Jeff Bogle is always looking for ways to be a superhero dad. This time it was easy.
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This post sponsored by American Express Membership Rewards.
We only had two hours.
There’s more wiggle room in Superman’s skintight costume.
We had to find a completely from-scratch outfit for our oldest daughter and had a measly two hours to do it. Of course, had we not procrastinated…
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
In our defense, putting off this particular shopping trip until the last minute was not entirely to blame for the heightened stress. We had found out only the night before the National Elementary Honors Society Induction Ceremony that our bright 10-year-old bulb would have to wear a dress or a skirt to be formally admitted into the smart kid club. The problem was that she’s a pants kind of girl, always has been, and so this unexpected change of plans — from “let’s go out to find an affordable but classy new top to go with your favorite black pants already in your drawer” to “OMG we need to find you a completely new ensemble, and that’s probably not going to be cheap!” — required a frantic search about town to find an outfit that would adhere to the school’s, ahem, outdated female fashion policy. Queue dramatic tension. We were all damsels in distress.
Enter a new kind of superhero, American Express Membership Rewards points and an Old Navy eGiftCard.
I visited the Amex Membership Rewards online hub to see what help might be available to keep our costs down as we were about to head out on this sudden shopping spree. I saw Old Navy as an instant eGiftCard option and thought, “that’s got potential!” Before I redeemed points, I made a quick stop at Old Navy’s website to get a feel for their formal-ish options for girls. I know that clothing store website selections are not always indicative of what you’ll find hanging on racks and folded on shelves in your local store, but if all I saw online was pink and purple flower prints, I’d know to skip over that store completely. Fortunately, Old Navy’s website was offering some darker tones and solid prints in the girl’s section, so I felt comfortable redeeming enough points to net me a $60 Old Navy eGiftCard. I figured that, with their low prices and a bit of good fortune, we could very likely put together an entire outfit, top to bottom, with that modest sum.
I quickly received an email with my eGiftCard and off to the store we went!
In the end, we’d need two pieces of her new outfit from two other stores, but the shiny silver blouse and the hip grey boots that bookended her ceremonial attire came to us from Old Navy courtesy of Amex Membership Rewards points.
Have you ever found yourself in a dramatic last-minute shopping situation for a birthday gift on the way to a party or, like us, a new outfit for a special occasion? How did you pull it off in time?
Take a look at all the instant eGiftCard options through Membership Rewards, and know that whether you or the person for whom you’re buying a gift, prefer movies, books, dining or travel, your procrastination will no longer prevent you from saving the day.
Tell us your stories! How do you use Membership Rewards for your family? Has it ever made you a hero? What are some favorite things you have used them for?
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I was selected by American Express to help educate consumers about how to use Membership Rewards points. As such I was paid for my services, but all items selected and opinions about the Membership Rewards are my own.
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photo courtesy of author
Our family has a couple of cards with rewards. The key seems to be to integrate them into your life and not overuse them just to use them, but to make it seamless…and to pay them off. My wife gets rewards that she can turn back into money (take THAT, interest rate!) and my card rewards with airline miles. But we make sure not to dig ourselves in a hole – we just use the cards for the benefits, then pay them off so we don’t carry balances and end up paying more for the item we’re often trying to… Read more »