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Maximize the Target RedCard Offer for $320 per couple

**UPDATE: This offer is expired, and it has since been weakened (no ability to use in-store, and online). It should come around again eventually, though**

There is $40 Target RedCard coupon offer out there that, if executed successfully by two-player team, would earn you a total of $320 of Target coupons! You have to act before April 8, so read on for details.

The Target RedCard offer

Target is offering a $40 off coupon if you sign up for a new credit, debit, or reloadable RedCard. $40 off may not grab your interest, but the fact that each coupon is really worth $80, combined with the ability to apply for multiple card types to stack the offer, starts to get interesting. In a two-player household, this can add up to (4) $40 coupons actually each worth $80, for a total of $320 of Target merchandise. This would be executed as (8) $40 transactions: 4 online, and 4 in-store.

Target RedCard $40 off coupons
These 2 coupons came along with the 2 Reloadable cards we applied for. Note the barcode for in-store, and the Promo Code for online

Link to Offer

The key is, each $40 coupon comes with a barcode for an in-store use, and a separate Promo Code for use on Target.com. They are different codes, which means the $40 coupon can be used once in-store, and once online. So to maximize the deal, here’s what a family of 2 could do.

Steps to unlock the offer

  1. Each person applies for a new Reloadable RedCard. We heard from forums that this was the more difficult approval, so it was suggested to try it first. Each comes with its own $40 off coupon. Ours came in separate envelopes from our physical reloadable card, about 5-7 days after we applied/got approved.
  2. Each person applies for a new Debit RedCard. Each comes with its own $40 off coupon. We have yet to receive our Debit cards at the time of this post.
  3. What about the Credit card? Ignore it! We love us some good credit card points but this one isn’t worth the credit inquiry and the 5/24 slot.
The Reloadable card that came in the mail. Separate envelope from the coupon. The card is labeled Debit, but works slightly different from a normal Debit card.

Additional information on the Target RedCard offer – Read these!

The application process

Is this a credit application? No, there is no credit inquiry for the Reloadable card or the Debit card. They do take all your other information though, including SSN. The Debit app also asks for a checking account – a couple applying MUST USE DIFFERENT CHECKING ACCOUNTS!

Does the sequence you apply in matter? We read data points that the Reloadable cards were a more difficult approval, so it was recommended we apply for those first. We each had no issue with those. For the Debit cards, only 1 of the 2 were approved, and the reason was we used the same checking account for both applications.

Do I need to provide my checking account information? Yes, as this is how you would ultimately fund the Debit card. As a couple, you will need to provide DIFFERENT checking accounts for each application, or you will be denied for one of them. After 1 of our Debits got denied, we ended up opening a quick, new, free checking account for the other at a different institution we already banked with. We then re-applied for the Target Debit, linking the minutes-old checking account, and were instantly approved the second time around.

Target RedCard reloadable card approval
Instant approval on both Reloadable cards
Target RedCard debit card not approved immediately
Wait 7-10 days for a decision on both Debit cards
approval for Target RedCard debit card offer
2 days after application, one of us received an email that their Debit application was approved. The other was initially denied via a letter 5 days later.

Do you have to wait between applying for reloadable and then applying for debit? No, you don’t have to. We decided to wait (1) week between applications, to be on the safe side. Our thought was maybe applications for (4) new cards at the same time, going to the same address, could trigger some automatic denial.

Using the cards

Should you shop in-store or online first? We are doing in-store first. If you do this, just make sure you take a picture of the coupons so you have the Promo Code for online, in the event a cashier takes the coupon (we just did self-checkout). Before you go to the store, I would also spend a few minutes setting up a shopping cart on Target.com with items you are considering buying, to help you understand better the exclusions.

Are there any exclusions? Yes, a bunch! Here’s the full list of items that can NOT be paid for by the coupon:

Target RedCard coupon exclusions list
List of exclusions

You’ll notice in the app if you build a cart of $40 of goods that include any of the above, the $40-off coupon won’t work, as you haven’t added $40 worth of ‘eligible’ goods.

Can I use multiple coupons in one transaction? No. This prevents you from being able to save money on a larger Target purchase, and why we are viewing this as (8) $40 transactions.

Do you need to use the Reloadable card or the Debit card to pay? No. But if you want 5% off, or guaranteed free shipping online, you would have to use either RedCard as a payment method for anything over the $40. If we can’t get free shipping online, as Target’s rules on what qualifies as ‘eligible’ free-shipping goods are vague, we’ll likely activate one of the debit cards, using it to pay for online purchases. Ultimately we would only be “out of pocket” for a few dollars of $40-overage depending on the total of our goods.

Do the coupons expire? Yes. Ours have an expiration date of May 8, 2023.

receipts for Target using $40 coupon
We used our (2) Reloadable cards in-store today with no issues. This was 2 separate transactions, using the self-checkout registers

Is this a one-time offer? No, actually this comes up from time to time. You can’t have an active RedCard to apply for a new one, so you would need to cancel any current Reloadable/Debit cards you have open, and then apply anew.

Final thought

We hope you’re able to get value from the Target RedCard offer. The list of exclusions, and the fact that you can use only one coupon at a time prevent you from combining the coupons into a discount on a high-dollar item. That said, there are plenty of household goods you can pick up for free, and there are no other costs associated with this deal.

And quite randomly, in our 4th envelope containing coupons, there were (2) $40 coupons instead of (1). So at the end of the day we received (5) $40 coupons, each good once online and once in-store. $400 for some online paperwork! Not. Too. Shabby.