📝 TL;DR
- Buy discounted Airbnb gift cards on GCX (≈ 3.9 % below face value).
- Use your highest cashback card (Kroger Card - 5%, Smartly Card - 4%, US Bank Altitude Reserve - 4.5%, BoA Unlimited Cash Rewards - 2.625%)
- Click TopCashback (2.4 %) just before you book.
As things stand, that’s an 11.1% discount, though it could be higher or lower depending on GCX’s and TopCashback’s discounts.
1️⃣ Discounted Airbnb credit
| GCX Marketplace | 3.9 % off e-gift cards | Anything ≥ 2 % | Always on; no cap | Use Apple/Google Pay with the Kroger Mastercard for 5% cashback (OG Smartly card, US Altitude Reserve, BoA UCR as back ups).
Math: 3.9 % discount + 5 % cashback ≈ 9 % off before you even visit Airbnb.
2️⃣ Cashback / points portal (add 2.4 %)
Check the top cashback portal: https://www.cashbackmonitor.com/cashback-store/airbnb/
- TopCashback is paying 2.4 % on Airbnb at time of writing.
3️⃣ Buying gift cards directly from Amazon etc
| Staples / Office Depot | Pay full price, but Chase Ink Cash earns 5 % | Ink Cash (5× UR) | Year-round, unlimited | | Amazon.com | Pay full price, but Prime Visa earns 5 % | Kroger stores | Full price, but Kroger Mastercard earns 5 % at Kroger stores (up to $3 k / yr)
As of writing, the best case is 11% discount. That could increase if you can find better Airbnb gift card discounts or better portal offers. The Kroger card has spend limits so either get a second one yourself or through a P2. Or if your second best option is a 2% cashback card, this is still the best route to go down but some may find buying directly from Amazon, Staples, Target (with a 5% Target card) and using a cashback portal simpler.
Here are the figures as things stand: 5% cashback card (on Amazon etc) + TopCashBack = 7.4% 2% cashback card + GCX + TopCashBack = 8.2% 2.625% cashback card + GCX + TopCashBack = 8.8% 5% cashback card + GCX + TopCashBack = 11.1%
