shows, so I looked for an upcoming event to take her to. I noticed that one of her favorite comedians was coming to town in a few months.

I found tickets for around $92 and was able to pay for hers with credit card miles. It cost me 11,500 miles to cover the cost of her ticket. I plan to pay for my own ticket in cash.

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4. I used the remaining miles to cover my statement balance for the month

With only 3,125 miles left and one person on my gift list, I decided to make the final purchase an easy one. I knew this person wanted a particular beaded bracelet from an online store.

Since I didn’t have enough miles to cover the entire $50 purchase, I bought the bracelet with my Capital One card. I then applied the remainder of my 3,125 to help pay for my credit card balance that month. It reduced the price of the gift to $18.85.

While it didn’t cover the entire price of the gift, I was able to get my friend an item that she liked and cover more than half of the cost using my credit card miles.