【2021.8 Update】Likamao is offering an exclusive perk for our readers: if you register now, you can get $5 in rewards, usable on your first order. Your second order can use a $3 discount. Note that Likamao and RebatesMe share the same email-based account system, so if you already registered for RebatesMe, you can go directly to the gift card store. However, cashback between the two is not interchangeable; on Likamao, the rewards can be redeemed directly when buying gift cards.

  • Likamao registration link (get $5+$3 for registering; use code: uscc101 on the registration page)

If you already registered for RebatesMe through our site, you can email [email protected] from your registered email address and explain that you signed up through US Credit Card 101. Customer service will manually add $5 in rewards to your account, which can be used on Likamao.

About Likamao

Since I don’t use RebatesMe very often, I only recently noticed that this shopping portal also offers discounted gift card purchases. You can find that section here:

Clicking it takes you to a Chinese-language discounted gift card platform: Likamao.

RebatesMe also originally had an English gift card purchasing platform: https://store.rebatesme.com/giftcards. Likamao offers the same discount rates on gift card purchases as the English platform, but the English platform gives Rewards redemptions, while Likamao applies discounts directly at checkout. Personally, I recommend using Likamao.

Likamao offers many gift cards, including Apple, eBay, Uber, Grubhub, and DoorDash. Most discounts are fairly average, but with the first-order offer and future occasional promotions, you can still buy some at a low price. It’s a small deal, but still a deal.

Registration

Likamao currently offers signup rewards in the form of coupons, including $3 off your first order. If you use it to buy a $10 gift card, that is effectively 30% off:

In theory, you can log in directly with your RebatesMe account (which also gets the first-order offer): RebatesMe registration ($15 bonus). You may also be able to register separately for RebatesMe and Likamao with different email addresses, giving you two sets of rewards, YMMV. (Important: do not self-refer, or your account may be shut down. Feel free to use our referral links above.)

How to Use It

Buying Gift Cards

If you log in directly with RebatesMe or register through Likamao’s referral link, you will receive a coupon for $3 off your first order of $9 or more (valid within 24 hours after registration).

Buy according to your needs. Most gift cards start at $10. I didn’t have any urgent need, so I bought an Apple gift card (delivered by email), which only starts at $15. The final discount was pretty solid, about 23% off. If you buy a $10 gift card, that works out to 30% off.

At checkout, only UnionPay cards are currently accepted, and there seems to be an additional 0.2% off. You can combine this with overseas cashback promotions on mainland China UnionPay credit cards (the charge posts in USD and counts as an overseas transaction). For overseas cashback promotions on mainland Chinese credit cards, you can refer to my rather old article that hasn’t been updated in a while: How to Use Mainland Chinese Credit Cards in the U.S. for High Overseas Cashback [2019.11 Update: Bank of China Promotion Updated]

The exchange rate is based on the UnionPay rate. With the current rate, using a Chinese credit card is actually pretty nice.

Redeeming and Using Gift Cards

I received my gift card instantly after purchase (for actual delivery timing, please refer to the official instructions). You can click the email link or view it directly on the Likamao website.

After redemption, it will show as used. KUKU’s suggestion is to add Apple gift cards to your Apple ID balance immediately after purchase (each ID can hold up to $2,000, which can later be used to buy devices such as iPhone and iPad).

After your purchase, if you check your account carefully, you may also find other coupons. The discounts are currently fairly average, but they can still be useful if you have a real need.

Extra 0.4% for Reloading Your Balance

Likamao offers a reload bonus, and gift card purchases will use your account balance first. However, you need customer service to enable it, so I wouldn’t recommend it for small amounts. You can find it on the main page:

Referral Rewards

Likamao currently offers referral rewards: for each person you refer, they get $3 off and you get $5 off. Both parties must purchase at least a $9 gift card.

Friendly reminder: Your invited friend must complete a qualifying order within 30 days after their first visit to the Likamao website before you can receive the corresponding referral reward.

Likamao reserves the right to cancel your referral reward, including but not limited to: duplicate accounts, self-referrals, referrals between members of the same household, suspected fraud, returns, or abnormal account activity. If any of the above issues are discovered after referral rewards have been issued, Likamao has the right to revoke your referral rewards and suspend your account.


According to the terms, definitely do not self-refer. You can also invite friends and family through RebatesMe. The current referral commission is $30, and then they can log in to Likamao with their RebatesMe account:

Review

At the moment, most gift card discounts are not especially strong, but hopefully there will be better promotions in the future. You can also combine this with overseas online cashback promotions on Chinese credit cards, which can make it worthwhile. Likamao also likely has a much lower order-cancellation rate for Chinese credit cards than other U.S. gift card platforms such as Amazon and eBay. One downside is that it currently only supports UnionPay cards, and hopefully it will add U.S. credit cards in the future (the corresponding English platform does accept U.S. cards, but has no coupons). If you’re interested, the $3 off first order is still decent. Small savings add up.

Registration

Likamao currently offers signup rewards in the form of coupons, including $3 off your first order. If you use it to buy a $10 gift card, that is effectively 30% off:

In theory, you can log in directly with your RebatesMe account (which also gets the first-order offer): RebatesMe registration ($15 bonus). You may also be able to register separately for RebatesMe and Likamao with different email addresses, giving you two sets of rewards, YMMV. (Important: do not self-refer, or your account may be shut down. Feel free to use our referral links above.)